More Perfect: Cruel and Unusual

2019-08-09 · 58 min · episode 319 · 13 entities

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Entities found in this episode

concepts 9

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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mentioned Science concept

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More Perfect: Cruel and Unusual
discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v4
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discusses Science concept

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evidence rules-v4
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discusses Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v4
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discusses Natural Sciences concept

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companys 2

mentioned WNYC Studios company

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hosted by WNYC Studios company

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Episode description as stored

On the inaugural episode of More Perfect , we explore three little words embedded in the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: “cruel and unusual.” America has long wrestled with this concept in the context of our strongest punishment, the death penalty. A majority of “we the people” ( 61 percent , to be exact) are in favor of having it, but inside the Supreme Court, opinions have evolved over time in surprising ways. And outside of the court, the debate drove one woman in the UK to take on the U.S. death penalty system from Europe. It also caused states to resuscitate old methods used for executing prisoners on death row. And perhaps more than anything, it forced a conversation on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Special thanks to Claire Phillips, Nina Perry, Stephanie Jenkins, Ralph Dellapiana, Byrd Pinkerton, Elisabeth Semel, Christina Spaulding, and The Marshall Project Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate . Also! We’re working on collecting some audience feedback so we can do a better job of getting our show out to all of you, interacting with you, and reaching new people. We’d love to hear from you. Go to www.radiolab.org/survey to participate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.