The English Civil War then had its impact on the law of bail. After King Charles I imprisoned five landowners (Five Knights Case) who were refused release under the Habeas Corpus principles of Magna Carter, Parliament passed the Petition of Right in 1628. This prohibited a person from being held in custody without being charged. The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 was introduced to stop excessively long delays between custody and bail hearings, and the Bill of Rights 1689 introduced a principle of proportionality to bail by stating that ‘excessive bail ought not be required’. This was the precursor of the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution.