In "The Eighth Amendment Revisited: A Model of Weighted Punishments," Nevares-Muniz presents a model of punishment designed to satisfy the proportionality and disparity requirements of the eighth amendment.' This commentary focuses upon the nature of the proposed model and suggests several difficulties with the main arguments of the article. The author begins by discussing the concept of "cruel and unusual punishment." She traces its roots from the English Bill of Rights of 1689 through its

more »

... inal appearance in American judicial opinion in O'Neil v. Vermont, 2 through the important case of Weems v. United States, 3 and to the recent cases of Coker v. Georgia 4 and Rummel v. Estelle. 5 The discussion narrows to a treatment of the proportionality requirement associated with the currently conceived notion of cruel and unusual punishment. The author points to the importance of the proportionality requirement by referring to the work of Beccaria, 6 Hart 7 , and the Criminal Code Revision Act of 1979.8 Nevares-Muniz then establishes the importance of the propor-