Rights and Liberties (8th Amendment)

Question 1

Bail

Answer 1

Temporary release of a defendant from custody, often secured by financial conditions, while awaiting trial.

Question 2

Fine

Answer 2

Monetary penalty imposed as a punishment for a crime.

Question 3

Capital Crime

Answer 3

A serious offense, often punishable by death (capital punishment)

Question 4

Sentence

Answer 4

The punishment or penalty imposed by a court on a person convicted of a crime.

Question 5

Commute

Answer 5

To reduce a legal sentence, such as changing a death sentence to life imprisonment.

Question 6

Capital Punishment

Answer 6

The imposition of the death penalty as a punishment for a serious crime.

Question 7

Clemency

Answer 7

Mercy or leniency granted to a convicted person, often through a reduction of their sentence.

Question 8

Corporal Punishment

Answer 8

Physical punishment, such as flogging or whipping, as a penalty for a crime.

Question 9

Wilkerson v. Utah (1879)

Answer 9

Supreme Court decision upholding the use of a firing squad for execution, establishing that certain methods of capital punishment are not inherently cruel and unusual.

Question 10

Trop v. Dulles (1958)

Answer 10

Ruled that the revocation of citizenship as a punishment for a crime is unconstitutional and violates the Eighth Amendment.

Question 11

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

Answer 11

Supreme Court decision declaring that the death penalty as applied was arbitrary and capricious, leading to a temporary moratorium on capital punishment in the United States.

Question 12

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

Answer 12

Supreme Court decision that upheld new death penalty statutes, establishing guidelines to ensure the fairness and consistency of capital punishment.