Carol Steiker

Utah was not yet a state. It was a federal territory. And it was settled then, as now, by Mormons. And Brigham Young, who was the leader of the Mormons, preached that blood atonement was necessary for murders. So he didn't want to use hanging because you don't bleed when you're hanged, but you do bleed when you're shot. And so Mormon territory used the firing squad as a form of execution.

Utah was not yet a state. It was a federal territory. And it was settled then, as now, by Mormons. And Brigham Young, who was the leader of the Mormons, preached that blood atonement was necessary for murders. So he didn't want to use hanging because you don't bleed when you're hanged, but you do bleed when you're shot. And so Mormon territory used the firing squad as a form of execution.

Utah was not yet a state. It was a federal territory. And it was settled then, as now, by Mormons. And Brigham Young, who was the leader of the Mormons, preached that blood atonement was necessary for murders. So he didn't want to use hanging because you don't bleed when you're hanged, but you do bleed when you're shot. And so Mormon territory used the firing squad as a form of execution.

All right, here's the original text of the Eighth Amendment. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

All right, here's the original text of the Eighth Amendment. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

All right, here's the original text of the Eighth Amendment. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

So what's interesting, the court first says, very hard to know what this means. But then they go on to say, the one thing we can say with some certainty is that it had something to do with torture. That torture's not good. And they reference things that they would be pretty sure would be cruel and unusual punishment. Drawing and quartering, disemboweling, burning at the stake.

So what's interesting, the court first says, very hard to know what this means. But then they go on to say, the one thing we can say with some certainty is that it had something to do with torture. That torture's not good. And they reference things that they would be pretty sure would be cruel and unusual punishment. Drawing and quartering, disemboweling, burning at the stake.

So what's interesting, the court first says, very hard to know what this means. But then they go on to say, the one thing we can say with some certainty is that it had something to do with torture. That torture's not good. And they reference things that they would be pretty sure would be cruel and unusual punishment. Drawing and quartering, disemboweling, burning at the stake.

My name is Carol Steiker. I'm a professor at Harvard Law School. I'm the author of Courting Death, the Supreme Court and Capital Punishment. In 1878, the question was whether firing squads were cruel and unusual punishment. Court says that's not torturous. It's not unnecessary cruelty. And we know that because, you know, we've used it a lot as a punishment for deserters in wartime.

My name is Carol Steiker. I'm a professor at Harvard Law School. I'm the author of Courting Death, the Supreme Court and Capital Punishment. In 1878, the question was whether firing squads were cruel and unusual punishment. Court says that's not torturous. It's not unnecessary cruelty. And we know that because, you know, we've used it a lot as a punishment for deserters in wartime.

My name is Carol Steiker. I'm a professor at Harvard Law School. I'm the author of Courting Death, the Supreme Court and Capital Punishment. In 1878, the question was whether firing squads were cruel and unusual punishment. Court says that's not torturous. It's not unnecessary cruelty. And we know that because, you know, we've used it a lot as a punishment for deserters in wartime.

So the court says we don't have a problem with the firing squad as cruel and unusual punishment. But they also said, we're not entirely sure what its contours are. It just doesn't reach this far.

So the court says we don't have a problem with the firing squad as cruel and unusual punishment. But they also said, we're not entirely sure what its contours are. It just doesn't reach this far.

So the court says we don't have a problem with the firing squad as cruel and unusual punishment. But they also said, we're not entirely sure what its contours are. It just doesn't reach this far.

So there was a really unpopular king there.

So there was a really unpopular king there.

So there was a really unpopular king there.

King James II, who was Catholic and was thought to be favoring Catholics over Protestants, so there was a lot of Catholic-Protestant tension.

King James II, who was Catholic and was thought to be favoring Catholics over Protestants, so there was a lot of Catholic-Protestant tension.