A recent law review article by Prof. Michael Mannheimer of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law argues that the federal penalty may violate the Eighth Amendment’s proscription against cruel and unusual punishments when it is used in states that do not have the death penalty. Prof. Mannheimer explores the strain of the Eighth Amendment’s history that is specifically concerned with limiting the federal government’s power to interfere with the norms of individual states. He also notes that there has recently been a marked increase in the use of the federal death penalty in non-death penalty states.
(M. Mannheimer, “When the Federal Death Penalty is ‘Cruel and Unusual,’” 74 U. of Cincinnati Law Review 819 (2006)). Read the full article HERE. See Federal Death Penalty and Law Reviews.