torture

  • Original Meaning: Cruel and Unusual Punishments

    ByP.A. Madison
    3 Comments

    Summary: The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments is a check against extralegal tribunals or discretionary acts of judges in imposing illegal and cruel punishments that are unknown to established law as practiced under the infamous court of Star Chamber. I thought it was about time to address the well-established ancient understanding of the Eighth Amendments provision for “cruel and unusual punishments” since it is obvious current jurisprudence has no fundamental clue to its constitutional purpose. Most judges today probably will be…

  • Death Penalty for Child Rape Unconstitutional?

    ByP.A. Madison
    18 Comments

    Lawyers for Patrick Kennedy, a Louisiana man who received a death sentence for raping a child has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to have his case heard before the justices. Kennedy’s legal team wants the court to declare Louisiana’s law allowing the death penalty for child rape unconstitutional. The petition asks the court to consider whether the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment clause permits a state to impose the death penalty for child rape – a punishment usually reserved for those…