Capital Punishment and the Eighth Amendment

This resource is an Inquiry Pack to accompany the Safeguards of Justice Timeline on LegalTimelines.org, which examines the rights of the accused and the origins and progression of Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights.

Built around primary sources from the Library of Congress and other collections, this Inquiry Pack facilitates a deep dive into an important aspect of the history of the rights of the accused in the United States.

Each Inquiry Pack includes a background reading, several primary sources (documents, articles, images), discussion questions about the sources, an inquiry question, and an inquiry extension question.

This pack includes the following components:

• Introduction: Capital Punishment and the Eighth Amendment
• Early Reform
• The Press Weighs In
• The Court Rules and the Court Rules Again
• Modern Reform
• Inquiry Question: Historically, what did people think about capital punishment in the United States? What are the advantages and disadvantages of considering public opinion when the Court makes a decision on the meaning of the Constitution?
• Inquiry Extension Question: Do you think the death penalty should be considered “cruel and unusual punishment”?
• Inquiry Question Graphic Organizer