Autumn Brown

Mrs. Hensel
English IV
February 12, 2015
Annotated Bibliography: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Atwell, Mary Welek. "Cruel And Unusual Punishment." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2014):
Research Starters. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
It is written in the eighth amendment, of the constitution, that the use of cruel and unusual
punishment are forbidden. There are many debates upon what the founders meant have occurred
and continue to do so. It is upon the courts to define this amended for us. There is a loophole to
this law just as any. This law does not apply to people in jail awaiting trial because they are not
convicted offenders. The amendment also leaves out public school children. Court officials
refuse to view school officials who paddle students as a violation of the students constitutional
rights
This article is a reliable source in conducting a research paper on cruel and unusual punishments
because it provides the definition of this crime. Knowing what is considered cruel and unusual
punishment is the foundation for writing a research paper about it. It is also a reliable source
because it contains court cases and how they relate to unusual and cruel punishment. These court
case can be found if needed to prove the reliability of this source. This source is reliable because
it contains facts about the court systems and how they conduct based on a certain issue
This text will assist me in completing my research paper by giving and applying the definition of
cruel and unusual punishment. The court cases provided in this source will be used to show how
the eighth amendment has been broken in the past and how it should be withheld. This article
included a pie chart of different methods of punishment that people believe go against the eighth
amendment. I will use this list of topics to research more into depth the public's feelings and the
courts appeal on different concepts of cruel and unusual punishments.
"Does Sentencing A 13-Year-Old Offender To Life Without Parole Constitute "Cruel And
Unusual Punishment"? Pro."Supreme Court Debates 13.1 (2010): 25. History Reference
Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

In this specific chapter of my source it explains case Roper vs Simmons (2005). In this case a
juvenile with sentence to life without parole. The chapter goes into detail on how the founders
were greatly influenced by international legal thought and how they created the standards of the
Constitution. In the standards they believe cruel and unusual punishment to be unconstitutional.
Which is where the 8th amendment came into play. The point the book is trying to get across in
this chapter is that everyone has human rights and one of those rights includes excluding cruel
and unusual punishment.
This source will be very useful as to proving how cruel and unusual punishment is
unconstitutional. This section of this book is reliable because it is not bias. It was not written by a
family member or Council of the child but by an outside source merely looking in at the facts.
The source merely points out that cruel and unusual punishment is taking and that it is against
the law. This source provided a background on the development of the how the country runs its
rules based on international standards. The goal of this source is to prove that cruel and unusual
will never be constitutional and that the definition of cruel and unusual punishment will change
to reflect the opinion of society.
In book I found online one specific section is on cruel and unusual punishment. Cruel and
unusual punishment is sought to be the act of hanging or burning someone at the stake. This
book gives the example of a 14 getting life in prison as cruel and an unusual punishment. This
can bring forth into our eyes that cruel and unusual has changed in todays society. This chapter
of the book will help me prove why cruel and unusual punishment will always and should always
be unconstitutional. This topic has further proved to me that cruel and unusual punishment is
unconstitutional but it has also opened my eyes to new issues. When many people think of cruel
and unusual punishment they think of men being hanged, witches being burned at the stake or
beheaded by a guillotine, but that is not always the case. Is it not cruel enough to sentence a 14
year old child to life for a mistake made in its juvenile years? On top of the life sentence no
chance of Parole? Isn't that the same as hanging the young child? Is chapter has opened many
more doors for research on this specific topic.
"Amendment VIII: Cruel and Unusual Punishment."Www.rutherford.org. The
Rutherford Institute, 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
One this webpage it goes into how the U.S. Supreme Court is struggling to find the answer to the
question, what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment? This web page goes into detail about
one specific punishment that is believed to be cruel and unusual. That punishment is lethal
injection. The debate over lethal injection is, when done right is it non painful or if it is
extremely painful and the subject cannot express the pain because of the paralyzing drug given to
it before. One example given is angel Diaz, he took 34 minutes today which is twice the usual
time. The needles are inserted into the flesh of his arm instead of into veins and they found
chemical burn on his arm. These marks on his arm show that the death was possibly extremely
painful which could possibly make it a cruel punishment.

The source is a very useful source in writing my paper. It will be useful without going into
details only sell injection and if it is a cruel and unusual punishment or not. This source is a
much stronger woman than some of my other sources because it is from a website that based
solely on human rights and civil liberties. Www.Rutherford.Org is biased in a way because it is
for humans having civil liberties and human rights. I believe that even though it is a biased
source it will be very reliable and helpful in creating my paper.
This source will be helpful in writing my paper because it gives me more details and examples of
cruel and unusual punishment. This source has not changed how I think and decide I stand alone
about cruel and unusual punishment. This source was very helpful in helping me understand
another point of view of the topic. This webpage will help me form my argument on why some
things should not be used as punishment.