Are jurisdictions free to pass "cruel and unusual laws" ?

[S K]

there is a prohibition against "cruel and unusual" punishments - but are "cruel and unusual" laws such as homicide charges against women who receive abortions, consistent with the constitution?

[Stan Brown]

There is no prohibition of "cruel and unusual" laws, as such, in the
U.S. constitution. That the Texas law is, in your opinion and mine,
evil and misguided does not make it unconstitutional. (It probably
would have been, under the "privileges and immunities" clause of the
U.S. Constitution, if there were a Federal right for a woman to
control her own body; but the Supreme Court put an end to that right
before Texas passed its law.)

Legislatures have passed a boatload of bad laws, though I agree this
one is extreme. But the courts don't strike down a law because it's
bad or even merely foolish. The theory is that in a democracy the
people can elect new legislators who will repeal a law that the
people disagree with. You can judge how well that theory works by the
fact that a number of states(*) have found it necessary to add
provision for a referendum to their constitutions.

(*) 23 states, listed at
<https://ballotpedia.org/Veto_referendum>
The list does not include Texas.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

[John Levine]

According to S K <skpf...@gmail.com>:

>there is a prohibition against "cruel and unusual" punishments - but are "cruel and unusual" laws such as homicide charges
>against women who receive abortions, consistent with the constitution?

It entirely depends on what a majority of 9 people in Washington DC
decide.

Public hangings and flogging were both considered acceptable until
sometime in the middle of the 20th century, now they aren't. Recent
events in Texas tell us that in the view of that state's government,
no punishment of pregnant women is too cruel or unusual, but it's
anyone's guess what would happen if appeals made it to SCOTUS.

--
Regards,
John Levine, jo...@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

[Stuart O. Bronstein]

Jethro_uk <jeth...@hotmailbin.com> wrote:

> John Levine wrote:
>
>> Public hangings and flogging were both considered acceptable until
>> sometime in the middle of the 20th century, now they aren't.
>

> Depends where you are. Although it is still a head wobbling fact that
> Londoners could take the underground (subway) to the last public
> execution in 1868. I believe the company put on special services.

Hanging was still allowed as a punishment for murder in Utah until 1980.
In that states the condemned can chose to be hung (these days legal
injection) or shot (to shed blood as a way to repent in the Mormon
religion).


--
Stu
http://DownToEarthLawyer.com