“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” – Eighth Amendment to the Constitution

The 8th Amendment to the Constitution protects prisoners from being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Can you imagine a system where a prisoner might be able to accept a steak dinner in exchange for a waiver of these precious 8th Amendment rights? Of course not. Our constitutional rights are too dear to be waived. How about a criminal suspect who waives the right to a fair trial in exchange for a promise of a reduced sentence. In America today, that's just fine. The right to a fair trial is a throwaway right – basically, nonexistent.

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Carissa Hessick is the Ransdell Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She has written Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal, which will explain how we got here.

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