ail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, norcruel and unusual punishments inflicted. EXCESSIVE BAILAND FINES: Tallahatchie County in Mississippi charges tendollars a day to each person who spends time in the jail,regardless of the length of stay or the outcome of their trial.This means innocent people are forced to pay. Marvin Williswas stuck in jail for 90 days trying to raise $2,500 bail on anassault charge. But after he made that bail, he was keptimprisoned because he could not pay the $900 rentTallahatchie demanded. Nine former inmates are suing thecounty for this practice. CRUEL AND UNUSUALPUNISHMENTS: House Resolution 4079 sticks its nose inhere too: "... a Federal court shall not hold prison or jailcrowding unconstitutional under the eighth amendmentexcept to the extent that an individual plaintiff inmate provesthat the crowding causes the infliction of cruel and unusualpunishment of that inmate." CRUEL AND UNUSUALPUNISHMENTS: A life sentence for selling a quarter of agram of cocaine for $20 -- that is what Ricky Isom wassentenced to in February in Cobb County, Georgia. It wasIsom's second conviction in two years, and state lawimposes a mandatory sentence. Even the judge pronouncingthe sentence thinks it is cruel; Judge Tom Cauthornexpressed grave reservations before sentencing Isom andDouglas Rucks (convicted of selling 3.5 grams of cocaine ina separate but similar case). Judge Cauthorn called thesentences "Draconian." Amendment IX The enumeration inthe Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed todeny or disparage others retained by the people. OTHERRIGHTS RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE: This amendmentis so weak today that I will ask not what infringements thereare on it but rather what exercise of it exists at all? What lawcan you appeal to a court to find you not guilty of violatingbecause the law denies a right retained by you? AmendmentX The powers not delegated to the United States by theConstitution, n...
