Is the death penalty in the constitution?

But that's not the same thing as saying the death penalty is unconstitutional. In fact, the Constitution plainly sanctions capital punishment in several instances. The Eighth Amendment is the most famous, with its injunction against inflicting "cruel and unusual punishments."Apr 30, 2014 read more

The United States Constitution and the Death Penalty The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution is the of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. read more

Justice Breyer basically called for the abolition of the death penalty, while Justice Scalia argued that the Constitution itself protected the death penalty from judicial invalidation. But both views are misguided; the best position lies in between them. read more