Eighth Amendment

Eighth Amendment, amendment (1791) to the Constitution of the United States, part of the Bill of Rights, that limits the sanctions that may be imposed by the criminal justice system on those accused or convicted of criminal behavior. It contains three clauses, which limit the amount of bail associated with a criminal infraction, the fines that may be imposed, and also the punishments that may be inflicted. The Eighth Amendment comes almost verbatim from the...