Crime and punishment have brought enormous change since modern times began in the 17th century. A time when a woman could be found guilty of scolding, that is, harassing her husband. Punishments for this crime include dunking the woman into the river or pond using a duck stool which is believed to still exist in Canterbury in Kent. The scolding bridle was another form of punishment for a nagging wife, she had to wear this bridle as a form of embarrassment for her actions against her husband. In early modern times, the homeless made people feel uneasy and frightened due to changes in the land that caused them to abandon their traditional rural livelihoods and became known as vagabonds. If the homeless were found guilty of such a crime, their punishments were flogging, even enslavement or execution if caught a second time. Crimes of this nature no longer exist and brings me back to the question: have changes in sentencing caused us to change the way we think and feel about the crimes themselves? The legal definition of the Eight Amendments states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This means that “the Eighth Amendment does not require strict proportionality between the crime and the punishment. Instead, it only prohibits extreme punishments that are “grossly disproportionate” to the crime committed. » Court decisions are followed and applied without going beyond the eight rules for amending cruel and unusual punishments. To apply this rule, courts use three techniques. First, they looked at the nature of the offense and the offender. Second, they compared the punishment with the punishment for more serious crimes in the same... middle of paper ... punishment in reserve, but since He is more lenient than our justice system, I am sure He will . give the individual a chance to redeem himself. Works Cited Christine Chamberlin ND, Child No Longer: A Need for Punishment and Deterrence in the Juvenile Justice System http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bclawr/ 42_2/04_TXT.htmDoug Gibson (2010) High Court Arrogantly Decides What Punishment Juveniles Deserve » http://blogs.standard.net/2010/05/high-court-arrogantly-decides-what-punishment-juveniles-deserve/Julian V Roberts and Mike Hough (2002) Changing attitudes toward punishment: public opinion, crime and justice. http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/roberts-julian.htmLearn History 2004http://. www.learnhistory.org.uk/cpp/whatiscrime.htmThe 'Lectric Law Library1995 - 2010http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e082.htm