Cruel and Unusual Punishments
Definition
These are punishments that cause unnecessary suffering or degrading treatment, prohibited under the Eighth Amendment in US constitution.
Analogy
It’s like if your teacher made you run 10 miles because you forgot to do your homework. That punishment is way too harsh for the mistake – it’s cruel and unusual.
Related terms
Capital Punishment: The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime.
Eighth Amendment: Part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits federal courts from imposing unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants, either as price for obtaining pretrial release or as punishment for crime after conviction.
Incarceration: The state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.
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