Capital Punishment Case Law
The Supreme Court's Shifting View of the Death Penalty
The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishments" has been interpreted in the light of "the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." — Trop v. Dulles (1958). Originally, the Court was inclined to a historical style of interpretation, and looked to whether or not a punishment was "cruel and unusual" by the standards and practices of 1789. Then, in Weems v. United States (1910), the Court concluded that the Framers had not merely intended to bar the cruel and unusual punishment techniques and practices condemned in 1789, but had intended to prevent new…
