Amendment VIII

AMENDMENT VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

The amendment states the bail cannot be disproportionate to the actual crime committed, yet it must be reasonable enough to ensure that the accused will show up for trial.  There also must not be any form of cruel or unusual punishment, which is up to interpretation for the most part, but protects the accused from any sort of abusive behavior by the authorities.  

Media:

This political cartoon is criticizing the differing believes between Democrats and Republicans.  It is satirizing the hypocrisy of being either pro-life but for the death penalty or vise versa.  Basically the cartoonist believes if you are for life, you should be consistent, and same for if you are pro-choice.   The death penalty is a hot topic of debate in regards to the 8th amendment because some classify it as a "cruel or unusual" punishment, while others deem it necessary.