The Eighth Amendment in the United States Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” (Stevenson & Stinneford, n.d.). The Eighth Amendment basically means that someone who commits a crime will still be treated as a human being. They should not and cannot be tortured, given a fine, or given a sentence …show more content…
There was an abolitionist movement which was established in the works of European social scholars Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Bentham, and English Quakes John Bellers and John Howard. An abolitionists movement meant that these people wanted to abolish capital punishment. Cesare Beccaria is the person who helped the abolitionists finally have a voice. In 1767, Cesare Beccaria wrote an essay, “On Crimes and Punishment” and this essay helped the world finally think about punishment. Cesare Beccaria believed that there is absolutely no justification for the state to take someone’s life. A result of this document, the death penalty was finally abolished in Austria and Tuscany. (“The U.S. and the Death Penalty – FindLaw”