very different meaning in comparison to those who use originalism to interpret the U.S. Constitution. He writes: "But in reality, the word unusual in the Eighth Amendment did not originally mean “rare”– it meant “contrary to long usage,” or “new.” A punishment is cruel and unusual if it is “cruel in light of long usage” – that is, cruel in comparison to longstanding prior practice or tradition." Similarly, law professor John Bessler points to "An Essay on Crimes and Punishments", written by Cesare Beccaria in the 1760s, which advocated proportionate punishments; many of the Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, read Beccaria's treatise and were influenced by it. Thus, Stinneford and Bessler disagree with the view of Justice Scalia, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, in Harmelin v. Michigan where they denied that the Punishments Clause contains any proportionality principle. With Scalia and Rehnquist, Richard Epstein argues that the amendment does not refer broadly to the imposition of penalties, but rather refers more narrowly to the penalties themselves; Epstein says judges who favor the broad view tend to omit the letter "s" at the end of the word "punishments". See also United States constitutional criminal procedure Capital punishment in the United States Crimes against humanity Medical care and safety of inmates Healthcare in American women's prisons Michelle Kosilek Estelle v. Gamble (1976) Helling v. McKinney (1993) Farmer v. Brennan (1994) Prisoner abuse in the United States Infectious diseases within American prisons References Notes Citations External links Original Meaning: Cruel and Unusual Punishments—LOC Historian PA Madison 1791 in American law 08 United States criminal constitutional law 1791 in American politics Bail