Following the Harmelin v. Michigan (1991) decision, the Eighth Amendment proportionality clause was _____.

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Following the Harmelin v. Michigan (1991) decision, the Eighth Amendment proportionality clause was found to prevent only grossly disproportionate sentences. The Supreme Court held that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine did not violate the Eighth Amendment's proportionality requirement, even when the defendant had no prior criminal record. The Court stated that only extreme sentences that are grossly disproportionate to the crime committed are deemed unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment's proportionality clause.

Following the Harmelin V