Do you agree or disagree with this quote?- Write a 3 sentence explanation. “Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

Gandalf the Grey

8 th Amendment

Objectives Develop opinions on a controversial issue. View and appreciate both sides of a controversial issue. Understand the 8 th Amendment. Understand the effects of the death penalty. Know the historical development of the death penalty in the United States.

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

8 th Amendment Punishment must fit the crime Punishments should not violate common decency

Rights and Protections Protection for the accused:  Right to build defense  Innocent until proven guilty

Bail Giving $ to gov’t to ensure you go to court (get $ back) May be denied – based on previous behavior / seriousness of crime

Bounty Catch a person who didn’t show up at court Fines Monetary punishment / consequence ($) Fit the Crime

Capital Punishment Death penalty – differs state by state Life, liberty, property can’t be taken away unless have due process

Problems Unfair treatment of poor  Attorney appt by state  Sometimes innocent Lingering racism  More blacks executed than proportional  Victims tend to be white

WHY WAS THE 8 th AMENDMENT CREATED? Framers of the Constitution inspired by a man named Oates, who was sentenced to life in prison with 3 days every year of torture. Oates had only committed perjury. This punishment was extremely severe considering the crime he committed and this shocked the members of the community.

CONTINUED Therefore, “excessive bail”, “excessive fines”, and “cruel and unusual punishment” all refer to punishments that are disproportionately harsh compared to the crime committed. BUT WHAT DOES DISPROPORTIONATELY MEAN?!

Disproportionate “Disproportionately harsh” means that the punishment is too sever considering the crime committed, making the punishment unjust and unnecessary.

Activity Read the Medieval Torture handouts to analyze cruel and unusual punishments. Then read the article listed under your “Modern Application Exercise”. Read the article and answer the corresponding questions. Prepare to present. Due EOC.

Warm Up: Is this cruel & unusual punishment? Prisoners working on a chain gang? Prisoners having to eat “ the loaf? ” Prisoners not getting the type of cereal they want? Or crunchy v. creamy peanut butter? Prisoners not getting adequate health care? ANSWER EACH IN 1 SENTENCE AND EXPLAIN WHY/WHY NOT.

Is this cruel & unusual punishment?

Lethal Injection Alabama, Arizona Arkansas, California Colorado, Connecticut Delaware, Florida Georgia, Idaho Illinois, Indiana Kansas Kentucky, Louisiana Maryland, Mississippi Missouri, Montana Nevada, New Hampshire New Mexico, New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma, Oregon Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota Tennessee, Texas Utah, Virginia Washington, Wyoming Federal Government ElectrocutionLethal GasFiring Squad Alabama Arkansas Florida, Illinois Kentucky, Nebraska Oklahoma, South Carolina Tennessee, Virginia Arizona California Missouri Wyoming Idaho Oklahoma Utah Hanging Delaware New Hampshire Washington

Supreme Court Cases Furman v. Georgia (1972)  Death penalty in this case is Unconstitutional.  It was being used indiscriminately against blacks.  States must do 2 things:  Allow defendant to show all evidence of why they should not received the DP, in the punishment phase.  Have an automatic appeal.

Supreme Court Cases Gregg v. Georgia (1976)  Death penalty in this case IS Constitutional.  And…Texas got after it after that!

The Death Penalty Is it cruel and unusual punishment? Thursday, 23 August, 2007 Texas carried out its 400th execution since the US Supreme Court reintroduced the death penalty in Conner asked for forgiveness before he was put to his death.

Death Penalty and Juveniles Thompson v. Oklahoma (1986)  Juveniles must be at least 16 years of age at the time of the crime, to receive the DP. Stanford v. Kentucky (1989)  Upheld Thompson—16 still the rule. Roper v. Simmons (2004)  A person must now be at least 18 years of age at the time of the crime, to receive the DP.

Those who CANNOT receive the DP Juveniles. (Roper v. Simmons) Mentally retarded. (Atkins v. VA, 2001) Mentally insane.

Activity Read the following hypothetical situations and answer the corresponding questions on a separate sheet of paper. How does the previously withheld information change your original answer? Prepare to present. Due EOC.

Warm Up In your opinion, which is worse-the death penalty or solitary confinement for life. Explain in 3 sentences.

Texas dumps the electric chair in 1977 & moves to lethal injection. Lethal injection in Texas consists of:  Sodium Thiopental (lethal dose—sedates person)  Pancuronium Bromide (muscle relaxant—collapses diaphragm and lungs)  Potassim Chloride (stops heart beat)  Usually pronounced dead approx. 7 minutes after LJ begins.  Cost per execution for drugs used: $  Cost of one appeal to Texas Ct. of Crim. Appls.: $40,000+ Average time on Death Row in TX: years. Cost per day in prison per offender: $62.00

Is Lethal Injection, cruel & unusual? Supreme Court considered last term, whether lethal injection is constitutional. Case involves two death row inmates in Kentucky. Inmates allege lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Method in question is used in 37 states.

Lethal injection Kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, then stopping the breathing and heart in that order Supporters argue that the method less painful and more efficient Supreme Court has upheld the method in 2009

Activity Part 1 First, read the “Graham v. Florida case and answer the corresponding questions Due EOC. Part 2 Then, complete the subsequent supreme court cases about the constitutionality of the death penalty. Answer the questions listed for each case. Write down the decision/verdict for each case. Due EOC.

Warm Up: Answer in 1 paragraph What does the law INTEND to prevent when it says “cruel & unusual punishment?”

Cruel and Unusual Punishments According to the Supreme Court, the 8 th Amendment forbids some punishments entirely, and forbids some other punishments that are excessive when compared to the crime, or compared to the competence of the perpetrator.

Trop v. Dulles (1958) Justices held that it was cruel and unusual punishment to make loss of citizenship the penalty for desertion. The meaning of the 8 th amendment could be discerned from evolving standards of decency.

Evolution of Decency "The [Eighth] Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.“ Subsequently, the Court has looked to societal developments, as well as looking to its own independent judgment, in determining what are those "evolving standards of decency”.

Evolution of Decency Over time, our definition of decency has changed. The Court has then applied those standards not only to say what punishments are inherently cruel, but also to say what punishments that are not inherently cruel are nevertheless cruelly disproportionate to the offense in question.

Proportionality In Rummel v. Estelle (1980), the Court upheld a life sentence with the possibility of parole for fraud crimes totaling $230. In Harmelin v. Michigan (1991), the Court upheld a life sentence without the possibility of parole for possession of 672 grams of cocaine.

Death Penalty The provision of the 8 th Amendment provides a major constitutional source for challenging the death penalty. The death penalty can only be issued by a jury, not a judge or attorney. “Death is different”

USA - Numbers About 13,000 put to death since colonial times Texas holds the record for the largest number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 – 456 Since 1982 Virginia has executed a larger percentage of its population than any other state over 1 million in population. 88% of the world’s executions (killing 1,252) in 2007 were done in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. All of Europe has banned the death penalty

Activity Individually complete the personal journal worksheet. Then, with your TABLE partners, list 4-5 reasons for supporting and opposing the death penalty. Then, with your TABLE partners, read each scenario and decide the sentence for each individual. BE CREATIVE. Due EOC.

Into the Abyss

Discussion Questions What are the changing attitudes towards crime and punishment over time in the US? How do these changes reflect social changes over time? If you could make up the rules for the death penalty, what would those rules be? Would only murderers and rapists get it? Would there be any different rules if the accused murdered 3 people or 30?

Discussion Questions What if the accused murdered 3 babies or 3 old people, is there any difference? Would your rules allow for exceptions? What if you believe that killing people is wrong, even if it is for punishment. How would explain this to those who believe that the death penalty keeps some people from committing terrible crimes? Can you really say to a family that lost their mother and father to a murderer, that keeping the murderer alive in prison is the best thing for the government to do?

Discussion Questions Explain why you believe that the death penalty is something that we need in this country. (1 Paragraph) Explain why you believe that the death penalty is wrong, no matter what crime was committed. (1 Paragraph)

Paper Assignment  The death penalty conjures up scary pictures of electric chairs, dark gas chambers, and needles filled with lethal drugs. Subsequently, capital punishment brings up two opposite views. One, “Justice cannot be served as long as we practice and okay the death sentence.” Two, “Justice HAS been served because this criminal has been eliminated from society.”  Evaluate those two statements.  Where do you fall in the spectrum dealing with “The Final Question”?

In other words… In other words, is justice served with the death penalty? Or is justice abused with the death penalty? Think about pro-death penalty viewpoints. Think about anti-death penalty viewpoints. Think about the meaning and definition of “cruel and unusual punishment”. Does the death penalty fall under this definition?

Requirements Minimum:  5 paragraphs  5 in-text citations  5 sources  Typed  Double spaced  Size 12 Times New Roman Font  MLA format  1 Works Cited page at the end. Properly formatted.  Title  1 inch margins

Due Date November 17th