Amendments V and VIII relate to the right to appeal in criminal cases. The amendments guarantee people's rights to a fair trial, and proper punishment for their crime. These rights are significant because without them, people could be sentenced to death without being fully prepared for their trial. Also, people have the right to receive a punishment that is not exceedingly harsh in relation to their crime.
Amendment V
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
- The Fifth Amendment
"...to this Court, the unacceptably high rate at which innocent persons are convicted of capital crimes, when coupled with the frequently prolonged delays before such errors are detected, compels the conclusion that execution under the Federal Death Penalty Act, by cutting off the opportunity for exoneration, denies due process and, indeed, is tantamount to foreseeable, state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings." - Jed Rakoff, attorney
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The video above explains the procedures that the Fifth Amendment guarantees
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Amendment VIII
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
- The Eighth Amendment
Amendment VIII is used to appeal against the rulings of capital punishment. It is controversial whether the possible pain caused by death is cruel and unusual and, therefore, a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Anthony Amsterdam, lawyer, on the Eighth Amendment in Furman v. Georgia
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"Death is not only an unusually severe punishment, unusual in its pain, in its finality, and in its enormity, but it serves no penal purpose more effectively than a less severe punishment..." - William Brennan, attorney
"Simply because an execution method may result in pain, either by accident or as an inescapable consequence of death, does not establish the sort of 'objectively intolerable risk of harm' that qualifies as cruel and unusual..." - Baze v. Rees
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"Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty."
- Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
- Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company