Come Celebrate Constitution Day With Us!

The ASU Libraries will be hosting a lecture by Robert McWhirter of the Maricopa County Legal Defenders Office on Wednesday September 17 to mark the annual celebration of Constitution Day. The lecture, titled “Baby Don’t Be Cruel: What’s So “Cruel and Unusual” About The Eight Amendment?” will begin at 1:30pm in the Hayden Library, Room C6A/East, on the Tempe campus.

Lecture information: Crime and punishment and what is “cruel and unusual” is the prevailing theme of legislatures across the country. Also, nearly every term of the modern United States Supreme Court has a case involving the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Clause. This is a dynamic and engaging presentation on the history of the Eighth Amendment to the American Bill of Rights. This talk explores the real “intent” of the Bill of Right’s framers and the culture that produced the Eighth Amendment. From antiquity through the middle ages, this presentation has implications for today.

Mr. McWhirter’s lecture from last year’s Constitution Day event, How the Constitution Guarantees You a Trial, a Lawyer and a Chamber Pot! A Multimedia History of the 6th Amendment, is now available from iTunes U via the Library Channel.