The Law Blogger's Scholarship

“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” (Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.)

What is a “cruel and unusual” punishment? Often we think of methods of torture used in Europe during the Dark Ages (such as burning at the stake, the rack, etc.), but those aren’t applicable to our day. So, what would we consider a cruel or unusual punishment today? Brian Reagan gave us an example: “Place a slice of bologna on your face; cut out the eye holes. Then I’d like you to go to the local mall and begin yodeling.” Of course, that’s a humorous example. Recently, life sentences without parole for juveniles have been debated as being “cruel and unusual.” The most commonly argued, and probably the most controversial, topic is the death penalty. Is the death sentence a “cruel and unusual” punishment? I say that it is not, but only if it is used prudently.

Some crimes are too horrible to be forgiven too easily. Some people are too dangerous to be allowed to exist among other humans. Take for an example Osama bin Laden. His actions caused the death of thousands of people, and yet he still had strong and dangerous supporters. Giving him a life sentence could be considered an insult to the memories of those he killed. Also, it would cost a lot of money to keep him sufficiently guarded from outside attempts to rescue him, and the risk of his escape had too great of consequences to risk. His death was the only option.

However, I think that sometimes the death sentence is given too freely. Up until 2005, juveniles could be sentenced with the death penalty. This was classified as “unconstitutional”and as being a “cruel and unusual” punishment in Roper v. Simmons. The fact that young people were being executed shows that the regulations on who gets the death penalty are too lax. Only dangerous people who deserve the death penalty should be sentenced to have no more chances on this earth to change.

In the Fifth Amendment, it is said that no one can be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” “Life” is included in this list, which means that the Founding Fathers did not feel that the death sentence fell under“cruel and unusual.” However, there needs to be wisdom in the decisions that call for that punishment. If there’s the slightest glimmer of hope that a person can change, they should be given that chance. In those cases where there is no hope, no forgiveness, too many risks for the result, then the death penalty is the right decision. It’s a hard decision, but sometimes it’s the right one.

This blog post is an official entry for the Law'>http://www.joshuapondlaw.com/scholarship">Law Blogger’s Scholarship, sponsored by The Law Office of Joshua Pond, http://www.joshuapondlaw.com.