The Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment prohibits the government from excessively punishing people.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

This amendment applies to both the federal government and the states. It primarily involves criminal cases, but its protections have often extended to certain civil cases. Though the government may not impose excessive bail (money paid to a court to release an accused person until their trial), eligibility for bail can be restricted in some circumstances, such as when public safety must be considered and releasing an accused person could put people in harm’s way. As the Supreme Court noted in a 1987 case (United States v. Salerno), the Excessive Bail Clause “says nothing about whether bail shall be available at all” and requires only that “the government’s proposed conditions of release or detention not be ‘excessive’ in light of the perceived evil.”

The Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits the government from punishing people in barbaric ways or using methods that differ from standard punishments. The understanding of “cruel and unusual” is often argued in courts. Some people say the clause’s meaning changes with time; others suggest its meaning was fixed when the Constitution was ratified. The Supreme Court has determined that proportionality shapes the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause, meaning the penalty cannot be harsher than the accused’s bad act; in other words, the punishment must fit the crime. However, some Supreme Court justices have disagreed, claiming the Eighth Amendment does not forbid disproportionate penalties.