27 Amendment Pros And Cons

The first 10 of 27 Amendments of the Constitution were put in place to satisfy the individuals who were afraid of an overpowering government. These Amendments explained the limitation of power that the government had. The 8th Amendment of the Constitution prohibits government from applying excessive bails, excessive fines imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments. Cruel and unusual punishment presumes to be the most controversial portion of this amendment. This portion of the amendment means “…punishment should fit the crime. The intention of this clause was to prevent a court ordering harsh and vindictive forms of chastisement” (http://www.government-and-constitution.org). The punishment, that is imposed for committing a crime, must not outweigh the crime that was conducted. An individual could not be imprisoned for 25 years for
jaywalking. Laws are applied for many reasons, but one main goal is to deter individuals from conducting in the criminal act. To make a conduct an illegal crime, it must consist of an actus reus and mens rea. The acus reus (the actual action) and mens rea (the mindset) must be joined at the same time to be considered a crime. This clause protects citizens from the government employing laws against uncontrollable conducts. The 8th amendment prohibits any state from implementing a law that makes drug addiction illegal. Drug addiction is not a criminal offense but an uncontrollable illness.
To be addicted to something, one must have a physical and mental needy of a specific substance and cannot stop taking it without opposing results. Having an addiction to a drug would eliminate the mens rea that is needed to be considered a crime. Some individuals do not have the options of not being addicted to some type of drugs. Stated in the article, DRUG ADDICTION IS AN ILLNESS, NOT A CRIME, “The child of an addict is 3-5 times more likely to become alcoholic/addict as well; bolstering the data that suggests there is a strong genetic (medical) link.” Being born with an addiction indicates, that addiction is an individual’s status not an act or mindset. The Case Robinson v. California reached the Supreme Court in regards to the violation of the eight amendment due to punishing an individual due to his status. Eugene Temchenko stated “As the Supreme Court explained in Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962), any statute that criminalizes the status of a person inflicts a cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eight and Fourteenth
Amendments.” Merely classifying an individual as a criminal because of their status is discrimination. Although it may be one’s own choice to experiment drugs, it is no longer in their full control to stope once they are addicted. Laws are implemented to stop deter people from conducting acts, but once an individual is addicted to drugs that act of doing drugs is completed.