Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution

E52940

amendment to the United States Constitution constitutional amendment provision of the United States Bill of Rights

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a key provision in the Bill of Rights that protects individuals from excessive bail and fines, as well as from cruel and unusual punishments, and serves as a central basis for challenges to the death penalty and prison conditions.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution canonical	30
Eighth Amendment	11
Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause	1
Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution	1
Excessive Bail Clause	1
Excessive Fines Clause	1
The Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T417917 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Context triple: [Furman v. Georgia, constitutionalProvision, Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution]

A. Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a key component of the Bill of Rights that protects individuals against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
B. Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a provision in the Bill of Rights that affirms the existence of fundamental rights retained by the people that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
C. Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, requiring warrants to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.
D. Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment is a key post–Civil War addition to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law, forming the foundation of many modern civil rights protections.
E. Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is a 1795 amendment that limits the ability of individuals to bring suits against states in federal court, reinforcing the principle of state sovereign immunity.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Target entity description: The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a key provision in the Bill of Rights that protects individuals from excessive bail and fines, as well as from cruel and unusual punishments, and serves as a central basis for challenges to the death penalty and prison conditions.

A. Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a key component of the Bill of Rights that protects individuals against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
B. Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution is a provision in the Bill of Rights that affirms the existence of fundamental rights retained by the people that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
C. Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, requiring warrants to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.
D. Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment is a key post–Civil War addition to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law, forming the foundation of many modern civil rights protections.
E. Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is a 1795 amendment that limits the ability of individuals to bring suits against states in federal court, reinforcing the principle of state sovereign immunity.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (54)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ constitutional amendment ⓘ provision of the United States Bill of Rights ⓘ
adoptedBy	United States Congress ⓘ
appliesTo	criminal defendants ⓘ persons convicted of crimes ⓘ pretrial detainees ⓘ
author	James Madison ⓘ
bindingOn	United States government ⓘ surface form: federal government of the United States
centralIssueInCase	Atkins v. Virginia ⓘ Estelle v. Gamble ⓘ Furman v. Georgia ⓘ Graham v. Florida ⓘ Gregg v. Georgia ⓘ Hudson v. McMillian ⓘ Miller v. Alabama ⓘ Roper v. Simmons ⓘ Timbs v. Indiana ⓘ Trop v. Dulles ⓘ
constitutionalOrder	Eighth ⓘ
containsClause	Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Excessive Bail Clause Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Excessive Fines Clause
country	United States of America ⓘ
doctrine	evolving standards of decency ⓘ
effectiveDate	December 15, 1791 ⓘ
incorporatedAgainst	state governments of the United States ⓘ
incorporatedThrough	Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ surface form: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
inspiredBy	English Bill of Rights ⓘ surface form: English Bill of Rights of 1689
interpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
isPartOfSeries	Bill of Rights ⓘ surface form: first ten amendments to the United States Constitution
jurisdiction	United States government ⓘ surface form: United States federal government
language	English ⓘ
legalDomain	constitutional law ⓘ criminal law ⓘ human rights law ⓘ
limits	conditions of confinement in prisons and jails ⓘ length of certain criminal sentences ⓘ methods of execution ⓘ
partOf	Bill of Rights ⓘ United States Constitution ⓘ
proposed	1789 ⓘ
protectsAgainst	cruel and unusual punishments ⓘ excessive bail ⓘ excessive fines ⓘ
ratified	1791 ⓘ
ratifiedBy	the states of the United States ⓘ
relatedTo	capital punishment in the United States ⓘ prisoners' rights in the United States ⓘ
text	Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. ⓘ
usedFor	challenges to excessive bail determinations ⓘ challenges to excessive fines and forfeitures ⓘ challenges to prison conditions ⓘ challenges to the death penalty ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (46)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Furman v. Georgia → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Bill of Rights → containsAmendment → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

First United States Congress → proposedAmendment → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Virginia Declaration of Rights → influenced → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

United States constitutional amendments → includes → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment → ratifiedWith → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

subject surface form: Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Jackson v. Georgia → legalSubject → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Jackson v. Georgia → constitutionalProvisionInvolved → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution → containsClause → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Excessive Bail Clause

Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution → containsClause → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Excessive Fines Clause

Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution → containsClause → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause

Branch v. Texas → legalSubject → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Branch v. Texas → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Gregg v. Georgia → interpretsProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution → precedes → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

William Henry Furman → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

opinion in Atkins v. Virginia → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

CRIPA → relatedTo → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

subject surface form: Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Glossip v. Gross → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Glossip v. Gross → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Timbs v. Indiana → holding → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: The Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Timbs v. Indiana → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Timbs v. Indiana → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Trop v. Dulles → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Atkins v. Virginia → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Roper v. Simmons → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Graham v. Florida → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Graham v. Florida → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Hudson v. McMillian → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Estelle v. Gamble → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Estelle v. Gamble → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Jurek v. Texas → legalSubject → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Jurek v. Texas → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Miller v. Alabama → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Stack v. Boyle → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Stack v. Boyle → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Proffitt v. Florida → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Woodson v. North Carolina → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Roberts v. Louisiana → legalSubject → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

Roberts v. Louisiana → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Lockett v. Ohio → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

McCleskey v. Kemp → legalIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: Eighth Amendment

McCleskey v. Kemp → constitutionalProvision → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Troy Leon Gregg → linkedToIssue → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

Coker v. Georgia → constitutionalProvisionInterpreted → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42 (1988) → constitutionalProvisionInvolved → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ

All labels observed (7)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (54)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (46)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited