Bill+Of+Rights+wardbr19

=The 8th Amendment= Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

=Description=

This sets a bail and fine maximum and says we can't be punished in ways that haven't been invented yet.


**Uses In The Past** = Atkins VS Virginia = In the evening of August 16, 1998, Daryl Atkins and a friend robbed and shot Eric Nesbitt. Atkins was found guilty of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder; consequently, he was sentenced to death despite the testimony of Dr. Evan Nelson, who confirmed that Atkins had mild mental retardation. This decision was upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court, following the example the US Supreme Court had set when dealing with the Penry VS Lynaugh case. Later, Atkins repealed his case to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the execution of a person with mental disability is unconstitutional.

Today's Application
Jan. 17, 2014. On this date an Ohio inmate was put to death. The execution took 25 minutes and the last 10 of those minutes were spent by him gasping for air and his life. This is very in just and in humane.Dennis McGuire was put to death using a combination of intravenous drugs that had never before been used in a lethal injection.

Helpful Links
This link defines the eighth amendment and goes through it piece by piece. **Youtube Eighth Amendment** This video goes through the eighth amendment
 * Constitution Daily**