Unclear on the concept
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
Yet: A hunter was ordered to pay $20,000 Friday and sentenced to five years probation for killing an endangered California condor.
August 30th, 2003 at 12:42 pm
Therein lies the problem with Amendment #8: the terms “excessive” and “unusual” are purely subjective. If somebody destroys something that’s difficult or impossible to replace, I would expect the penalty to be harsh. Especially if they did so intentionally.
August 30th, 2003 at 7:56 pm
I would agree they are subjective terms. But $20K for a bird? That’s excessive.
August 30th, 2003 at 8:23 pm
Depends on the bird.