Running head: THE CONSTITUTION AND CRIMINAL LAW 1

The Constitution and Criminal Law

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
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While the United States of America law is multi-faceted, federal government and the

constitution of the United States remain the fundamental forms of its law. The two are

empowered with the sovereign authority. The American constitution is the primary source of

governmental powers in addition to protecting the citizen’s fundamental rights. The present-day

criminal systems has protected the rights of citizens, thus protecting the defendants from

unjustified punishments as criminals are believed to be innocent until they are proven guilty

(Kaplan, Weisberg & Binder, 2014). The eighth American constitution amendment has barred

imposition of harsh punishments on the criminal defendants by the federal government, hence reducing

the severity of punishments once criminal is convicted guilty. This essay will deliberate the current state

of a law and how it has changed from earlier decisions, besides discussing court cases that caused change

in interpretation of law over the years. The essay will also review legal principles used in justification of

changes in interpretation of cases. Lastly, an explanation will be provided regarding whether the current

state of law reflects the clear intent of that law as originally stated in the Constitution.

In the Eighth constitutional amendment, the criminal law requires prohibition of excessive fines

and bails with an intention of protecting lawbreakers against unusual and cruel punishments. This was

formerly intended by the founders of the constitution to guard against what they believed to be unusual

and cruel punishments imposed on lawbreakers ( Hess, Orthmann & Cho, 2014. However, with

constantly changing legal environment, the society’s definition of unusual and cruel punishments has

changed.

In Furman v. Georgia, Furman was discovered by a family member robbing a private home,

while trying to escape, he accidentally slipped and fell down. Consequently, the resident of the home was

murdered Furman’s gun which went off. The court of law approved a death sentence after he was

convicted of murder. However, the court reversed the judgment holding that death penalty imposition

violated eighth and fourteenth constitutional amendments as punishment was cruel and unusual.
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In Gregg v. Georgia, the court affirmed constitutionality of the death sentence penalty imposed to

Georgia, after he was found guilty of murder and armed robbery. The court claimed that eighth and

fourteenth amendments had not been violated because the statute did not constitute a cruel and unusual

punishment (Kaplan, Weisberg & Binder, 2014). Despite Gregg challenging the verdict claiming that

the death sentence was unlawful, the jury maintained its judgment since no amendment was violated.

With eighth and fourteenth constitutional amendments defending citizens’ protection from

unreasonable fines and excessive bails, the debate on unusually and cruelty of punishments has constantly

been changing. Severally, the constitutionality of death sentence has challenged many courts across the

globe over the years. For instance, the existing death penalty laws were invalidated in the case of Furman

v. Georgia because it was instituted as cruel and unusual punishment. According to the courts, the eighth

constitutional amendment discriminated against poor and minority groups. Later on, the court established

in case of Gregg v. Georgia, death sentence was constitutional even without expanding the case in

Furman v. Georgia. It was held that death sentence could reduce possibility of future murder cases.

Georgia’s new capital punishment was supported by the court, as a result, the arbitrary application

witnessed in previous cases was reduced by Georgia’s policies.

Even though the wording of eighth amendment did not change, its interpretation has greatly

changed. The cruel and unusual punishment definition has been scrutinized to take into consideration the

changes in the society. As clearly portrayed by the aforementioned criminal cases, there is different

interpretation of death sentence, the case which is similar to modern-day where different viewpoints exist

regarding the issue. While eighth amendment may appear to shield criminals from severe punishments,

cruel and unusual punishment interpretation remain a matter of question as it depends on the case on

hand. Ideally, eighth Amendment has changed from constitutional originalism concept in definition and

the amendment interpretation. The founders of the constitution intended to protect lawbreakers from

harsh treatment during the litigation process ( Karazivan, 2017), however, in 8th amendment the

originalism concept has greatly evolved and so it will continue to do to match the evolving society.
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References

Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H. L. (2014). Introduction to law enforcement and

criminal justice. Nelson Education.

Kadish, S. H., Schulhofer, S. J., & Barkow, R. E. (2016). Criminal law and its processes: Cases

and materials. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

Kaplan, J., Weisberg, R., & Binder, G. (2014). Criminal law: Cases and materials. Wolters

Kluwer Law & Business.

Karazivan, N. (2017). Constitutional Structure and Original Intent: A Canadian Perspective. U.

Ill. L. Rev., 629.