Let not jailers torture or augment the punishment of those intrusted to their keeping; but let the sentence of the law be duly yet mercifully executed.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) A jailer's authority extends only to the lawful execution of the sentence imposed by the court — any cruelty, deprivation, or punishment beyond the judgment is an unauthorized trespass upon the prisoner's natural rights. The Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments recognizes this ancient common-law limitation on custodial power.

Where this applies

• A prison guard who puts an inmate in prolonged solitary confinement beyond what the court ordered is adding unauthorized punishment.
• A jailer who denies a prisoner adequate food and medical care is torturing him beyond the sentence imposed by the judge.
• A corrections officer who allows other inmates to beat a prisoner is augmenting the court's sentence with violence the law never authorized.