Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. One convicted of murder, however, has committed perhaps the most damaging crime. If just sixteen at the time of the crime, can a defendant be sentenced to fifty years in prison without the judge violating the Eighth Amendment? After all, a sixteen year old is still developing his morals and ethics, so the conduct is perhaps not characteristic of him. Click on the following link to read about a case that addressed this sentence.
http://www.greghillassociates.com/sentence-of-50-years-for-teenager-for-murder-proper.html
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