What is cruel and unusual punishment?

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I'm not American but i know that American constitution specifically prohibits "Cruel and unusual punishment" i know that "European Convention on Human Rights" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_C ... man_Rights

was partially based on provision against tortures of US Constitution and French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaratio ... he_Citizen


But i wonder what Cruel and unusual punishment means?

i can figure out what the cruel mean, e.g cutting sex offenders balls
tempting but definitely to cruel even for sex offender

But what the unusual part means?

I think "unusual" in this context means something overly elaborate and complicated or just plain weird, like you could drop a weight that pulls a pulley that releases a ball that rolls down a slope that activates a switch that ignites some gunpowder that blasts the criminal over a cliff... with a net at the bottom to catch him safely, where a starving rat is shoved into his underpants and tied to his testicles, then he is towed out to sea where he gets eaten alive by sharks.

Cruel and unusual enough for you?

Another example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_elephant

^Death by a RepublicanThat is awful..

This! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGOnjD1e-Us[/youtube]This would be torture for sure!

bamboo torture was allegedly used by the Japanese in WW2 against POWs.

it may be a myth, but it would have been a tricky method to maintain, given that plants usually take the path of least resistance, and if it didn't grow the 3 feet a day everyone claims, victim would die of dehydration/starvation/hyperthermia, etc etc instead.

I've heard of people being suspended by hooks in leech swamps,so the leeches suck you dry.
But this could be BS.

Don't know if they "bite",but they latch on.We have small ones here.

leeches mainly suck on already open wounds, so the torturer would probably have to cut up the victim for the leeches to be more effective.

but if you have the tools to cut up someone, why not just off him with that instead of wasting time with the leeches?

Wade in the leaves that pile up in the water and you'll get then,wounds or not.They like still water.At least they do here.But these leeches are small.I have no idea what size the Vietnam nam leeches are,it's just a story I heard.

not many leeches here. guess i'm lucky?