floor does not require abandoning the
evolving standards of decency.
Evolving standards of decency reflect this assumption, reflecting the raising of the minimum age at which a minor can be executed and the decreasing number of states willing to execute minors.
Taken together, in what sense might such discourse reflect "the
evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society[?
73) The Court then was not substituting its political judgment for that of the states; rather, it was using the Constitution, via the
evolving standards of decency, to eliminate "outliers.
Much as it has effected change in the realm of noncriminal corporal punishment, the democratic process likely would yield changes in the law of criminal punishments similar to those brought by the courts' doctrine of
evolving standards of decency, but at a pace more consistent with the actual evolution of public standards of decency.
The Baze standard's second major flaw is that it is not responsive to
evolving standards of decency.
The Amendment," Chief Justice Earl Warren fatefully wrote, "must draw its meaning from the
evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.
Just as the circumstances in which the death penalty may be constitutionally imposed are subject to change over time in light of society's
evolving standards of decency, the court's views on what kinds of nonlethal punishment are acceptable or not under the Eighth Amendment are also subject to change.
Ultimately, the death penalty reflects a desire for vengeance that has no place in our
evolving standards of decency.
In his majority opinion, Justice Kennedy noted with approval that the Court has referred to "the
evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society" when determining which punishments are "so disproportionate as to be cruel and unusual.
In addressing what many believe is a growing national consensus against capital punishment for juvenile offenders, the Court will determine if the death penalty is inconsistent with the
evolving standards of decency in a civilized society, as several justices have said.
Dulles, questions of whether a particular punishment violates the Eighth Amendment are answered in light of "the
evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.
