Free. Virtual. 45-minute webinar with Q and A. Register here.

Join Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site for an online Constitution Day program exploring the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and its intersection with the nation’s criminal legal system.

The Eighth Amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Has that standard been upheld by American criminal justice institutions of the past? Is it being upheld presently?

Amy Fettig (legal analyst, former Deputy Director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, and former Executive Director of The Sentencing Project) and Professor Kermit Roosevelt III (author of The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story) will use the Eighth Amendment as a framework to examine the history of crime and punishment in America as well as contemporary issues in criminal justice reform. This discussion will be moderated by Dr. Kerry Sautner, President and CEO of Eastern State Penitentiary.