Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Cruel and unusual punishment was not clearly defined when the Eighth Amendment was passed. But it was discussed. Representative Livermore pointed out on the floor of the House of Representatives that the wording was vague. He asked: "It is sometimes necessary to hang a man, villains often deserve a whipping, and perhaps having their ears cut off, but are we in the future to be prevented from inflicting those punishments because they are 'cruel'?" But despite his objections the vague language was left in the amendment.