However, with the passage of revised death penalty statutes and the increase in violent crimes, the juvenile justice system has seen a shift toward stronger policies and punishments. ... - It is (1) grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime and (2) makes no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment. ... Applying the standard eighth amendment analysis, Justices Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, and Blackmun agreed that the execution would constitute cruel and unusual punishment because it was "inconsistent with standards of decency and failed to contribute to the two so...

• Word Count: 2175
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Capital Punishment Capital punishment is not a new concept. ... In reality, executions are seen as the appropriate punishment for certain criminals committing specific crimes. ... It has been the main recourse against those who commit the most serious crimes. ... Bedau and Radelet already knew that plea-bargains, the juries, the evidence, the prosecutors, judicial review and/or the legal statutes had put these crimes in the "no capital punishment" category. ... This study - the most thorough and painstaking analysis ever on the subject - fails to prove that a single such mistake has occur...

• Word Count: 2839
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The members of Westboro Baptist Church ("Westboro"), led by Fred Phelps, picketed near the funeral to demonstrate their view that "the United States is overly tolerant of sin and that God kills American soldiers as punishment." ... Phelps, the fact that the time, place, and manner of the Phelps' speech did not violate criminal laws does not affect the legal analysis of whether tort liability violates the First Amendment. ...

• Word Count: 3341
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: Undergraduate