Also known as: excessive punishments · cruel and unusual punishment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal sanction that violates the Eighth Amendment because it is grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense. Courts assess the harm caused, the offender's culpability, and the penalty's severity relative to sentences for more serious crimes.
Eileen Epstein was convicted of raping an adult woman who survived the attack with no lasting physical injury. The trial court imposed a death sentence under a state statute authorizing capital punishment for the offense. On appeal the court vacated the sentence because the penalty exceeded constitutional limits for a nonhomicide crime against an adult victim.
Erika Echevarria, age seventeen at the time of the crime, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. The state court upheld the sentence despite her age. On federal review the court set aside the death penalty because the Eighth Amendment categorically bars capital punishment for offenders under eighteen.
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Eric Espinoza, a repeat offender, was convicted of writing a bad check for a small amount and received a mandatory life sentence without parole under the state's recidivist statute. The appellate court reversed the sentence after comparing the offense gravity to the penalty's severity and to punishments for more serious crimes in the jurisdiction.
Elise Everly was sentenced to death for a murder conviction while similarly situated defendants received life sentences. Statistical evidence showed race-based disparities in capital outcomes. The reviewing court rejected the challenge because the evidence did not prove purposeful discrimination in her individual case.
Evelyn Ellison was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after a bifurcated trial that permitted the jury to consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The state supreme court affirmed the sentence. The reviewing court upheld the procedures because they guided discretion and avoided arbitrary imposition of the death penalty.
Emma Erickson was convicted of a nonviolent property offense and ordered sterilized under a state habitual-offender statute. The court invalidated the order because the penalty bore no rational relation to the offense and imposed an irreversible bodily intrusion without sufficient justification.
A term-of-years sentence violates the Eighth Amendment only when it is grossly disproportionate to the offense. Courts compare the gravity of the crime, the harshness of the penalty, and sentences imposed for more serious crimes in the same jurisdiction. Successful challenges outside the capital context remain rare.
Supporting sources
The Eighth Amendment prohibits capital punishment for the rape of an adult woman when the victim survives. The penalty is considered disproportionate because the offense does not result in death. Legislative attempts to authorize death in specialized settings do not overcome this categorical limit.
Supporting sources
The Eighth Amendment categorically bars life without parole for a juvenile convicted of a nonhomicide offense. The prohibition rests on the offender's age and the absence of homicide rather than the magnitude of property damage or other harm. Courts must vacate such sentences.
Supporting sources
Statistical evidence showing race-based disparities in capital sentencing does not by itself establish an Eighth Amendment violation in an individual case. The defendant must prove purposeful discrimination in the particular prosecution and sentencing decision.
…been sentenced. The question of whether a sentence of 20 years for a single act of private consensual sodomy would constitute cruel and unusual punishment is not before this Court. Dissenting opinions Dissenting — Justice Blackmun This case is about the right to be let alone, the right to privacy, the right to be free from…