Cruel and Unusual Punishment?
“The use of the word and (instead of or) has been held to have some significance. Cruel punishments are allowable as long as more than one court system applies the punishment. Similarly, unusual punishments are permitted so long as they are not cruel, although some lawyers would argue that any unusual punishment is cruel. Thus, for example, three strikes laws have been upheld by the Court as not conflicting with this clause, because even if they are unusual, they are not cruel (in the sense that there is no physical torture).” - Wikipedia
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Monday to review a 30-year prison sentence for a teen who was 12 when he killed his grandparents in South Carolina.
Lawyers for Christopher Pittman wanted the justices to examine whether the long prison term for a child violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. With no possibility of parole, he will be 42 before he is released, they said. (Link)
To any adult who murders two people — a life sentence would be one of the most sought after verdicts by the prosecution. The issue of whether the same punishment is valid for a child, who is barely a teenager. No matter the age, murder is murder. There is no way to get around the fact that he killed two people. I think that the supreme court is right in not hearing his case. He is going to be released from prison when he is 42 years old. That will give him many years to live his life to the fullest. He should be happy that his sentence is not a life long one. This reminds me of a quote from the movie Murder by Numbers:
You get one life, and whatever you do with it, and whatever is done to you, you’ve got to face that. You can’t pretend it didn’t happen.
Tags: 14th amendment, 8th amendment, constitution, cruel and unusual, Jail, Murder, prison
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