Analysis of the 8th Amendment

Analysis of the 8th Amendment 8th Amendment Introduction The 8th Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution can be legally defined as the section of the United Sates Bill of Rights that which forbids the federal government from imposing excessive fines, neither inflicting cruel and unusual punishments nor imposing excessive bail. The 8th amendment was approved to be part of the United States Constitution in the year 1791.This amendment was almost similar to a stipulation made in the English Bill of Rights of 1689 where the government made a declaration to the point that they had to operate as their ancestors had by not demanding for excessive bail neither imposing excessive fines nor inflicting cruel or unusual punishments. In the case of England the provision was mainly driven by the punishment involving Titus Oates. During the reign of King James II in the 1680s Titus Oates worked as a fixture in the London pillory circuit. Oates was involved many ordinary penalties that had been collectively imposed forced on him in a manner that was both excessive and unparalleled. Oates had lied under oath which led to many innocent people being placed under the death sentence. Parliament approved the declaration against â€Å"cruel and unusual punishments â€Å"for England in the year 1689. The declaration was explained by the parliament that it was supposed to prevent punishments such as the one inflicted on Titus Oates by the Kings Bench. In December 1689 the then parliament endorsed the provision to be passed into law. The first state to adopt a stand similar to that of England on the issues was the state of Virginia. In the year 1776 the Virginia declaration of rights incorporated the English bill of rights and then went on a step further to recommend in the year 1788 that the above provision be included in the united states constitution as at the Virginia convention that meant to approve the U.S constitution. It was some Virginia states men such as Patrick Henry and George Mason that first endorsed that congress be limited by use of the restriction as in the English bill of rights. This was based on the fears that if that did not happen the congress could inflict some punishments that were both unusual and severe on criminals. The two Virginians also stressed the need for the Congress to do away with the line in the English bill of rights that seemed to admit of tortures and barbarous punishment inflicted on its people in the past. And also recommended congress to start the enactment of civil law in favor of the more practiced common law. In the end Mason and Henry were successful in their quest and then the 8th amendment was adopted by the United States. In the year 1789 James Madison changed the words ought in the English bill of rights to† shall then proposed it to the congress for amendment. Cruel and unusual punishments The eighth amendment according to the Supreme Court prohibited entirely the infliction of some punishments and at the same time forbid some other punishments which when compared to the crime for which they were given for were seen to be excessive or those which were seen to be excessive when the competence of the perpetrator was put into light. This was seen as necessary because in the earlier years some of the judgments handed down to the people were in excess considering the fact that the perpetrators were either incompetent to commit such crimes or the crimes committed were minor. In the year 1962 the supreme courts ruled that the cruel and unusual punishments act applied to all the states of the United States through the fourteenth amendment. This followed the case involving Robinson vs. California, 370 U.S. 660 in the year 1960. Before the Robinson case the eighth amendment had only earlier been applied in cases against the federal government. In the case involving Furman vs. Ge orgia, 408 U.S. 238 of the year 1962 the four principles that would determine whether a punishment passed onto a perpetrator was â€Å"cruel and unusual† were written by Justice Brennan. These included statements that for the punishment handed down judging by how severe it is degrade human dignity under conditions as in the case of torture, it also that any unusual and cruel punishment was one which was totally and clearly rejected by the whole society, one which was seen to be inflicted in a manner that was seen to be wholly arbitrary or one that was patently unnecessary. Brennan went on to write that it was an expectation that no American state would pass a law that would seem to undermine any of the four principals, such that all decisions made in court involving the eighth amendment would consider all the these principles. The punishments for which according to the eighth amend were forbidden regardless of the crime committed would include any form of disemboweling, public dissecting, drawing and quartering or burning alive. This in relation to the four Brennan principles where punishments that were totally rejected throughout the society. In the cases of Atkins vs. Virginia 536 U.S. 304 of 2002 the supreme court declared executing mentally handicapped people fell in the forbidden punishments and also in the case of Roper vs. Simmons 543 U.S. 551 of 2005 where the court ruled that executing people under18 years was a violation of the eighth amendment regardless of the crime committed by the perpetrator. Punishments that were forbidden for certain crimes included cases in which the court had to overturn punishments such as the cadena temporal which mandated that â€Å"hard and painful labor† shackling are done away with while in the process of incarceration or when faced with civil disabilities that were permanent. The case mentioned above took place in 1910 and was often seen as a means of establishing some proportionality when applying the eighth amendment. In some other cases it was ruled that punishing a natural-born American citizen for any crime by taking away his citizenship was perceived to be unconstitutional and primitive as it involved completely damaging the persons status in the society. In a case involving Coker vs. Virginia 433 U.S. 584 of 1977 the court at the time clearly stated that the imposition of a death penalty or rape was totally unconstitutional and that applied to any other case where death did not occur. It went ahead to clarify that rape crimes by d efinition do not include either death or even any serious body harm to the other person. Excessive fines For many years the United States Supreme Court never had much to say when the subject of excessive fines was mentioned. In one early case the Supreme Court had no power to revise any judgments passed by a lower court as regards the subject of heavy fines being imposed on someone. In later years the need to need to review the amount of fines levied on a person because it always led to the imprisonment just because the person was unable to raise the amount imposed on him/her by the court. In a step meant to ensure equal citizen protection the court found a way to put to meaning the words â€Å"excessive fines† when compared to the person for whom the judgment is meant to affect. But the court also ruled out applying the above clause could not be applied to cases involving private cases where the government had not been involved in the prosecution nor was it to receive any share of any of the awarded damages. This decision was based on the intention for which the excessive fines clause was meant for. The court clearly stated that at the time when the eighth amendment was adopted into the united states constitution the word ‘fine was taken to refer to any payment that would have to be made to sovereign entity for an offence committed. THE court left open the decision as to whether the clause could be applied to qui tam actions or cases involving civil penalties but at the same time it concluded that the excessive fines clause was initially intended to affect the fines that were only imposed by one payable to the government. In cases involving any civil forfeiture the excessive fines clause could be applied. The meaning of the clause as it regards to the quantum punishment of any particular offences when it is independent of the ability of the offender to pay the fine imposed on him still awaits the result of legal proceedings. Excessive bail In England it was the duty of the sheriffs to decide whether or not a person deserved to be granted bail. Due to the continual abuse of power by the sheriffs the government back then released a statute that clearly categorized the bailable and the non-bailable offences. But these statutes could be subverted according to the decision of the Kings judges. According to the law then a person could be held without bail depending on the commands of the sovereign authority. It was often argued that the King did not have the authority to make such decisions and this led to the infringement of human rights when people were intentionally kept in prison despite having committed bailable offences. This and many more ambiguities were eventually put to an end by the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. After the Habeas Act was passed judges were faced with the decision to set the bail amounts but they often posed some amounts that were impracticable. It was until the year 1689 that the English bill of right s forbids the demand of excessive rights but a further amendment to distinguish between bailable and non bailable offences was needed. Bail is said to be excessive and in violation of the Eighth amendment if the value to which it is set is higher when compared to the reasonably calculated value that is aimed at ensuring the governments asserted interest. The aim of setting bail is said to be as a guarantee that the person who is accused is going to present himself for trial and accept the sentence that is handed down to him and no more. In order for a person to be able to challenge the amount of bail imposed on him he must move for a reduction. If the reduction is denied then the court of appeals followed by the Supreme Court can overrule the decision. The eight amendment could not be applied to post convicted release cases that await appeal but it is normal practice to grant leases in such cases. Bail is seen to uphold the presumption of innocence before a person is tried acquired only after centuries of struggle. The excessive bail clause adopted by the United States constitution from the English bill of rights had slight changes made on it. In the England act there was no provision that stated that one had the right to bail at all times but only provided that the bail amount imposed on a person was not to be excessive in the cases that bail could be granted. The governments argued that the amount of bail imposed was not to be excess when compared to the weight of the crime committed by the person. Conclusion The eighth amendment to the United States Constitution was a good step in defining various issues that surrounded judgments passed onto persons since time in memorial. It is aimed at eliminating the infringement of the basic human rights as it regulated the amount of punishment that one could be given based on the offence. In the years before the amendment could be done peoples rights were sometimes stepped on as some of the judgments passed amounted to torture on the person. This is in a way seems to bring fairness in the judicial System of the United States. This amendment protected people from situations where the amount of bails, fines imposed on the person could not match the perception of the crime committed. The American constitution is supposed to ensure a stable and responsible government. It is generally supposed to protect the rights of the American citizens even against infringement by the government itself. this is exactly what the eighth amendment went on to do, making every citizen equal before the law and making sure every citizen gets a fair judgment based on the crime committed, whether it regards the bail set or the amount of fine one is asked to produce. References Bamonte, T. J. (1981) Journal of Law and Criminology: Eighth Amendment- A significant limit on federal court activism in ameliorating state. USA: Northwestern University School of Law. Eighth Amendment. (2009, June). Eighth Amendment. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e082.htm Find Law. (2009, June). U.S Constitution Eighth Amendment. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment08/ Haney, C. (1997). Psychology and the limits to prison pain: Confronting the coming crisis in Eighth Amendment. New York: American Psychological Association. Harr, J. S. (2008). Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System. USA: American Press Association Introduction the Eighth Amendment (2009, July). AN OVERVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCILES RELEVANT TO CAPITAL CASES. Retrieved October5, 2009, http://www.capdefnet.org/hat/contents/intro_to_8th/3_intro_to_8th.htm Welzmuller, M. (2000). The death penalty – legal cruelty. USA:

Hitchcock’s Use of Technical Signatures in his Film Vertigo Essay

Hitchcock’s Use of Technical Signatures in his Film Vertigo The films of Alfred Hitchcock provide some of the best evidence in favor of the auteur theory. Hitchcock uses many techniques that act as signatures on his films, enabling the viewer to possess an understanding of any Hitchcock film before watching it. His most famous signature is his cameo appearance in each of his films, but Hitchcock also uses more technical signatures like doubling, visual contrast, and strategically placed music to create suspense. Hitchcock’s use of doubles is apparent throughout most of his films. In Vertigo, the image of Madeline and Scotty’s passionate embrace is repeated several times during the film. In Scotty’s life, Hitchcock also places many instances of doubles, such as the two women he loves, Madeline’s dual roles as two different women throughout the plot, and the two identical deaths of the women he witnesses. Doubling is also apparent between Madeline and the fictional Carlotta, especially in the scene in the art museum, where the flowers, the hairstyle, and the position of Madelin...

Analysis of Gender Roles in Macbeth

In many cultures, such as European in society, women are perceived as the primary caretaker of the home among other oppressive notions that pertain to them. They were in charge of organizing social events, maintaining the family’s reputation, cooking, and cleaning occasionally with assistance from their children. They were considered to be of less value than their male counterparts and, thus, were not permitted the opportunity to have a role in politics, religion, and society. Since the time of Shakespeare, the majority of gender inequities in society have been abolished, and a new era of complete equality is on the horizon.However, there are barriers of ignorance, whose sole purpose is to hinder progression, that people have yet to break. Women have made efforts to gain equality in society since the 1800’s as seen by the writer and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the first great feminist treatise. It listed and discussed her grievances concerning gender inequality and had a total influence on the art of travel writing as well as the Romantic Movement.A sign of this progress in society, other than women’s introduction into several facets of society (i. e. entertainment, business, politics, etc. ), is the adoption of gender role reversal, partly due to its comedic portrayal in television but also its necessity in some homes. As expected, there were some who were more conservative towards gender equality such as, William Shakespeare which was seen in his gruesome play, Macbeth that used this idea of general role reversal to oppose this idea.Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show the first instances of this peculiar gender role reversal, which occurs exceptionally early in the play when Macbeth is conflicted with the choice of either killing Duncan as according to the plan or spare his life as he begins to see the true wickedness of this act. Here Macbeth exhibits weakness, an inability to do something treac herous and soul sullying that was relatively common for men to do in plays written by the likes of Shakespeare.Because Shakespeare has established what he believes to be a typical man and woman in his assortment of plays, for example Romeo and Juliet, one can definitively claim that Macbeth is acting exceptionally feminine during this section of the play. Lady Macbeth demonstrates her masculinity as she taunts and ridicules Macbeth for even considering terminating their plan to kill Duncan, â€Å"excerpt†. She even goes as far as suggesting killing him herself if it weren’t for the fact that Duncan resembles her father; however, she compensates for her inability to kill Duncan by placing the bloody knife in the hands of the unsuspecting servants.This role reversal is accentuated by Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy that was essentially her grievances of being a lady and her burning desire to become a man because men have the inherent ability to be dastardly, â€Å"excer pt†. While her motives for unsexification are not the most benevolent, the fact that the only method of obtaining equal mental capacity to men is to physically be a man, which at the time meant being born as one or, evidently, replacing breast milk with gall, is Shakespeare explicitly exhibiting his misogynistic notions.Aside from the subliminal sexism seen throughout the play, Shakespeare’s project pertaining to traditional gender roles is seen as the play progresses, but the true message is exhibited nearing end of the play when Lady Macbeth’s guilt induced insanity causes her to commit suicide and Macbeth’s head is decapitated. Macbeth can easily be seen as either an elongated Direct T. V. commercial—if you reverse gender roles you will go insane. When you go insane, you will be hospitalized. When you are hospitalized, you commit suicide. Don’t commit suicide.Stay with tradition—or a 17th century PSA warning the public about what ha ppens if man and a woman choose to act as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do. Shakespeare obviously believes in traditional views concerning gender hierarchy, the questionable element of it, though, is how he conveyed this message. The consequences of both Lady Macbeth attempting to adopt the role of a man and Macbeth’s seemingly unintentional femininity were gruesome and grotesque that was used to convey a relatively simple idea; this passionate conveyance has several potential explanations.The first is, because Shakespeare’s plays are suffused with suicide, murder, and death in general, the reader is seeing an integration of gender role reversal with his style of writing which happens to produce a feminist’s nightmare. Shakespeare could have been modestly incorporating this idea into his play but it appeared to the audience as something more. Second is that the catastrophic ending was not unintentional but was for all intents and purpose to scare people into never tr ying to break tradition.Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s demise was due to their non-conformity; therefore, if one were to do as Lady Macbeth and Macbeth did, they would suffer the same consequences. Either way, an underlying theme in the play, if not the most prominent, is that chaos will ensue if the most intrinsic system of humanity is upset, thus, making Macbeth a cautionary tale for all women who dare challenge the system in an attempt to gain rights. However, some are oblivious to the blatant sexism and believe that any implication of this is simply being misinterpreted.

Free Essays on Hiroshima Bombing

Should we constantly be reminded of the memories of disasters such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and September 11th? My thesis for this essay is that yes everyone should always remember the aforementioned tragic events. My main three main reasons for taking this position are that the world should not forgive and not forget, some people can not bring themselves to remember the events only because it hurt them so badly, but events as major as these need to be remembered. Finally, that since the tragedies have taken place people have come together more as one unified society. By forgiving and not forgetting about what happened in the countries past can only make a nation stronger. If society as a whole put these events in the back of our minds for good and never thought or grieved about it then we would be susceptible to more attacks. However, if there are constant memorials being erected and candles being lit to show that people remember and did not forget about those lost for their efforts, by doing so it would show that society, as a whole would be stronger by simply remembering. By forgetting about the past events only makes the nation a bigger target for more terror and tragedy. I consider the bombing of Hiroshima one of the most crucial and pivotal points in history. While it was a gruesome act it needed to be done to end an on going war. If it were not for the bombing, who is to say how long the war could have gone for. One of the main reasons to remember something as tragic as Hiroshima is that it could have changed the face of history forever. Furthermore, I know I do not like thinking of depressing things, or for example a death in the family is what I consider a tragic event as well. Even though it is a depressing and sad thought, people still need to keep our past in our minds for the future. John Berger says it best in his essay Hiroshima about how evil and terrible the thoughts about these events are â€Å"Nobody can confront the ... Free Essays on Hiroshima Bombing Free Essays on Hiroshima Bombing Should we constantly be reminded of the memories of disasters such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and September 11th? My thesis for this essay is that yes everyone should always remember the aforementioned tragic events. My main three main reasons for taking this position are that the world should not forgive and not forget, some people can not bring themselves to remember the events only because it hurt them so badly, but events as major as these need to be remembered. Finally, that since the tragedies have taken place people have come together more as one unified society. By forgiving and not forgetting about what happened in the countries past can only make a nation stronger. If society as a whole put these events in the back of our minds for good and never thought or grieved about it then we would be susceptible to more attacks. However, if there are constant memorials being erected and candles being lit to show that people remember and did not forget about those lost for their efforts, by doing so it would show that society, as a whole would be stronger by simply remembering. By forgetting about the past events only makes the nation a bigger target for more terror and tragedy. I consider the bombing of Hiroshima one of the most crucial and pivotal points in history. While it was a gruesome act it needed to be done to end an on going war. If it were not for the bombing, who is to say how long the war could have gone for. One of the main reasons to remember something as tragic as Hiroshima is that it could have changed the face of history forever. Furthermore, I know I do not like thinking of depressing things, or for example a death in the family is what I consider a tragic event as well. Even though it is a depressing and sad thought, people still need to keep our past in our minds for the future. John Berger says it best in his essay Hiroshima about how evil and terrible the thoughts about these events are â€Å"Nobody can confront the ...

Free Essays on Sociologists Choose To Base Their Research On Secondary Sources

Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose to base their research on secondary sources Secondary sources contain data that has already been produced, often by other people besides sociologists. Examples of secondary data would be documents such as letters, dairies and autobiographies produced by individuals. Sociologists often also use secondary data produces by the government and organisations such as trade union, charities and various other companies. The secondary data used can be either contemporary or historical and the data available from them may be either primarily quantitative or qualitative. Also when sociologists refer to other sociological studies, it is defined as using secondary sources. In this essay I will be exploring the factors that lead to sociologists using secondary sources rather then primary sources. There are many forms of secondary data, one of which being historical documents. Sociologists who wish to study social change that takes place over a long period of time view historical documents as having a very vital importance. An area in particular where historical sources have been considered of great importance is the study of family life. Peter Laslett (1972) used parish records to help him discover how common nuclear and extended families were in pre-industrial England. The data used proved most useful in clearing the assumption that extended families were the norm in pre-industrial Britain. Without historical documents, sociologists such as Max Weber (1958) would have been unable to conduct studies such as the influence of religion on the development of capitalism, and Michael Mann (1986) would not have had the resources to conduct a study on the relationship between different sources of social power throughout history. Michael Anderson also used historical sources to cond uct his research on the family but due to the fact that he only obtained data from one town, his results could be described... Free Essays on Sociologists Choose To Base Their Research On Secondary Sources Free Essays on Sociologists Choose To Base Their Research On Secondary Sources Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose to base their research on secondary sources Secondary sources contain data that has already been produced, often by other people besides sociologists. Examples of secondary data would be documents such as letters, dairies and autobiographies produced by individuals. Sociologists often also use secondary data produces by the government and organisations such as trade union, charities and various other companies. The secondary data used can be either contemporary or historical and the data available from them may be either primarily quantitative or qualitative. Also when sociologists refer to other sociological studies, it is defined as using secondary sources. In this essay I will be exploring the factors that lead to sociologists using secondary sources rather then primary sources. There are many forms of secondary data, one of which being historical documents. Sociologists who wish to study social change that takes place over a long period of time view historical documents as having a very vital importance. An area in particular where historical sources have been considered of great importance is the study of family life. Peter Laslett (1972) used parish records to help him discover how common nuclear and extended families were in pre-industrial England. The data used proved most useful in clearing the assumption that extended families were the norm in pre-industrial Britain. Without historical documents, sociologists such as Max Weber (1958) would have been unable to conduct studies such as the influence of religion on the development of capitalism, and Michael Mann (1986) would not have had the resources to conduct a study on the relationship between different sources of social power throughout history. Michael Anderson also used historical sources to cond uct his research on the family but due to the fact that he only obtained data from one town, his results could be described...

Power, Ethnicity and Sexuality in Kehinde and A Distant Shore Essay

Power, Ethnicity and Sexuality in Kehinde and A Distant Shore - Essay Example The essay compares two novels written in the backdrop of immigration of Africans towards England and their efforts to settle down in the English society. The novel A Distant Shore has been written by a British writer and novelist with Caribbean background2 Carly Phillips in 2003. The other novel is Kehinde penned by an African novelist 3Dr. Buchi Emecheta in 1994. Both of these novels depict the themes of displacement, ethnicity and power. There writings are focused upon the tales of the people striving to adjust in the England after facing harsh circumstances at their home town. The novel A Distant Shore deals with the complex changes occurred within the socio-political system of England over the course of time4. There are several themes depicted within the story told in the novel however, the themes of ethnicity, displacement and power dominate the story. As the story progresses the theme of ethnicity and power starts dominating the tale of African immigrant Solomon and female midd le age piano teacher Dorothy. The two main characters of the story developed friendly relationship that was not accepted in the society and eventually Solomon was killed to end their friendship5. The novel depicts the role of powerful racist groups in the English society and shows how lives of people from minority ethnic groups are threaten by the powerful and dominating racial groups.

Court analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Court analysis - Essay Example language of the court, are provided interpreters by the Courts who interpret the language of the accused and the defendant in order to come to the bottom of the case. The judge relies heavily on the language used by the interpreter in order to write down his judgment and provide his theory of justice with respect to the pertaining case. One of the major shortcomings of this process off later has been privatization. In the current context the process of interpreting the dialogue of an accused or a witness inside the Court has bee privatized in most of the countries as of today, including England. And there have been some negative results of this trade, as the courts are not satisfied that the kind of work these private agencies are doing is upto the minimum standard of the Courts. It has also been alleged that those who all are working as interpreters in the Court of England have been handled very badly and have not been treated well enough by the agency, which hired them. One of the other trends, which have been significant off late in the field of interpretation services in Courts, is the fact that the art of Court interpretation has been heavily institutionalized by the private sector. The private sector has been playing the dominant role in making this process completely seamless in the way it functions. The future management issues pertaining to interpretation of language in Courts consists of improving the pay scale of the interpreters along with trying to include more and more people into the institution who are well qualified to take up the job of interpretation. The future requires a well-qualified stream of interpreters who are able to take up the job of interpretation in an extremely skilled and smart manner. These interpreters should have a judicial knowledge of the laws pertaining to the case and should be able to give the judge an unbiased and honest view of the case. It is imperative to have skilled interpreters who are able to take up this