From TIME

“The 8th amendment of the U.S. constitution protects against excessive bail and cruel or unusual punishments. What was considered cruel or unusual in 1789?” This video (02:50) is from the Your Bill of Rights series.

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2080345_2080344_2080382,00.html

Source

"In this series of ten short videos, TIME brings to life the words of the Founding Fathers and explores how these deeply felt ideas about liberty and property have evolved into the amendments as we interpret them today."