The 8th Amendment

I think that any punishment that leaves behind permanent scars is cruel and or unusual. Whether those scars be physical, or mental, the whole point behind punishing someone is not just to make them pay for what they did: its to make sure that they understand what they did wrong, and to help them grow to value the same ethics code that we have established in this country. As soon as someone is being punished in a way that does not promote their understanding of what they are being punished for, but rather permanently harms them, we have crossed a line.