Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Even though the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly states that "
excessive bail shall not be required," the national median felony bail is $10,000, an amount out of reach for most when you consider that almost half of the American population doesn't have $400 on hand.
"
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The Eighth Amendment states: "
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Two of those commands -- regarding bail and cruel and unusual punishments -- have been deemed to apply to state and local governments.
Supreme Court will hear arguments concerning whether this violated the Eighth Amendment, which says: "
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
In the U.S., the Framers included a protection against "
excessive bail" in the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, borrowing directly from the English Bill of Rights.
Amendment's safeguards against the imposition of
excessive bail,
The right to be free from
excessive bail is enshrined in the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, yet this fundamental protection has failed to prevent the pretrial detention of hundreds of thousands of people every year who are unable to afford bail.
(The Eighth Amendment protects against
excessive bail when offered but doesn't require that bail be an option in a given case.) Whether the arrestee might commit more crimes if released was not initially considered relevant.
The motion filed by John Robbins, Jeff's attorney, stated that his client was being unlawfully detained and illegally denied liberty by the
excessive bail amount.
How Bail Funds Address Eighth Amendment
Excessive Bail Concerns
The Alpha Fraternity president, who is also former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Corporation LPRC, noted that article 21 (d) (ii) of the Liberian constitution
excessive bail not be require, nor excessive fines impose, nor excessive punishment be inflicted.