Amendment VIII

Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment




Annenberg Classroom








Linda Monk


The Eighth Amendment protects the rights of prisoners before they are tried and after they are convicted. It prohibits excessive bail, money or property posted as security to obtain release from jail pending trial. The amendment also bars excessive fines and “cruel and unusual” punishments if the accused is found guilty. An example of constitutional plagiarism, the Eighth Amendment comes almost word for word from the English Bill of Rights of 1689. However, in 1641 the Massachusetts Body of Liberties had also provided for bail and forbade cruel and unusual punishments. Nonetheless, the Puritans allowed the death penalty for blasphemy and used physical punishments such as cutting off ears and branding with a hot iron. According to the Supreme Court, cruel and unusual punishment is defined by “evolving standards of decency.” But Americans continue to debate whether such standards should include the death penalty.

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