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Cruelty To The Mentally Ill: An Eighth Amendment Challenge To The Abolition Of The Insanity Defense, Stephen M. Leblanc
Cruelty To The Mentally Ill: An Eighth Amendment Challenge To The Abolition Of The Insanity Defense, Stephen M. Leblanc
American University Law Review
This Comment addresses the present gap in insanity-defense laws
created by the defense’s abolition and offers an Eighth Amendment
based remedy. Part I reviews the history and evolution of the insanity
defense in Anglo-American law. It then describes how four states
have statutorily abolished the defense. It concludes with a discussion
of Clark v. Arizona, the Court’s most recent decision on the
constitutionality of the insanity defense. Part II turns to the Eighth
Amendment, examining its historical understanding and the
contemporary evolving-standards-of-decency analysis, through which
the Court assesses the constitutionality of modern-day punishments.
Part II concludes with a discussion of …
Furman'S Mythical Mandate, Scott W. Howe
Furman'S Mythical Mandate, Scott W. Howe
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article argues for the rescue and reform of Supreme Court doctrine regulating capital sentencing trials under the Eighth Amendment. Many legal commentators, both liberal and conservative, including several members of the Supreme Court, have concluded that the Court's regulation of capital sentencing trials is a disaster. The repeated criticisms rest on a commonly accepted view about a principal goal of capital sentencing regulation. The prevailing account, fueled by the rhetoric of the Justices, stems from the notion that Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 208 (1972), revealed a mandate of consistency in the use of the death penalty that …
The Legal, Political, And Social Implications Of The Death Penalty, Hon. William W. Wilkins
The Legal, Political, And Social Implications Of The Death Penalty, Hon. William W. Wilkins
University of Richmond Law Review
A recent national poll found that sixty-five percent of Americans favor the death penalty. That's down from eighty percent ten years ago. Moreover, the total favoring the death penalty dropped to fifty percent when those polled were asked to assume that thealternative to the death penalty was life in prison with no chance of parole. And, the number of death sentences imposed in the United States during the last few years has dropped to the lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated thirty years ago. Thus, it would seem that our society's attitude toward capital punishment is changing. What was …