The only thing that surprises me about this decision was that there wasn’t an argument in the majority opinion that states that jailing homeless people is actually doing them a favor because it gives them a roof over their head and a free meal.
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It’s the whole “missing comma in the Takings Clause” argument all over again!
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So, obviously this isn’t something we should be punishing people for at all, but on its own terms the punishment itself is not cruel or unusual. Fines for breaking laws are normally permitted. Is the argument that because homelessness should not be a crime, any punishment is cruel or unusual? Or is the eighth amendment argument actually about any fine being excessive, and nothing to do with the “cruel and unusual” clause?
Has anyone enforcing these laws tried the even crueler argument that the only not-cruel punishment would be jail time, since it technically provides a legal place to sleep?
I joked about this in an earlier reply but only because I’ve heard this said more than once as a “solution” to the homeless problem.
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Thomas would instantly understand the meaning of your post… and would just as quickly not give a fuck.
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Yes, because they are most accurately reactionaries. They don’t want change, they want to return to the past and stay there.
Even if you ignore that then the only other thing they could possibly be is revolutionary, especially after Jan 6th 2001.
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It is certainly cruel to punish someone for not having money or a place to live.
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Yep, KNOWING that they won’t be able to pay up… and let’s not forget that many jails are shitty, shitty places to be… people have died at the Fulton Co. jail, for example. Lots of very HIGH profile deaths, including one where a man died covered in bed bugs. So, yes, the REALITY is that it is cruel and unusual.
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And now you have a record. Good luck getting an apartment or job!
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That would be Socialism, so no.
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Now, now - they’re not fetuses, for crying out loud…
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Just another way to make being a woman more dangerous:
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“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
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I’m pretty pissed that my Democratic Governor is actually supporting this ruling:
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It’s certainly not unusual. I’m a little less convinced about it not being cruel.
Lock everyone up.
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Now that is something where I’d want to check the intention of the framers. (But I’ll bet the “Originalists” never want to.)
It frequently seems to be used as justification for treating incarcerated criminals as the equivalent of slavery or involuntary servitude, to justify mandatory prison labor.
And yet, as I read it, it’s saying that slavery and involuntary servitude remain on the books as possible punishments that criminals can be sentenced to, but otherwise, hell no!
As I’ve said, when the US has a per-capita incarceration rate five times its equivalent neighbor, there’s something going on besides crime and punishment.
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