9. Prohibition of cruel & unusual punishment
This specific legislation prevents torture and it sounds like: “Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Being the 8th Amendment to the Constitution, this law clearly prohibits harsh methods of punishment in the event the government tries to bring back gibbets and thumbscrews as instruments of torture.
10. Allows for more rights than the Bill of Rights
This clarified the possibility for people to suggest new amendments to the constitution. This law was also included in the Bill of Rights in 1791.
11. Abolition of Slavery
This was one of the main issues that America had in the past. Slavery was first adopted in 1619 when the privateer The White Lion brought 20 enslaved Africans ashore in Jamestown, Virginia. Section 1 of the law states that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, shall have been duly convicted.” Section 2 of the law states, “Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
Unfortunately, this law was passed only after 40 years of slavery ended in 1865.
