Art. 878 Cruel or unusual punishment

If a judge gives you a sentence, you generally can't get it thrown out just by arguing it's cruel or unusual punishment. The only way that argument works is if the law that allowed the sentence is declared unconstitutional.

This means courts won't second-guess a sentence simply because someone thinks it's too harsh. The sentence has to come from a law that's been struck down as unconstitutional before a "cruel or unusual punishment" claim can succeed. Judges are following whatever the law says, and this rule protects sentences from being overturned just because they seem tough, as long as the law behind them is valid.

In short, if you want to challenge a sentence as cruel or unusual, you need to attack the law itself, not just complain about how harsh the punishment feels.