How to Use cruel and unusual punishment in a Sentence

cruel and unusual punishment

noun
  • An appeals court said the ban amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024
  • As a result, the cruel and unusual punishment clause is not deemed to apply at all.
    — Erwin Chemerinsky, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • As a result, the cruel and unusual punishment clause is not deemed to apply at all.
    — Erwin Chemerinsky, Twin Cities, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The court ruled that applying the death penalty in such cases would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 2 May 2023
  • Bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The lawsuit argues the heat in Texas prisons can amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 27 Mar. 2025
  • The language has prompted questions about specific procedures that could be used as well as worries about cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Katie Bernard, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The justices ruled that the lack of standards in implementation amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Kristin Wright, NPR, 25 Apr. 2025
  • In their 6-3 decision, justices said enforcing a camping ban is not equal to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
  • But a federal court ruled that denying this medical care constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Candice Norwood, Them., 11 Aug. 2025
  • The testing would have affirmed the injection was potent and safe enough to end a person’s life without causing what could be construed as cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 13 Jan. 2025
  • The high court held the sentence was unconstitutional and amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 27 July 2023
  • But to charge drivers for the commuting nightmare is positively cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 4 May 2026
  • But lower courts have said some of those execution methods violate state law or the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Renuka Rayasam, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2023
  • In the filing, Adinolfi pointed out that life sentences without parole are considered cruel and unusual punishment in most countries.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 14 Dec. 2024
  • But in its Wednesday ruling, the 6th Circuit said Finley can proceed with his cruel and unusual punishment claim.
    — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 23 May 2024
  • Plus, an Abrams trade from a fringe postseason contender would feel like cruel and unusual punishment for a fanbase that understands cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Barry Svrluga, New York Times, 5 June 2026
  • The court determined that such penalties do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The complaints filed Tuesday charge negligence, negligent hiring and cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Sotomayor said the method violates the Constitution’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
  • In a series of rulings, the court has held that cities violate the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment when police arrest or fine people who have no access to shelter.
    — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024
  • That, along with Nicole Kidman and that horrendous Coke ad, feels like cruel and unusual punishment for those who have already inflicted it upon themselves.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
  • In 2018, a judge ordered that a Texas prison’s sweltering conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 13 Nov. 2025
  • What became known as Bivens claims were later expanded by the court to cover allegations of cruel and unusual punishment and discrimination.
    — Hannah Rappleye, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The lawsuit found doing so violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Juliette Rihl, The Arizona Republic, 6 Apr. 2023
  • Waupun inmates filed a federal lawsuit in October alleging the the conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — CBS News, 5 June 2024
  • As part of that case, a federal judge determined in 1975 that prison officials had failed to provide adequate health care, which amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 25 July 2024
  • Sinclair went to prison in 1969, but a movement to free Sinclair from what his supporters called cruel and unusual punishment flooded the country and spread across borders.
    — Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 9 Apr. 2024
  • The lawsuit claims that the order violates due process under the Fifth Amendment, and the Eight Amendment's rules against cruel and unusual punishment.
    — James Factora, Them, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Justice Neil Gorsuch said that the penalties are relatively minor with fines only for first-time offenders, and that that can't be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
    — Sara Ganim, USA TODAY, 1 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruel and unusual punishment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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