In a 5-4 vote, the court says the law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in cases of child rape violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.”The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented.
Keep in mind that Ginsburg had recommended legislative changes that would reduce the age of consent for statutory rape under federal law from 16 to 12.
Kennedy’s “Insufferable Blather” Â
Ed Whelan on this disgraceful ruling today:
Kennedy’s 36 pages of insufferable blather amount to little more than a declaration that the majority doesn’t think that capital punishment is ever a fair penalty for the rape of a child”“no matter,” as Justice Alito puts it in his dissent, “how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted, and no matter how heinous the perpetrator’s prior criminal record may be.”
Eighth Amendment Question: Isn’t Brutally Raping an Eight-year-old More Cruel Than Lethal Objection?
Even if you agree with their bottom line, do Justice Kennedy and the justices in Kennedy v. Louisiana have a clue about how offensive it is to write this line in rationalizing why a man who has savagely raped his eight-year-old step-daughter should not be executed by the humane process of lethal objection:
“Evolving standards of decency must embrace and express respect for the dignity of the person[.]”
And as for their “proportional” punishment argue, I think it’s silly on its face ” read the almost unreadable (because it’s so excruciating) account of the rape and ask yourself whether it is really “disproportionate” to administer lethal-objection execution to a man who committed this type of barbaric a sexual assault on a child.
But let’s give him that one for argument’s sake. The Eighth Amendment talks about punishment that is cruel. First, punishment does not become cruel just because it’s disproportionate. And second, are we really striving here for proportionality? If a crime is cruel ” as it clearly was in this case ” wouldn’t a proportionate punishment also have to be cruel, and thus in violation of the Eighth Amendment?
Wouldn’t it be refreshingly honest if activist justices just bluntly us: “We don’t like the death penalty and we can stop it because there are five of us.” Sure, it would be tyrannical, but at least it would be accurate, and not nearly as nauseating as what passes for reasoning in these cases.
What the child rapist, saved today by Supreme Court liberals, did to his 8-year-old stepdaughter
WARNING: the description is quite graphic!
“Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday he disagrees with the Supreme Court’s decision outlawing executions of people who rape children, a crime he said states have the right to consider for capital punishment.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_el_pr/obama_child_rape_case
(!!!)
Problems posting again, but…
“Obama disagrees with high court on child rape case.”
(!)
This right on the heels of the pro-terrorist ruling. I think there are 5 SC Justices who need to be removed from the Court.
Who care what Obama thinks, how about the children? Neither the POTUS, nor Congress can over-rule the court!
I have a better method to solve the problem. Since they are high risk prisoners, they should be given special uniforms so that the guards can keep an eye on them when they’re out in the yard. They should be issued those high visibility uniforms and placed into general population. Of course the guards won’t be able to keep an eye on them constantly, but at least the high visibility uniforms should help. Otherwise who knows? The life expectancy of a child molester in general population might be shorter than one on death row. There may be little honor among thieves but even they don’t like child molesters.
FAO
I only have a drink on rare occasions, but I’ll drink to your idea. I would love to see these scumbags tossed into the yard with the general population of any prison.
I disagree with the decision as well and don’t know what the reason was to consider it.
As for the high-viz uniforms, might not be a bad idea. Word will get out, however. Worked for Jeffrey Dahmer.
NY-David