...I think that executing a minor violates the 8th amendment, “No cruel or unusual punishment.” If a little kid makes a mistake and accidentally shoots a gun or does something that kills someone, and they are executed I think that that falls under cruel and unusual punishment. A court case that made it to the Supreme Court was the case of Kevin Nigel Stanford, who was convicted in 1981 of a murder committed in Kentucky when he was 17 years and 4 months old. Stanford and an accomplice repeatedly raped and sodomized a 20-year-old woman during the robbery of a gas station where she worked. The men took her to a wooded area, and Stanford shot her straight in the face, then in the back of the head, to prevent her from testifying against him. Stanford's case first came to the Supreme Court in 1989. In the decision Stanford vs. Kentucky, a narrow Supreme Court majority ruled the execution of death row inmates who killed before they were 18 was not then cruel and unusual punishment, following the 8th amendment of the Constitution. I think that it is unfair that a minor could be killed for something when they aren’t even allowed to vote. Those younger than 18 are not allowed to vote or be on juries, or enjoy any of the other responsibilities and privileges of adulthood because the government considers their judgment unformed. So why would you execute them if you think their judgment isn’t up to par? To the government their judgment isn’t up to par, so don’t tell minors that they should...
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...“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”.For 225 years Americans have held this right. This is the eighth amendment. In 1791 this amendment was made, part of the Bill of Rights. During this time a document called the Constitution was being proposed. Many liked this idea, but many opposed. The people that opposed thought the Constitution would grant too much power to the federal government, and they were afraid their rights would be taken away. So the Bill of Rights was written to guarantee citizens their rights. This specific amendment was added so there was no excessive bail and no cruel and unusual punishment. In England citizens were thrown in jail for small things and then the bail fine was very high. It was quite unfair and many did not want that to happen again. Also there was cruel punishments like torture or hanging. This amendment is quite interesting. When someone does a horrible act should they be punished with death? Is that cruel...
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...Controversy over the eighth amendment has been a major topic of debate for many years across the United States. The eighth amendment reads, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Cornell University Law School). Under the eighth amendment is the clause that focuses on the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment, which is one of the most controversial clauses of the United Stated Constitution in today’s debates. There are those who advocate for the death penalty and those who oppose it, arguing that it constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment. With that being said, this paper will discuss the constitutionality of the death penalty. Controversy over the death penalty in the U.S. Supreme Court can be traced back to 1879 with Wilkerson v. Utah, which stated that the Utah territorial statue of execution by firing squad was not cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment of the U.S. constitution. (Wikipedia: Wilkerson v. Utah) In 1972, the United States Supreme Court struck down capital punishment, reducing all death...
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...Constitutionally acceptable punishments include fines, imprisonment and humane executions for certain serious crimes. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the punishments that may be imposed by the government on American citizens. These limits are compulsory among the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 expressed concern with arbitrary and disproportionate sanctions, giving way to the Founders inclusion of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. To explore the Eighth Amendment it is important to consider constitutionally accepted punishments, the ever-evolving practice of capital punishment, and eighth amendment protection inside prison walls. Barron V. Baltimore (1833),...
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...Imagine a man in your room watching you in the dark of the night for 8 days. In the short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe the calculated madman who tells a story of how he kills the old man in his bedroom. It is told in first person by the narrator killer. He has an obsession with the man’s “eye of a vulture.” At the beginning of the story he’s trying to convince us that he is not mad, but how wise and cautious he was when he killed the old man. Based on the evidence presented in the 8th Amendment of the Death Penalty the main character should be sentenced to life in prison with physcotic care because as stated by evidence in the text he commited murder and he was mentally ill. To begin the main character should be sentenced to 20 years in prison because he commited murder. The narrator describes, “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. ” (Poe, 1843) When he first conceives the idea to kill the old man, he describes that the old man had never wronged him, it was his “Evil Eye.” Soon after, he describes how cautiously and with foresight he...
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...The Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments to the Constitution that grant certain freedoms and liberties to the citizens of the United States. The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments, such as the tortures that have been used throughout history. Many citizens are conflicted about whether the Eighth Amendment is still relevant. The Eighth Amendment is still relevant today, but does need some revision based on the unfair treatment from King George and the more current ways the Eighth Amendment is being used. To commence, the Founding Fathers introduced the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution because of the unfair punishments and treatment from the British Army and King George. During the pre-Revolutionary...
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...The Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments to the Constitution that grant certain freedoms and liberties to the citizens of the United States. The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments, such as the tortures that have been used throughout history. Many citizens are conflicted on whether the Eighth Amendment is still relevant. The Eighth Amendment is still relevant today, but does need some revision based on the unfair treatment from King George and the more current ways the Eighth Amendment is being used. To commence, the Founding Fathers introduced the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution because of the unfair punishments and treatment from the British Army and King George. During the pre-Revolutionary...
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...The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness Author(s): Publishers: Edition: ISBN: Reviewed by: Stephen Covey Simon & Schuster 2004 0743206827 Gill McKay, Director, Extensor Limited It is 18 years since Stephen Covey published his seminal work “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, which was a hugely impactful book, selling millions of copies across the globe. In that book, Dr Covey showed us how to become as effective as we possibly could be. In the 8th Habit, he opens up more potential for us all – by moving from “effectiveness to greatness”. The world today is different, with more challenge, ambiguity and complexity and while the 7 Habits form a strong basis upon which to start, it is this next step – the 8th Habit –that will take us to true fulfilment in what Covey describes as the age of the knowledge worker. I learned a lot from his previous books, particularly the 7 Habits, and approached the 8th Habit with real enthusiasm. Unfortunately I found it a much more difficult read which, although it contained some good tips and new and metaphors, did not deliver on its initial perceived promise. The book’s synopsis promises that The 8th Habit is the answer to the yearning for greatness, the organisation's imperative for significance and superior results, and the human’s search for its "voice". I believe there are some handy tips to be found in the book, but it is a much less intuitive read than his previous works. The book is divided into two sections...
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...In 1989, Stephen R. Covey penned The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People(public library), a book that went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and defined a new genre bridging self-improvement, business management, and personal productivity. This week, Covey died at the age of 79. Here's a look back at his legacy with some of the keenest insights from his beloved bestseller. Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do). Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.* People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them. Until a person can say deeply and honestly, 'I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,' that person cannot say, 'I choose otherwise.' To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know. It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. How you treat the one reveals...
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...have only been 27 constitutional amendments since it was created. This shows how difficult it is to amend the constitution and rarely it is amended; only 17 of the amendments have happened in the last 210 years. There are four key reasons why it is hard to amend the constitution but there are other reasons, not to do with the amendment process, that have meant the constitution hasn’t been, or needed to be, amended. The first reason is that the Founding Fathers created a deliberately difficult process. To amend the constitution both Congress and that States have to agree using super-majorities. The use of super-majorities makes the process even more difficult. This is shown by the hundreds of amendments that have been proposed but not successfully carried through and legitimised. The need to get support from a super-majority in all the States is also very time consuming and costly and so it is even more difficult for politicians to get and amendment passed. Furthermore there is a huge percentage of the American population which are at opposing sides of the American political compass. This means that it is often very hard to get everyone to agree to the same policies and amendments and therefore very difficult to get a super-majority at state-level. The process created by the Founding Fathers means that it is incredibly difficult to amend the constitution but it wasn’t just amendment process they created which limits the number of amendments. The Founding Fathers also chose...
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...Bat Agaoglu 9/25/2012 IR 376 Professor Kinzer Paper #1 1) I tell you what I am going to say- The 1890s saw an expansion on US imperialism of American territory, as a result of economic, political, and cultural factors with justifications on acquiring more land, power, and resources. Many Americans believed U.S had to expand to increase population, wealth, and industrial production which demanded more resources. So, therefore, US took control of other territories such as Hawaii, Cuba, and Panama to impose its own beliefs of government and culture on the people. The United States encouraged these territories to become independent from other nations so that they would be more beneficial to us. Although we freed these territories from their restraining governments, it was only in our own interest. It started during the 1840s with the manifest destiny which was used to warrant the expansionist movements of that time. Expansionist used the population growth and close frontier to support their intentions on conquering new territories. Expansion would lead to economic advantages such as trade with new colonies and Asia which at that time was becoming increasingly important to American economy in the late 19th century. Another argument expansionist used was to prevent other countries and colonies from gaining more land and they also felt the need to rival with the other imperialist countries. They had a desire to compete with Europe for overseas empires. The U.S. sought for...
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...Accounting The Codification — Do You Have All the New Topics, Subtopics, Sections, Subsections, and Paragraphs Memorized?In July 2009, the Codification became the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. GAAP. The Codification’s hierarchy is topic, subtopic, section, and paragraph, in that order, each with a numerical designation (e.g., ASC 810-10-25-37, which was formerly paragraph 6 of Interpretation 46(R)). ASU 2009-17 incorporated Statement 167’s amendments to the VIE model into the Codification. The beginning of each section of this Roadmap contains quotes from the appropriate Codification paragraphs. In addition, for those of you still trying to find your way through the Codification, we thought it would be helpful for each Codification paragraph to be followed by a reference to the corresponding pre-Codification paragraph from Interpretation 46(R), as amended by Statement 167. Although ASC 810-10-55-37 (paragraph B22 of Interpretation 46(R)1) might not roll off your tongue like “B22 of FIN 46(R)” used to, the Codification is here to stay. However, we suspect that just as there are probably a few accountants who are clinging to their last version of the FASB’s Original Pronouncements (we know you are out there!), there are some that might need a little help finding the new VIE guidance in the Codification. Accordingly, Appendix D of this Roadmap includes a guide that cross-references the paragraphs from ASC 810-10 to the guidance in Interpretation 46(R), as...
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...The Comparable Worth Debate March 20, 2012 The Comparable Worth Debate Comparable worth means getting the same amount of pay for jobs of equal value in an organization. This is completely different from the concept of “equal pay” which means that workers who perform the same duties with the same job title get the exact same wages. Comparable worth is a recognized strategy for determining job compensation. If an organization is going to put a specific value on a function, it should also put the same value on other functions that are of equal importance. Comparable worth remains an undeveloped concept. Many court cases have been heard in reference to comparable worth but the suits were unsuccessful as the procedure is not clear. (The Law and Compensation and Benefits, 2009) If a company values a position, they should show the employees that they are valued and appreciated through salary and wages. I am certain that most employees would agree. As the HR department’s director, James Bledsoe, should consider the issue of comparable worth for reasons that involve legal and ethical consequences as well as the organizational structure. The pay system that a company uses reflects that company’s culture. The culture determines the policies and guidelines that are in place, the company’s expectations, and the way that employees carry out the company’s mission. Employees are more likely to coordinate their behavior with company goals without the need for vast procedures and mounds...
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...Princess Diana: The Life She Led Princess Diana’s life is one that impacted the world in a positive way and that will never be forgotten. Diana Spencer became a British princess and an international icon when she married Prince Charles the son of Queen Elizabeth. Even though her life may have seemed like a fairy tale, Diana had some rough patches in her life that molded her into the beautiful person she turned out to be. Diana was greatly loved by the people and referred to as “the People’s Princess” because of her genuine personality and endless compassion for the less fortunate. Her humanitarian acts were also greatly noticed by the world. Diana, Princess of Wales, led an inspirational life as a paparazzi chased international icon and humanitarian, and greatly influenced the world in all that she did. Born Diana Frances Spencer, she already had her fair share of ties to royalty. On July 1, 1961, Diana became the third daughter of John Spencer and Frances Ruth Burke Roche Spencer. Her father was a descendant of the Stuart kings of England and her mother came from a wealthy family as well. Diana’s grandparents also had the titles of Lady and Lord which Diana would one day receive and even surmount. Diana was born into a privileged British family that had grown exceedingly wealthy from sheep farming. Since they were so well off, Diana’s family often aided the royal family but were not considered a royal family themselves. Diana had two older sisters Sarah and...
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...For teens, life is not a playground, it's a jungle. And, being the parent of a teenager isn't any walk in the park, either. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey attempts to provide "a compass to help teens and their parents navigate the problems they encounter daily." How will they deal with peer pressure? Motivation? Success or lack thereof? The life of a teenager is full of tough issues and life-changing decisions. As a parent, you are responsible to help them learn the principles and ethics that will help them to reach their goals and live a successful life. While it's all well and good to tell kids how to live their lives, "teens watch what you do more than they listen to what you say," Covey says. So practice what you preach. Your example can be very influential. Covey himself has done well by following a parent's example. His dad, Stephen Covey, wrote the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, which sold over 15 million copies. Sean's a chip off the old block, and no slacker. His own book has rung in a more than respectable 2 million copies sold. Here are his seven habits, and some ideas for helping your teen understand and apply them: Be Proactive Being proactive is the key to unlocking the other habits. Help your teen take control and responsibility for her life. Proactive people understand that they are responsible for their own happiness or unhappiness. They don't blame others for their own actions or feelings. Begin With...
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