cruel and unusual punishment
Noun
Meaning
punishment prohibited by the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution; includes torture or degradation or punishment too severe for the crime committed
Source: WordNetHypernyms
Examples
A paper published by the University of Baltimore Law Review declared that this for-profit industry violates constitutional prohibitions of cruel and unusual punishment as well as guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.
COLUMBUS — Trying again to execute the country’s only survivor of a botched lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and double jeopardy, according to lawyers fighting a second execution try.
Clemmons v. Bohannon, 956 F.2d 1523 (10th Cir. 1992) (en banc) (examining whether exposure to secondhand smoke constituted cruel and unusual punishment).
"Regardless of the crimes committee by these individuals, we have a constitutional obligation under the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution to refrain from cruel and unusual punishment and to treat them humanely,'' he wrote to Crews.
Even one day in prison would be a cruel and unusual punishment for the 'crime' of having a common cold."
The DTA set out, among other things, permanent provisions governing standards for interrogation of persons in Defense Department custody, prohibitions on cruel and unusual punishment, and procedures for status review of extraterritorial detainees.