[Section 9]
That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
from The Fifth Virginia Convention – Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) on Rap Genius
Like many of these other sections, Section 9 appears familiar due to its likeness to the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution, with this section taken verbatim as the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution,
This allows for a limit on the severity of punishment a court can place upon a convicted criminal, as well as extreme sums disallowed as possibly bail or fine payments, so that the convicted cannot be without ability to pay these costs. In recent years, however, courts have stretched this ability, sometimes purposely giving exorbitant bail fees for those convicted of the most heinous crimes or those at flight risk, so as not to let them in public until proven innocent in court.
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