How do we decide what is a fair punishment for a crime?

12345678910. Too often in the U. S. justice system, sentences are too severe for the weight of the crime, or are handed down to individuals who suffer from crippling impairments that diminish their culpability. The Fair Punishment Project illuminates excessive punishments and the systemic problems that create them. Nowhere in the U. S. Constitution does is say a punishment must fit the crime ... In practice, however, the Supreme Court has given the government (state and federal) a great deal of latitude in deciding the appropriate level of severity in criminal sentencing.