The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

IV. The Eighth Amendment
to The U.S. Constitution
The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States Constitution prohibits the
federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual
punishments. This amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest
of the United States Bill of Rights. The phrases in this amendment originated in the
English Bill of Rights of 1689.
The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments has led courts to hold that the
Constitution totally prohibits certain kinds of punishment, such as drawing and
quartering. Under the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause, the Supreme Court has
struck down the application of capital punishment in some instances, but capital
punishment is still permitted in some cases where the defendant is convicted of murder.
The Supreme Court has held that the Excessive Fines Clause prohibits fines that are
"so grossly excessive as to amount to a deprivation of property without due process of
law." The Court struck down a fine as excessive for the first time in United States v.
Bajakajian (1998). Under the Excessive Bail Clause, the Supreme Court has held that
the federal government cannot set bail at "a figure higher than is reasonably calculated"
to ensure the defendant's appearance at trial.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause applies to
the states as well as to the federal government, but the Excessive Bail Clause has not
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