Amendment+8W4

=** __The Eighth Amendment__ **= =** By: Taylor Erdman and Gabriella Gentile **=




 * Focus Questions: **
 * 1. What issues prompted the creation of your amendment? (TE) **
 * 2. What impact did your amendment have on society at that time? (GG) **

Definition - **Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. **


 * 10 Research Questions: **


 * 1. What happens if a crime is committed by the president? **

It depends on what crime the president committed or what the president is convicted of. Say the president is convicted of stealing a car. First, they need to find the evidence that convicts the president. In this particular case, the evidence could be the stolen car. Then, they can either impeach the president or let him go (stay president). (Taylor Erdman)

Citation: https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-a-US-President-was-convicted-of-a-crime-and-sentenced-to-jail




 * 2.What happens if you are charged for a crime and the bail is set, but you cannot pay the bail? **

If you cannot pay bail, you have some options available (other then staying in jail). You may be able to get a bail bond. A bail bond allows the accused to get out of jail and await a trial in the free world. Another option is signature bond. If you are able to convince the judge that you will be present for your upcoming court dates and that you are not a threat to your community, the judge may give you a signature bond. (Taylor Erdman)

Citation: https://www.legal-aid.org/en/las/kyr/bail.aspx




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3. Who sets bail and how do they determine the amount of bail? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The judge of the trial or case sets bail and determines the amount of bail as well. The judge decides the amount of bail by how serious the crime is. For example, if you murder someone, the bail of that crime will be much higher than if you steal something from a retail store or forge someone's signature. (Taylor Erdman)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-bail-set.html




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">4. What would happen if the police violate your rights even though you committed a crime? **

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Even though a person committed a crime, they still have rights. If a persons rights are violated there are steps for one to follow. 1 Write everything down that the police says 2 Consult with an attorney because in the Miranda rights you have the write to an attorney, 3 File a police misconduct report because you have rights not to be searched without permission from you or a search warrant that the cop presents himself with. (Gabriella Gentile) ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">[]




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">5. Who inspired the Eighth Amendment? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Eighth Amendment was inspired by Titus Oates. He was tried by the court system for multiple acts of perjury, which ultimately led to the executions of many people. (Gabriella Gentile)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://constitution.laws.com/8th-amendment




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">6. What were some of the positive and negative effects once the eighth amendment was passed? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some positive effects that happened once the eighth amendment was passed were:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">No one could be charged for silly and unreasonable actions (stealing a candy bar)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">People had options if they could not pay bail
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">If the police violated your rights, you wouldn't have to be arrested
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some punishments were completely forbidden under the eighth amendment (taking a person's citizenship away or painful and hard labor)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">There are rules that abolish some death penalties (firing squad is no longer allowed)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some negative effects that happened once the eighth amendment was passed were:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">If the death penalty loses favor in other countries, the constitutionality of the death penalty would change

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">(Taylor Erdman)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">https://npinopunintended.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/ranking-the-bill-of-rights-number-8-the-eighth-amendment/




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">7. Which states ratified the Eighth Amendment? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The states that ratified this amendment were Maryland (Dec. 19, 1789), North Carolina (Dec. 22, 1789), South Carolina (Jan. 19, 1790), Vermont (Nov. 3, 1791) and Virginia (Dec. 15, 1791). These were the only states that were in agreement of the Eighth Amendment.(Gabriella Gentile)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://constitution.laws.com/8th-amendment = =

= =
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">8. Which states did not ratify the Eighth Amendment? **

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The states that did not ratify this amendment were New Jersey (Nov.20,1789), New Hampshire (Jan.25,1790), Delaware (Jan.25,1790), New York (Feb.27,1790), Pennsylvania (Mar. 10, 1790), and ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Rhode Island (Jun. 7, 1790). (Gabriella Gentile)
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://constitution.laws.com/8th-amendment




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">9. Do some states still have the death penalty today? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Yes some states still use the death penalty but for certain crimes. Some of the states that still have the death penalty are Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona. (Gabriella Gentile)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf




 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">10. What were some of the punishments that were unjust before the amendment? **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">One unjust punishment that was happening before the 8th amendment was passed was the death sentence. The death sentence was made up of more than type of death punishment like the Firing Squad, being hung, and lethal gas and injection. If you committed the crime, you wouldn't just do the time, you were sacrificing your life. A popular and well known punishment was none other then the //electric chair//. If you were chosen to sit in the electric chair, you would be cuffed in and right then and there, they would electrocute you on the spot. These are just some of the many painful punishments that you were sentenced to if you committed a crime. (Taylor Erdman)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/bill_of_rights/media/eight.htm



__**<span style="color: #f70a26; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Focus Questions **__

<span style="color: #fa0522; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">1. Many issues prompted the creation of the Eighth Amendment. One of these issues was the death penalty. The death penalty killed many people over the time era it existed. When the Eighth Amendment came into play, the death penalty became abolished, with the exception of necessary times. Another issue was that executive bail was needed before this amendment. In addition, many of the punishments were "cruel and unusual". "Cruel and unusual" meaning that the punishments did not always fit the crime. This Amendment resolved many or all or these issues, so this amendment was clearly needed for the sake of our country. <span style="color: #fc0514; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">(Taylor Erdman)

<span style="color: #fc0514; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">2. Before the Eighth Amendment was brought into effect, a lot of people were being punished for crimes whether it was small or big. For example, Titus Oates was beaten and tied up for two days for lying. After the Eighth Amendment was established the constitution forbids any cruel punishments, as well as bails that are set for a ridiculous amount for any crime that was committed or that was suspected to be committed. (Gabriella Gentile)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For more <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">information <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;"> on the Eighth Amendment, you can go to the following links:

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbwyoaW1J6s <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EghKqUdBsyc

**__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Current Events __**
[]

According to a CNN article on the death penalty is still relevant throughout the United States today. The death penalty is an example of the eighth amendment because some people feel it is cruel (or unusual). Supplies of lethal injection drugs are running low, so states are coming up with alternatives. Virginia is the latest, its solution- bring back the electric chair. But death penalty supporters are falling. In 1994, almost 80% of Americans supported the death penalty, but it has dropped to 61%, according to a poll last October. That's not to say that some people don't support it. Only 19 states out of 50 do not allow the death penalty! Not by a long shot. In just the last six years, 17 states have executed 242 inmates. That's as of March 24. Three states account for more than half of those: Texas, Florida and Oklahoma. Also, the most common method of death is lethal injection. Lethal injection initially required a three-drug cocktail: The first (sodium thiopental or pentobarbital) puts the prisoner to sleep, the second (pancuronium bromide) brings on paralysis, and the final agent (potassium chloride) stops the heart. In 2010, European drug manufacturers began to ban exports of the cocktail ingredients to the United States. The following year, concerned about the use of sodium thiopental in executions, Illinois-based Hospira stopped making the drug, and Denmark-based Lundbeck banned U.S. prisons from using its pentobarbital. The United Kingdom also introduced a ban on exporting sodium thiopental, and the European Union took an official stance in 2012 with its Regulation on Products used for Capital Punishment and Torture. This is the information I picked up on when I read a CNN article on the death penalty.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The eighth amendment right still relates to events that happen around the world today. Personally, I think the death penalty relates to the eighth amendment because the death penalty is cruel and unusual. Not so much unusual as it is cruel though. The death penalty is unfair. I get that in a way it can be viewed as fair, a life for a life. But no man should be killed under free will. I feel it should be used **RARELY**. Texas is one of the biggest offenders out of all the 50 states. For example, since 2010, Texas has killed approximately 90 people under the death penalty. Compared to Utah, who only had about 1 or 2, that is a preposterous amount of deaths! Another statistic is that lethal injection is the primary means of execution in all 31 death penalty states. In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute an offender via lethal injection. Since then, the United States has carried out 1,425 executions, and only 171 have relied on another method. The death penalty should be revoked in almost every state, only 19 states have revoked it, including New York, New Mexico, Minnesota, and etc. As I stated before, the death penalty is cruel and unusual, but mostly cruel. People are coming up with alternatives. Virginia might bring back the electric chair. Before you know it, the death penalty will have killed over half the population of the U.S. If we stop this sooner, the less harm will come of our country. I think that is why the death penalty relates to the eighth amendment right. These were the thoughts I gathered from this article.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Taylor Erdman