As the attorney for Joseph, the inmate in Louisiana, I’m writing to defend his 8th amendment rights. Joseph has committed murder, sentencing him to death. In his situation, he was attempting to kill himself but misfired murdering his roommate in the other room. This accident should not be punished by death as it wasn’t attempting. Joseph’s sad and unusual case mustn’t go to the worst stage of punishment and we plead for a life in prison instead of a lethal injection.…
The Carr brothers should have been sentenced separately and given two different hearings. The Eighth Amendment may be unclear whether defendants must be given an individualized trial or not but the court’s Eighth Amendment cases have often insisted that defendants must be given “individualized sentencing” in order for the jury to find “an individualized determination” and decide whether the death penalty is appropriate. The issue is that the court has never insisted for defendants to be sentenced by themselves, at their own hearing, without any co-defendants present.…
The VIII Amendment in The US Constitution specifies that cruel or unusual punishment shall not be used for any person who has committed a crime. This provision is provided in the US Constitution to ensure that even if a person is proven guilty of having committed a crime that the punishments handed down will not be unorthodox, unusual or does not respect the dignity of life. Sharia Law uses extremely unusual measures; for instance, if a person is caught stealing, no matter their gender, shall have their hands cut off if they have done something contrary to the law (Fersch, 2007). Another surprising fact is that there have been situations in which both the victim and their assailant have received the same punishment even though it is very clear…
If the point of the Second Amendment is to allow its citizens to resist an oppressive government, would it mean that the Amendment is entirely obsolete? Modern governments have tanks that fire artillery the size of a human forearm and bombs that could misused on the peop. As gun-control advocates say, we can't fairly interpret the Second Amendment as guaranteeing the people a right to own weapon powerful enough to shoot down planes and obliterate heavy…
The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution states, Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. We know what excessive bail is and excessive fines, but what exactly cruel and unusual punishment? In the middle ages there were many forms of punishment. Some may result in death while others would permanently scar and disfigure someone for the rest of their life. Before the Americas were settled, England used many different forms of punishment, some of which were brought to the Americas. These included flogging “or whipping”, stocks, and the pillory. These acts were considered the norm. This was due greatly to the fact…
Professor Smith introduced and interesting Hobbesian analysis pertaining to a hot button issue in the United states, specifically the second amendment. Seeing that the 2016 presidential elections has is a major topic of conversation, it would be appropriate to attempt to analyze the second amendment discussion using Hobbes’ logic. The class example suggested that the supporter of the second amendment not only believe that one require arms in order to protect themselves, however, fear even moreso the event that the sovereign becomes tyrannical.…
I agree with your conclusions on how the Freedom of Worship in the Texas Constitution and the first amendment are similar and different. I would like to add that the Freedom of Worship says “it shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to protect equally every religious denomination” (Texas Constitution). While the first amendment prevents the government from making laws. I agree that states should have policy that match the United States Constitution. First, if states get to much power than they could try to leave the United States due to their beliefs. Another reason is that states have lots of power that is not in the constitution and the United States Constitution helps the country be more together.…
‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.’…
The 13th Amendment, passed by Congress January 31, 1865, and ratified December 6, 1865, states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The passing of this amendment freed slaves and made it illegal to have slaves, but the 13th Amendment did not give African-Americans the equal rights that they longed for. Consequently, slavery was a major setback for African-Americans leaving them deprived of education, which in the long run made it difficult for African-Americans to obtain any type of power in the United States. This shortfall of education hindered African-Americans from…
Ezekiel was transported in the spirit and describes the experience in Ezekiel 8. He was moved from his dwelling place outside Israel during the captivity and taken some distance to Jerusalem. Phillip experienced a similar thing after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:39). Paul described his trip to heaven, confessing he didn’t know if he was there only in the spirit or in his physical body. (2 Cor. 12:2)…
While this concept of moral permissibility in select circumstances is appealing in its vengefulness, it is categorically wrong. By analyzing torture using the utilitarian, virtue, and rights approaches to ethics, it is easy to see that torture is not, and should never be labeled as, ethically permissible, and the United States should never support or excuse such a heinous practice.…
According to Steven Biko, “the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” This is very true when it comes to the way of the world and torture. This is because torture has been used as a tool since the beginning of history. Since the 18th century B.C., torture has been practiced because of the Code of Hammurabi- an eye for an eye. Moreover, it has been used as a method to control a person or group of people who are seen as a threat (Jayatunge, 2010).This is why some people feel that it is a violation of human rights that has global implications. Ethical theories such as ontological, deontological, utilitarianism and natural laws all have differing viewpoints on whether or not torture can be justified.…
"It is generally assumed that torture is impermissible, a throwback to a more brutal age" (Levin 92). Capital punishment is said to be unconstitutional because people are not the one's to make the choice of life or death; God is. Many people say that torture takes mankind back in civility when people need to be growing intellectually. Perhaps it does set us back to the middle age when people savagely cut off people's hands for steeling and tongues for lying. Today's society needs to concentrate on developing new ways to get along and live in peace with one another. Everyone knows that in today's society peace in greatly needed .…
The right to freedom of religion is of fundamental significance in an open and democratic society. The right to freedom of religion enjoys eminence among the rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The issue that has to be determined in this case is whether the Regulations limit the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The purpose of this paper is to argue that there is an infringement of the right to freedom of religion. Moreover, it will be argued that such limitation with regard to the refusal to grant exemption for a religious special diet and to stop fumigation is unreasonable and unjustifiable in terms of section 36 of the Constitution.…
Torture violates the rights of human dignity of the victim. We all as humans have rights and we should all be respected. Torture treats the victim as a “thing” and not as a person with values. It uses the victim’s body as a tool to get information out of them or to make others feel better. Torture dehumanizes people by treating them as pawns to be manipulated through their pain. It violates the human’s legal right to remain silent when…