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Article: Debate Over The Electric Chair.
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- December 17, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution consists of just one sentence. It reads, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." That one sentence, however, has led to countless arguments in courtrooms across the United States regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment, also called the death penalty.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to review a number of capital punishment cases, including a Florida case, Bryan v. Moore, involving capital punishment by the electric chair. Although the High Court is not expected to put an end to capital punishment altogether, it might rule to ...