In a second dissent, Judge Mark J. Bennett argued that “text, tradition, and original public meaning” establish that the Eighth Amendment does not ordinarily “impose substantive limits on ...

WASHINGTON, DC – Letters by prisoners illustrate unusual and cruel punishments the incarcerated are facing despite the U.S.

Johnson that a city does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments when it enforces against homeless individuals its ordinance that bars encampments on public property.

Together, they changed the legal landscape of the Eighth Amendment — the foundational constitutional protection against "cruel and unusual punishments." Heavy criticism soon followed — from the ...