8th Amendment

Whether a punishment is ruled “cruel and unusual” under the Constitution often depends on the details of the situation.

• True

• False

What the Court says is “cruel and unusual” under the Constitution might be different from your personal idea of cruel.

• True

• False

It’s easy to figure out whether a situation qualifies as “cruel and unusual” punishment.

• True

• False

The 8th Amendment only applies where someone has committed a crime, not in other situations.

• True

• False

The Court has a list of “cruel and unusual” punishments that it uses to decide the cases.

• True

• False

The Court sometimes considers whether officials intended to cause pain and suffering.

• True

• False

The death penalty is considered cruel and unusual as applied to some groups of people but not others.

• True

• False

The Court doesn’t believe any punishment is “cruel and unusual” if someone is a criminal.

• True

• False