Does the Eighth Amendment prohibit infliction of cruel and unusual punishment?

^7."The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits infliction of 'cruel and unusual punishment.' This prohibition is applicable to the states by virtue of its incorporation in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. [Citation.]" (People v. Byrd (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 1373, 1382, fn. 13 (Byrd).) Article I, section 17 of the California Constitution provides, in pertinent part: "Cruel and unusual punishment may not be inflicted . . . ."