th
8
Amendment
"Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted."
3 Distinct Clauses:
Excessive Bail Clause
Excessive Fines Clause
Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause
Such as…
Take a look at some real cases
Cruel and
Unusual?
or
Don’t do the
crime if you can’t
do the time?
8th - Punishments for crimes be in proportion to the crime committed
This poor guy…Titus Oates.
Oates was tried and convicted of
lying in court.
History
 Magna Carta
 English Bill of
Rights
His punishment:
• Imprisonment
• An annual ordeal which
included being confined in a
pillory for two days and one day
of being whipped while tied to a
moving cart.
Though the punishments
were ordinary, they became
extraordinary and excessive
due to their repetition year
after year.
**Several
people had
been
executed as
a result of
his untrue
statements
in court
POPISH
PLOT
th
8
Amendment
"Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted."
3 Distinct Clauses:
Excessive Bail Clause
Excessive Fines Clause
Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause
Such as…
Excessive Bail Clause
What is bail?
Def: an amount of money that must be
given to a court by a person accused
of a crime in order for them to be able
to leave the jail before the trial (a
PROMISE).
- If the person doesn't show up for his
trial, then he forfeits the money he
gave as bail.
- If the person shows up on their trial
date, the bail money is returned to
them.
How is bail determined?
#1 – Bail Rate Schedule (differs)
THEN TAKE INTO
CONSIDERATION
- Severity of the Crime
May deny if danger to the
community
- Prior Criminal History
Priors – higher (or non-existent)
How is bail determined con’t?
- Flight Risk
If YES – increase bail or deny
- ex: Turn over passports, pilot’s license, etc…
But if you have TIES TO THE COMMUNITY –
probably not
- Released on their own recognizance –
what is that?
If judge thinks person is a NOT a flight risk, they
don’t have a criminal history, and the crime is not
viewed as a violent crime and not a risk to
community
Merely sign a statement – they will return for trial
IF NOT – ARREST WARRANT!
- Financial Resources
How do you afford that?
That’s when you call these guys – BAIL BONDSMAN
Will LOAN the money FOR A FEE
How much does a bail bond cost?
The cost of bail bonds are state regulated and will
vary. In many instances, the average cost is 10%
of the bond amount with travel fees, constable fees
How long does it take to get
and court fees an additional expense.
out of jail?
30 minutes or as long as 48
hours.
Have to give something as collateral
Collateral is something of value placed with the
bail agent which may be sold in the event of
forfeiture of the bond (house, apartment, etc…)
.
If the person doesn’t show
up for trial, the bondsman
loses his money as well… not
a happy guy.
Who does the Bail Bondman call…?
THE BOUNTY HUNTERS
aka Fugitive Recovery Agents
Will find the
person and
RETURN them
to the jail so
that the
Bondsman
can get
money back.
Most well-known Dog Fugitive…Andrew Luster
 He had been convicted in
absentia on 86 counts including
multiple rape charges connected to
assaults in 1996, 1997 and 2000
 Dog and his team to Mexico (living
under an assumed name
 Captured Luster
Serial rapist
Heir to Max Factor
Cosmetics Fortune
Had fled the United States
in the middle of his trial
 On their way to California, while still
in Mexico, they were pulled over by
Mexican police, and all four of them
were jailed.
 Once the authorities confirmed
Luster's identity, he was sent to
California to face his 124-year
sentence.
Want to be a Bounty Hunter in PA?
 Pennsylvania has 2 types of agent certification:
Firearms and other lethal weapons.
To qualify - at least 18 years old
Undergo a complete physical and psychological
evaluation.
Background check
$$ How much will I make?
Paid a percentage of the total
bail, usually 5-10%.
For example, if you recover a
fugitive with a $5,000 bail,
You cannot have a conviction of any violent crime.
you can expect to make $500.  When your application process is complete, you will
$3 million bail - $150,000
need to attend a certified lethal weapons training
program. There are dozens of schools certified by the
state to teach the classes.
 You can have your training waived if you have been a
law enforcement officer, taken previous classes or
received similar training.
 Pennsylvania requires that you be recertified every 5 years
to carry a lethal weapon or firearm.
 Application fees and certification training will cost
you at least $400. If you are already employed by a
bail bond company, they may help you with the
expense.
 Graduating with a degree in criminal justice, sociology
or public administration is helpful if you are interested
in being a bounty hunter in Pennsylvania. .
Excessive Fines Clause
United States v.
Bajakajian, (1998)
1993 – Family had attempted to leave the US
with $357,144 without reporting this to
customs officials as required by law
reporting of all international movements of
currency with value in excess of $10,000.
The US Government sought forfeiture
of the entirety of the $357,144.
A United States district court judge found the
forfeiture of the whole $357,144 to be grossly
disproportionate and in violation of the Eighth
Amendment.
He ordered forfeiture of $15,000 in addition to
the maximum fine of $5,000 and three years
probation for failure to report.
Gov’t – Appellate Court – SAME RULING
 Prevents judges from
levying excessive fines
 In actuality, fines are
rarely overturned by
higher courts unless the
judge abused his
discretion when imposing
the fine.
Gov’t  Supreme Court
Decision: For Bajakaijian
Michael Raab celebrating on
the steps of the United States
Supreme Court after argument
in US v. Bajakajian, where Mr.
Raab wrote the winning legal
briefs.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause
 The 8th Amendment
requires that
punishments for crimes
be in proportion to the
crime committed.
Punishments that are
far greater than the
crime should demand
can be overturned by a
higher court.
For example, the courts have ruled
that the death penalty is out of
proportion to any other crime than one
where a murder is committed, except
for crimes against the government
such as treason and spying.
Herbert Hans Haupt
22 years old - electric chair
Why not other crimes
besides murder?
Supreme Court recently
addressed this issue
As it relates to crimes
against individuals,
though, the death
penalty should not be
expanded to instances
where the victim’s life
was not taken.
-Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing
for the majority in Kennedy v.
Louisiana
In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court in Coker v.
Georgia held that the death penalty for the
rape of an adult was "grossly
disproportionate" and an "excessive
punishment," and hence was
unconstitutional under the Eighth
Amendment.
Some states passed new laws allowing the
death penalty for the rape of a child.
In 2007, the Louisiana Supreme Court
upheld the death sentence for Patrick
Kennedy for the rape of his step-daughter,
LOUISIANA v. KENNEDY
Struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on
June 25, 2008.
This decision held that the death penalty
would be disproportionate for any offense
against an individual that did not involve
death of the victim.
 The courts have also ruled
that if a sentence is
inhuman, outrageous, or
shocking to the social
conscience, it is a cruel
and unusual punishment
under the 8th Amendment.
 Such things as burning at
the stake, castration,
crucifixion, breaking on
the wheel, cutting off
body parts and so on, fall
into this category.
Saw Torture
The Judas Cradle
Spanish Donkey
Rat Torture
The Brazen Bull
Hanged, drawn, and
quartered
Is this cruel & unusual punishment?
The Debate over the Death Penalty and Limitations
There are some people who
believe all death penalties
constitute a cruel and unusual
punishment.
Others disagree, believing that
death is an appropriate
punishment in some cases.
Even so, the death
penalty is "cruel
and unusual" if
there are
mitigating factors
that would prohibit
death as a
punishment
Those who CANNOT
receive the Death Penalty
Juveniles
 Thompson v. Oklahoma (1986)
 Juveniles must be at least 16
years of age at the time of the
crime, to receive the DP.
 Roper v. Simmons (2004)
 A person must now be at least
18 years of age at the time of
the crime, to receive the DP.
 ALSO… [in 2010] the Court ruled
that a sentence of life without the
chance for parole, for any crime
besides murder, is cruel and
unusual punishment if the
accused is under the age of 18.
George Stinney
age 14
 The youngest person executed in the
United States in the 20th century.
 Convicted in a 2- hour trial of the firstdegree murder of two pre-teen white girls
Scott Allen Hain
Executed – 2003 (age 32)
 Was the last
person executed in
the United States for
crimes committed as a
minor.
 Double murder–
kidnapping he committed
when he was 17 years old.
Those who CANNOT receive
the Death Penalty
Intellectual Disability (formerly Mental
Retardation). (Atkins v. VA, 2001)
Daryl Renard Atkins was convicted of
abduction, armed robbery, and capital
murder.
During Atkins' trial, the defense relied on
one witness, a forensic psychologist, who
testified that Atkins was mildly mentally
retarded ( IQ of 59) .
Supreme Court - executing mentally
retarded individuals violates the Eighth
Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual
punishments, but states can define who is
mentally retarded (IQ less than 70.)
Those who CANNOT receive the Death Penalty
Mentally insane. (Ford v. Wainwright, 1986)
 Alvin Bernard Ford was convicted of murder of police
officer in 1974 and sentenced to death
 In 1982, while on death row, Ford's mental health
diminished to a point resembling paranoid
schizophrenia
 Ford began referring to himself as Pope John Paul
III
 Reported that he thwarted a vast Ku Klux
Klan conspiracy to bury dead prisoners inside the
prison walls
 Claimed he foiled an attempt by prison guards to
torture his female relatives inside the prison
 Claimed he would be personally appointing nine
new justices to the Florida Supreme Court.
 Claimed he was "free to go whenever [he] wanted",
because Ford theorized that anyone who executed him
would in turn be executed
In 1986, the Supreme
Court ruled that states
may not execute
prisoners who are
insane because they
cannot comprehend
why they are being
punished.
 Died of natural causes in his cell age 37
What if you are Wrongfully Accused?
 http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/25/justice/wrongful-conviction-payments/index.html
Wrongfully Accused?
240 people on Death
Row have been
exonerated through
DNA testing
nationwide
40% have not received
any form of assistance
after their release.
Only 27 states
compensate the
wrongfully convicted
PA – NO MONEY
AWARDED
Existing compensation laws vary
widely:
Federal Crimes: a wrongfully imprisoned
individual can receive a maximum
of $50,000 per year of wrongful
incarceration with an additional $50,000
for each year spent on death row
State Law DIFFERS:
Flat maximum total of $20,000
regardless of the number of years spent
wrongfully imprisoned
$20,000 - $80,000 per year
$50 per day (incarcerated)
$1 million limit
TO NO LIMIT (TEXAS - $6 million
compensation)
Ex: Other states deny assistance
falsely confessed or pled guilty
Is Lethal Injection, cruel & unusual?
Basics of Lethal injection
I. Consists of:
Sodium Thiopental (lethal dose—sedates person)
Pancuronium Bromide (muscle relaxant—collapses
diaphragm and lungs)
Potassim Chloride (stops heart beat)
II. Usually pronounced dead approx. 7 minutes after
LJ begins.
III. Cost per execution for drugs used: $86.08.
IV. Cost of one appeal to Ct. of Crim. Appls.:
$40,000+
Average time on Death Row : 10.43
years.
Cost per day in prison per
offender: $62.00
Is Lethal Injection, cruel & unusual?
THE CASE
Baze v. Rees (2008)
 Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling were sentenced to death
in Kentucky, and argued that executing them by lethal
injection would violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition
of cruel and unusual punishment.
 The governing legal standard required that lethal injection
must not inflict "unnecessary pain", and Baze and Bowling
argued that the lethal chemicals Kentucky used carried an
unnecessary risk of inflicting pain during the execution.
United States Supreme Court
upheld the constitutionality of
a particular method of lethal
injection
Baze and Bowling are still on
death row
What happens if it doesn’t work the first time?
Recently - Clayton Darrell Lockett
April 29, 2014
Suffered a heart attack after a failed
execution by lethal injection
Convicted in 2000 of murder, rape, and kidnapping
U.S. District
Judge Stephen P.
Friot rejected
arguments
Give larger dose
Lockett was administered an untested mixture of
drugs that had not previously been used
for executions in the United States.
Although the execution was stopped, Lockett
died 43 minutes after being sedated.
He writhed, groaned, convulsed, and spoke
during the process and attempted to rise from
the execution table fourteen minutes into the
procedure, despite having been declared
unconscious
Following Lockett's death, a fourteen-day stay of
execution was granted for Charles Frederick Warner,
an Oklahoma convict who had been scheduled for
execution two hours after Lockett with the same
combination of drugs.
21 Death Row inmates filed suit afterwards