Guantanamo Bay Prison
An inside tour of Guantanamo Bay. (This video may contain ads)
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DescriptionThe United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was originally used as a coaling site in 1903. Later, in 2002, President George W. Bush made it the central prison for suspects considered unlawful enemy antagonists in the "War on Terror." This is now the place where "mortal enemies of the US" are locked up with maximum security. However, this prison is greatly challenged by detainees, who claim that they have been subject to sleep deprivation, shackling in stressful positions, and prolonged exposures to cold temperatures.
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Does this violate the 8th amendment?Yes, it does. In response to confrontations of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and human rights activists, the US Supreme Court sent a series of rulings that blocked The Bush administration's efforts to try prisoners at the base. It can be inferred that the "torture" mentioned by the suspects of the prison has indeed been ruled "unconstitutional" by the Supreme Court, which can further be supported by President Obama's decision to sign executive orders that requires the CIA to close Guantanamo Bay.
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^ Protests against Guantanamo Bay. (This video may contain ads.)
(< President Obama signs the executive orders. Read more about this here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html?ref=guantanamobaynavalbasecuba) |
Capital Punishment
DescriptionCapital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process where the court orders someone to death as a punishment for crime. This has always been a subject of heated discussion, due to the fact that the decision is irreversible. In recent years, those who argue against the death penalty usually use the wrongly accused as examples, and the fact that punishment given to criminals is supposed to give some sort of rehabilitation. If the convict is killed, then there is no point to the penalty. As Sister Camille D'Arienz, a Catholic nun who started the Declaration of Life movement, once said, "Capital punishment is the only time we punish the person in kind for a crime. We don't rape the rapist or rob the robber, but we kill the killer." She insisted that death is not a proper punishment, and should be ruled unconstitutional.
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^ An example of a wrongly accused person who was executed.
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Does this violate the 8th amendment?No, it doesn't. The Supreme Court has ruled that capital punishment does not violate the 8th amendment; however, it did place strict requirements on the death penalty. For example, it may ONLY be applied in cases of treason, espionage, and crimes against the state. Also, minors and people who are mentally retarded (those with an IQ less than 70) may not be subject to capital punishment.
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