SCOTUS blocks capital punishment for child rape

[Clove]

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWBT00926820080625?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Supreme Court strikes down death penalty for child rape
Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:14pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court in a major capital punishment decision struck down on Wednesday the death penalty for child rape, its first decision in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.

The nation's highest court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for the crime of raping a child violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Constitution barred a state from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child when the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim's death.

Kennedy concluded that capital punishment, based on current evolving standards, should be reserved for crimes that take the life of the victim.

The ruling was a victory for Patrick Kennedy, 43, of Louisiana, who challenged his death sentence after being convicted for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 1998.

Of the more than 3,300 inmates on death row in America, Kennedy and another man convicted of child rape in Louisiana are the only ones who did not commit murder.

The Supreme Court last ruled on the death penalty and rape in 1977, when it outlawed executions in a case in which the victim was an adult woman. It declared the death penalty an excessive penalty for a rapist who does not take a human life.

That decision left open whether the death penalty can be imposed for child rape. The Louisiana law, adopted in 1995, allows the death penalty for those convicted of rape of a child under the age of 12. It was later amended to change the age to 13.

[Parkbandit]

Fine. I say let these scumbags be allowed to be raped repeatedly in prison as part of their sentence... unless they like that sort of thing.. then ban them from masturbating.

[Latrinsorm]

Let me see if I can predict where this thread goes:

A number of people disgusted with the court.
A number of people proudly declaring they'd kill the child rapist themselves.
A number of people taking solace or joy in the fact that the child rapist will suffer in prison for the rest of his life.
A number of people exploring the possibility of rehabilitation, only to be loudly denounced as imbeciles or worse, especially with multiple references to hugging.
A number of people considering what the child wants or what will provide most benefit to her. In this case the number of people is zero.

[Latrinsorm]

lol, one down!

[Clove]

What if the child wants capital punishment?

[Parkbandit]

lol, u r a idiot.

PS - I didn't say kill them. I didn't say I was disgusted with the court. I didn't say I take solace in the fact that they will suffer in prison. I didn't mention rehabilitation. I didn't mention what the child wants.

You suck at most things.. predicting is probably high up on that list.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Latrinsorm
Let me see if I can predict where this thread goes:

A number of people disgusted with the court.
A number of people proudly declaring they'd kill the child rapist themselves.
A number of people taking solace or joy in the fact that the child rapist will suffer in prison for the rest of his life.
A number of people exploring the possibility of rehabilitation, only to be loudly denounced as imbeciles or worse, especially with multiple references to hugging.
A number of people considering what the child wants or what will provide most benefit to her. In this case the number of people is zero.

Way to cheat by reading this thread:
http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?t=31637

[BigWorm]

I wasn't surprised by this decision at all.

What benefit does execution for child rapists offer as opposed to life without parole?

[AnticorRifling]

I don't think it should be removed as an option. There has to be a time when the crime is grave enought that this is not considered cruel and or unusual punishment.

Should it be used as a blanket sentence? No. Just like murder it's an option for death penalty but the case has to be reviewed and the evidence weighed. While my personal/emotional opinions on the subject are different I do realize that it's not the only way that it should happen.

[Gan]

I don't think it should be removed as an option. There has to be a time when the crime is grave enought that this is not considered cruel and or unusual punishment.

Should it be used as a blanket sentence? No. Just like murder it's an option for death penalty but the case has to be reviewed and the evidence weighed. While my personal/emotional opinions on the subject are different I do realize that it's not the only way that it should happen.

/Agreed.

Its hard to get over the 'proof beyond a resonable doubt' hurdle when you're dealing with child witnesses and interpretation based evidence.

Now if the physical evidence is there or there is documented (video) evidence concluding the act did ocurr - this is where I'll differ with SCOTUS. Simply because this is a type of sickness thats incurable - period.

[BigWorm]

Again, why can't we just lock them up for the rest of their lives?

[Gan]

Again, why can't we just lock them up for the rest of their lives?

Wouldnt that be construed as cruel and unusual punishment?

:whistle:

[Skeeter]

If we did it often enough it wouldn't be unusual.

[fallenSaint]

I wasn't surprised by this decision at all.

What benefit does execution for child rapists offer as opposed to life without parole?

Less prison population... cheaper overall.

[Asile]

Wouldnt that be construed as cruel and unusual punishment?

:whistle:

Only if we put them in a teeny-tiny cell and NEVER let them out, not even 1 hour a day.

And for someone who rapes a child, I'm not even sure I'd consider that "cruel and unusual."

[BigWorm]

Less prison population... cheaper overall.

Except that it costs significantly less to imprison a person for a life term.

Besides, I don't think it makes sense to punish offenders based on the cost.

[Clove]

Except that it costs significantly less to imprison a person for a life term.

Besides, I don't think it makes sense to punish offenders based on the cost.A bullet is much cheaper than a life sentence.

[Tolwynn]

Except that it costs significantly less to imprison a person for a life term.

Only when the cost of endless appeals and the like are factored in, as opposed to say, the cost of just carrying out the actual sentence in the first place.

[Gan]

A bullet is much cheaper than a life sentence.

They even bill for the bullet in China. ;)

[BigWorm]

They even bill for the bullet in China. ;)

Exactly the human rights model we should be following

[Kyra231]

Only when the cost of endless appeals and the like are factored in, as opposed to say, the cost of just carrying out the actual sentence in the first place.

That's assuming the general population of prison doesn't run up huge costs with endless appeals also(they're innocent, just ask them). The difference with a death row inmate? Eventually they run out of appeals and still save the cost of another 30 years of care.

~K.

[Methais]

Let me see if I can predict where this thread goes:

A number of people disgusted with the court.
A number of people proudly declaring they'd kill the child rapist themselves.
A number of people taking solace or joy in the fact that the child rapist will suffer in prison for the rest of his life.
A number of people exploring the possibility of rehabilitation, only to be loudly denounced as imbeciles or worse, especially with multiple references to hugging.
A number of people considering what the child wants or what will provide most benefit to her. In this case the number of people is zero.

You forgot..
http://a4.vox.com/6a00c2251d19928e1d00e398cfebfc0004-500pi

[Latrinsorm]

Way to cheat by reading this thread:
http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?t=31637I honestly didn't, but apparently I wasn't far off, huh?
What if the child wants capital punishment?I (or hopefully a therapist of some kind) would ask her why.

[Sypher]

The main problem with America's justice system is their central premise that the function of the penalty is for punishment and not for rehabilitation or prevention.

Jail time can actually create more criminals then prevent. Almost like bacteria being let go in a moist humid area perfect for growth, jail is brutal and can change the attitude and mental psychology of who is otherwise a decent person who has just made a mistake.

With that being said, if beyond a shadow of a doubt a person has raped a young child then he should be kept in jail until that child grows up into maturity. At the age of 25 in which the victim will be a fully grown woman with possibly a child of her own, she should decide whether to execute her assailant or give him life in prison. This is probably the best way to give justice, since in the end this issue is really between the rapist and the person being raped.

[Apathy]

Raping a child is not a characteristic of the "psychology of an otherwise decent person who has just made a mistake." Rehabilitation for pedophiles does not work either.