Founding Fathers Quotes on Excessive, Cruel or Unusual Punishment in the Eighth Amendment

“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” – Amendment VIII, The U.S. Bill of Rights

Americans argue today about whether or not capital punishment is, in and of itself, cruel and unusual. The Founders would not have recognized it as so. In fact, “cruel and unusual” punishments to them referenced the torturous and disfiguring punishments which were going out of fashion even in their day, but were not too distance of a memory – things like branding, for example.

This Amendment also ensures that you receive reasonable bail and are not fined excessively. Like many other clauses in the Constitution, these are somewhat vague and subjective terms. It’s only through over 200 years of American jurisprudence that we have a firmer idea of what these mean, developed through trial and error, tradition and precedent. Indeed, this Amendment might be the one most subject to the fashions of the times. What is considered “cruel and unusual” in one era might be considered eminently reasonable in another.

“Every man possesses an absolute power over his own liberty and property, but not over his own life. When he becomes a member of political society, he commits the disposal of his liberty and property to his fellow citizens; but as he has no right to dispose of his life, he cannot commit the power over it to any body of men. To take away life, therefore, for any crime, is a violation of the first political compact.” – Benjamin Rush, On Punishing Murder by Death, 1792

“The sword of the law should never fall but on those whose guilt is so apparent as to be pronounced by their friends as well as foes.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Sarah Mease, March 1801

“Penitence must precede pardon.” – John Adams, The Sedition Act, 1798

“Let mercy be the character of the law-giver, but let the judge be a mere machine. The mercies of the law will be dispensed equally and impartially to every description of men; those of the judge, or of the executive power, will be the eccentric impulses of whimsical, capricious designing man.” – Thomas Jefferson to Edward Pendleton, August 26, 1776

“I am now engaged in the most disagreeable part of my duty, trying criminals...Punishment must of course become certain, and mercy dormant – a harsh system, repugnant to my feelings, but nevertheless necessary.” – John Jay, 1778

“That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” – George Mason, Virginia Declaration of Rights, Article 9, June 12, 1776

What's seems fair...probably is. What isn't fair is people walking around....bad people...who the court put back on the street cuz they required no bail.

Benjamin Rush didn't believe in Capital punishment. Nice Doctor.

If I remember correctly...Washington, after being asked for Mercy....meted punishment for a traitor...'Hang'm High".

And we had duels, too. Don't be too self righteous. Society should not pay twice.

I have read that the “cruel and unusual” punishments mentioned meant the medieval slow torture deaths so common back then, not the hangman’s noose or the headsman’s axe.
Whipping posts in the US used to be quite common. All need to be brought back along with “Old Sparky”.
All within 40 days of being found “Guilty”, not 20-30 years later.

Mr. Trump, the State of New York alleges you got more loans than you could reasonably repay. We’re going to take $454 million of your profits from those loans away.

Your honor, don’t you think that if I made $454 million profit by borrowing money, I could repay that money?

My only thought is to try to financially break you for getting in the way of international socialism.

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