Eighth Amendment Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment. The 8th Amendment is perhaps less important in terms of rights than other amendments in the Bill of Rights. The 8th amendment was written to preserve people's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Al Rossi is correct, when he says: > It prevents a judge from singling out a defendant for ad hoc invented punishment. by Tim Donner | Jun 15, 2015 | Blog. The State thinks its scheme is beyond questioning, whether as to form or substance, for it sees the tie-breaker law as … It was ratified along with the Bill of Rights and took effect in 1791. This is Why We Have the 8th Amendment. The 8th Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines was seen as something of a curiosity in the modern era, until the case of United States vs. Bajakajian in 1998. In other words, the Eighth Amendment refers to de facto punishments whether they are officially handed down as punishments or not. These courts utilized the … The Eighth Amendment, that is, demands both form and substance, both a system for decision and one geared to produce morally justifiable results. The 8th Amendment ensures that the judge, despite any personal feelings about the case does not impose excessive punishment or fines larger than what is appropriate. The eight amendment prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel or unusual punishment. Consequently, The Founding Fathers created the Eighth Amendment to be intended for further generations to interpret the meaning of “cruel” and “unusual” over time (Donnell). The Excessive Bail section provides constitutional protection against excessive bail, including the practical denial of bail by fixing its amount unreasonably high, as decided in United States v. From the Constitution Here is the text of the Eighth Amendment from the Constitution: Ratified December 15, 1791. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees citizens the right to be free from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty: The U.S. Supreme Court found that the death penalty , which was applied capriciously and on a racially discriminatory basis, violated the Eighth Amendment in Furman v. Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. It does, however, work to protect us from potential tyranny by the government. Governments have used excessive bails, fines and cruel punishments to restrict people's freedom, take away or damage their lives, and to take away property with excessive fines. The man in question had taken more than the maximum permitted $10,000 of U.S. currency out of the country without reporting it as the law required, and was fined over $350,000 as a result. The right was created in reaction to the excesses of the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission—British courts of equity that operated from 1487-1641. This amendment insures that the punishments for crimes are not excessive, cruel, or unusual. Even with this amendment in place, court cases are often overruled, and the 8th Amendment brought into play. The Eighth Amendment was part of the Bill of Rights that was added to the Constitution on December 15, 1791. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. > Why is the 8th Amendment important to us? The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”. We all know much about the first and second amendments in the Bill of Rights, and perhaps the fourth and/or fifth and/or tenth. The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights. But when was the last time you thought or heard about the Eighth Amendment? 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