ABSTRACT
Chapter 8 covers those Eighth Amendment issues that affect criminal justice, including what constitutes cruel and unusual punishments and special issues involved when the case involves capital punishment. It also discusses when noncapital punishment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, restrictions on punishing the mentally ill, and when confinement constitutes cruel and unusual punishments. The chapter examines the question of whether the public has the right to hear the sounds of executions, the right of the prisoner to have his or her spiritual advisor present at the execution, the right to contest the manner in which the execution is carried out, and which crimes may be considered capital crimes.
