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2001•Osgoode Hall law journalOpen access

The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, and the Eighth Amendment's Rule against Cruel and Unusual Punishments

Jamie Cameron

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Abstract

The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences. This special issue article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol39/iss2/8 THE DEATH PENALTY, MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCES, AND THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT'S RULE AGAINST CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

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The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences. This special issue article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol39/iss2/8 THE DEATH PENALTY, MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCES, AND THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT'S RULE AGAINST CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

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Available abstract

The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences. This special issue article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol39/iss2/8 THE DEATH PENALTY, MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCES, AND THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT'S RULE AGAINST CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

Key concepts: Punishment (psychology), Prison, Supreme court, Law, Charter, Political science, Constitution, State (computer science)

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