The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution versus Death Penalty as a Form of "Cruel and Unusual" Punishment

Abstract

The present research deals with the issue of death penalty in the US which creates tension whether it remains as a justified and valid form of punishment. It discusses the history of capital punishment, its adoption in the US, the way some US States started to abolish a "cruel and unusual punishment", the attempted reforms. it further analyses current approach of death penalty, the reforms focused on the process by which it is applied and with the limits of what is constitutional under the Eighth Amendment's ban: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted". The cases that made changes in the US legal system are also reviewed. Forms of executions, federal death penalty, court decisions regarding people with mental disabilities, juveniles, religion, women, the issues of race, innocence, financial facts, the roles of International Organizations and current statistics of the Bureau of Justice, DPIC, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, regarding death row inmates by state, number of executions by region is presented and reviewed. The research displays public opinion and analyses current situation in the US by presenting Gallup annual Crime Surveys, DPIC and Lake Research Partners polls. It poses a question whether a just society requires death penalty for the taking of a life. The research concludes that the U.S is a party to several fundamental human rights treaties that impact capital punishment, though it has refrained from being a party to the treaties that have most direct effects through invoking domestic law. By involvement of the U.S. in these treaties it will initiate the reform and restrict the death penalty from a human rights perspective. It will reduce exercising any unnecessary measures which threaten innocent life.