Jack of Harts

The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of these United States of America
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

In United States v. Bajakajian in 1998, the Supreme Court said “The touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause is the principle of proportionality: The amount of the forfeiture must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish.”

In Rhodes v. Chapman in 1981, the Supreme Court said “[c]onditions [in prison] must not involve the wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain, nor may they be grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime warranting imprisonment.”