How was the US Constitution influenced by the principles of the classical school of criminology?

Question

How was the US Constitution influenced by the principles of the classical school of criminology?

Answer 1

The Classical School in criminology is usually a reference to the eighteenth-century work during the Enlightenment by the utilitarian and social contract philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria. Their interests lay in the system of criminal justice and penology and, indirectly through the proposition that "man is a calculating animal", in the causes of criminal behaviour. The Classical school of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional, fits the crime, and is carried out promptly.

These principles can directly be seen in the Constitution. ie. speedy trials, no cruel and unusual punishment, and the development of the judicial branch of government with courts that hold people accountable for their actions.