eighth amendment was ratified so whatever cruel and unusual punishment is does not include the death penalty. some crimes were so heinous, some crimes are so heinous that death penalty is just and appropriate. shannon: the attorney general said the justice department upholds rule of law, we owe it to their victims to carry forward the sentence imposed by the justice system. this goes to congress. they pass the laws, they elected them to change it and lawmakers don t want it available. this has been a long and storied past, the context being the supreme court in the 70s reinstated it. we look at state-level laws, 21 states that found, based on their state constitutions they chose not to do the death penalty or moratoriums, 25