Lectures For Lifelong Learners!

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution denies to the federal government the power to impose “cruel and unusual punishment”. While the death penalty is not identified in the U.S. Constitution or its amendments, Eighth Amendment challenges have been largely organized around the death penalty. This session will focus on how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the circumstances under which the death penalty is deemed acceptable and the impact of those judicial decisions on the application of the death penalty at the federal and state levels. Political considerations, such as public opinion toward the death penalty and how the death penalty has shaped elections campaigns, will also be addressed in the presentation.