Is the death penalty Constitutional?
The execution last week in Texas of Betty Lou Beets for the murder of her husband has put capital punishment in the headlines again. Many critics of the death penalty argue that it is unconstitutional because it violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishments. What should be made of these arguments? What is the definition of “cruel and unusual” and does the death penalty fall under that definition? You correctly note that the 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution forbids punishments that are “cruel and unusual.” Various legal interpretations of the meaning of “cruel and unusual” have been offered, but generally the term “cruel” is taken to mean excessively painful or brutal. Punishments such as torture and dismemberment seem to clearly fall under this heading. “Unusual” has generally been understood to mean a punishment that is not usually associated with a particular crime but which is nonetheless applied arbitrarily in some cases. If nine of
