http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/06/25/the-eighth-amendment-ratchet-puzzle-in-kennedy-v-louisiana.aspxSuppose that we simplify the court's Eighth Amendment jurisprudence greatly and pretend that a "national consensus" against a certain type of punishment exists when 10 states or fewer authorize that punishment and not otherwise; and that when a nationalenCommunityServer 2.1 SP2 (Build: 61129.2)