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Annenberg Classroom

Death Penalty

Is the death penalty an effective deterrent to crime or a violation of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment? The Supreme Court has issued many rulings over the years as it struggles to determine when a death sentence is constitutional.

4 resources available

Video

The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution protects against “cruel and unusual punishment” for those convicted of crimes. But what makes a punishment cruel or unusual? Who decides, and how? This film explores the concept of “evolving standards of decency,” specifically as it applies to the death penalty for juvenile offenders.

Video

The Story of the Bill of Rights

The story about the struggle over the Bill of Rights is told in this documentary, which explains how these individual freedoms that often are taken for granted today were controversial among the founding fathers and how they were eventually ratified. Ten short videos address each of the amendments.

Book

Chapter 21: The Right to Protection against Cruel and Unusual Punishments

In February 2006, an inmate in California was minutes away from execution when two doctors assigned to monitor his death suddenly refused to participate. They protested the use of a three-drug cocktail designed to put the condemned man to sleep before he received the heart-stopping dose.

Timeline

Eighth Amendment

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