cruel and unusual punishment
noun
: punishment that is very harsh and too severe for the crime
The law forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
Examples of cruel and unusual punishment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After serving more than 25 years behind bars, he was freed because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life sentences in prison without parole for minors violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
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Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025
But in a brief filed Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office said Tanzi had not shown that using lethal injection on him would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
—Jim Saunders, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
Legal advocates argue sending U.S. citizens to serve prison terms in El Salvador would violate the 8th Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
—Ben Berkowitz, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
With inmate suicide rates at an all-time high, U.S. District Senior Judge Kimberly Mueller said her aim is to force changes in California’s prison mental health system, which a federal judge in 1995 deemed to be so poor as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
—Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2025
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Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025
But in a brief filed Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office said Tanzi had not shown that using lethal injection on him would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
—Jim Saunders, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
Legal advocates argue sending U.S. citizens to serve prison terms in El Salvador would violate the 8th Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
—Ben Berkowitz, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
With inmate suicide rates at an all-time high, U.S. District Senior Judge Kimberly Mueller said her aim is to force changes in California’s prison mental health system, which a federal judge in 1995 deemed to be so poor as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
—Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel and unusual punishment
Cite this Entry
“Cruel and unusual punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruel%20and%20unusual%20punishment. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
cruel and unusual punishment
noun
cruel and un·usu·al punishment
: punishment that is offensive to the contemporary morality or jurisprudence (as by being degrading, inflicting unnecessary and intentional pain, or being disproportionate to the offense)
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted—U.S. Constitution amend. VIII
see also Gregg v. Georgia compare corporal punishment, death penalty
U.S. Constitution amend. VIIINote: A cruel and unusual punishment is essentially one that the courts consider to violate the Eighth Amendment based on a variety of criteria. The interpretation of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment has changed over time and has varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most forms of corporal punishment formerly used at common law have been found to be cruel and unusual punishments.
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