Cruel and Unusual Punishment - Rights and Liberties under the Law

In one of the lengthiest, noisiest, and hottest legal debates in U.S. history, Cruel and Unusual Punishment stands out as a levelheaded, even-handed, and thorough analysis of the issue. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution created one of the nation''s most valued freedoms but, at the same time, one of its most persistent controversies. On 184 separate occasions, the Supreme Court attempted to decide what constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."Constitutional scholars Joseph A. Melusky and Judge Keith A. Pesto help readers make sense of the controversy. The authors begin by sketching the context of the debate in a general overview that addresses issues such as excessive bails and fines, and noncapital offenses. But their primary focus is capital punishment. In a detailed, chronologically ordered discussion, they trace the evolving opinion of the nation''s highest court from the late 19th century to the present, analyzing issues, arguments, holdings, and outcomes.>

About the author

Joseph A. Melusky is chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA.

Keith A. Pesto is a United States magistrate judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Product details

• Authors: Joseph A Melusky, Joseph Anthony Melusky, Melusky Joseph A., Keith Pesto, Keith A Pesto, Keith A. Pesto
• Assisted by: Donald Grier Jr. Stephenson (Editor)
• Publisher: Abc Clio Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 21.02.2003
• EAN: 9781576076026
• ISBN: 978-1-57607-602-6
• No. of pages: 400
• Series: America's Freedoms
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Law > Criminal law, criminal procedural law, criminology; USA, Human Rights, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Penology, LAW / Constitutional, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Executive Branch, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Legislative Branch, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights, United States of America, USA, Penology and punishment, Human rights, civil rights, Penology & punishment, Constitution: government & the state, Constitution: government and the state, Constitutional & administrative law, Constitutional and administrative law: general, Jurisprudence & Philosophy Of Law, Methods, theory and philosophy of law