Supreme Court rejects death penalty for child rape cases

Supreme Court rejects death penalty for child rape cases

news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.

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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.

There has not been an execution in the United States for a crime that did not also involve the death of the victim in 44 years.

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This is bound to be a touchy subject for most, including myself. I can definately see both sides of this issue and good cases can be made for each opposing view point.

There is no crime more heinous in a civilized society than that of raping a child. It is such a brutal, evil act and is hands down one of the true abominations against humanity. You never want to see a person capable of such sickening actions to get off easy. Many of these people end up in prison, go through counselling (in many cases better quality than the victims) and end up right back on the streets again, in our neighborhoods and communities.

The rate of recidivism for child sex offenders is staggering, and many would argue that these people cannot be rehabilitated and will only live on to offend again and again.

Would the death penalty be a serious option for courts to impose in these cases? As horrible as a sex crime is against a child, does it justify the taking of a human life if the crime itself does not cause death unto another person? This court decision was extremely narrow, passing only by one vote.

Speaking from the heart my first reaction would be to say yes, fry the bastards. But morally speaking Im not so sure. What do you guys think?

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Also, you must wonder. If the person knows they stand to get the death penalty when they rape a child, they have no incentive to leave the child alive. Same punishment, no witness.

A raped child is better off than a dead child.

Actually this is the only crime that i condone torture.
They should be pulled apart piece by piece very slowly.
Make it last about a week.
You'll see a drop in child rape.
A child molester is the only person i can think of that is more evil than Hitler.

The court is being pretty lame on this one. The excuse that there all too many child rapist to could be put death. I guest they are too concern with our internatioal image. The court needs to wake up to the fact that there are things worse than death. The ideal that putting someone to death only for muder is just wrong.

They usually kill the scum in prison population with about a hundred stabs with a shaft, which is "a good thing" I must say.

The reasoning behind this Idoit view of not killing the scum child mokesters is because of the "evolving justice system", that being said , that means thy would have too many child molesters to "put to death", makes sense huh?

Probably most people that make these sort of desions are either ass-clowns or have done some terrible things themselves.

In any case well just have to either let the prisoners kill the molesters slowly or some how create a "star chamber" and do it ourselves. I tell ya what, if I found out someone did my kid ...they would die at my hands if at all possible.

Originally posted by CallMeMaury
Also, you must wonder. If the person knows they stand to get the death penalty when they rape a child, they have no incentive to leave the child alive. Same punishment, no witness.

A raped child is better off than a dead child.

Im not so sure about that.

I would guess that death is a deterrant for just about any crime. It is quite possible that these scum would think twice about touching a kid if they knew that they would face the needle.

As it sits now they get three hots and a cot while they get to hang out with other perverts and share tall tales.

You can also make the case that if a predator is going to go the extra mile and kill the victim, then odds are he will do it no matter what the punishment will be.

I have to say child rapists, or any violent rapist deserves death in my book. I strongly disagree with the court. This is not good, our prison populations are crowded enough, killing off such vermin wouldn't hurt anyone...it would help actually.

Children are powerless against the urges of an aged populace so I believe that some exception should be made here. To say that child rape doesn't cause death is an interesting perspective. The child that could have grown up innocent and unconflicted has "died" replaced with an unfortunate soul that develops a constant fear and mistrust of others. These scum need to be dealt with severely. It would seem to me that pedophilia is a phenomenon that riddles the elite classes to some extent if one is to believe some of the stories that are posted here so it would make sense that its penalties are often times softer than lets say that of a drug dealer. I'll never truly understand this.

their torture an sentence should include a couple months in the Shame Box... a New contraption that would Be a all see thru Plexy glass box re enforced with a Large Iron gate surrounding the Cell Like glass box, the Convicted would be Placed in their with just a pair of boxers, a bucket and a couple MREs, Left to be On display an Humiliated Just like they have an will continue to do to the child they abused.... For as sad as it is, these things cant just be forgotten....

The Shame box would allow the prisoner to either Understand the some of the Pains they put their victim thru. Then after a certain amount of time ( to be decided in court) they can return to Prison an recieve the final stint of their sentence.... The Public Jail system......

Because for a Child molester, nothing is worst then to be placed in Public Jail with about 500 to a thousand Pissed off, Angry Dads, or Uncles Just waiting for their Next Vent session......

They could Market CHild Molesters as Jail Stress Relievers......

koo Koo KaCHoo?



[edit on 25-6-2008 by Trance Optic]

[edit on 25-6-2008 by Trance Optic]

This is in response to something the OP said. I said "A raped child is better off than a dead child" The OP replied, "I'm not so sure about that."



You cannot discount the victims of child rape who overcome the trauma and go on to live productive lives. Will they always be scarred? Yes. But are they better off dead? Only a crazy person would say that.

I am not defending child rapists, I just think the stigma the child faces is bad enough without people saying they can never have a life. If I didn't think it would make more rapists kill their victims I would be in favor of the death penalty for all rapists.

The fact is, with therapy, victims can ultimately lead a fulfilling life. Saying the victims are better off dead is a very dark road to go down.



[edit on 25-6-2008 by CallMeMaury]

The real problem that arises here, as in any death penalty case, would be false accusations and convictions based on heresay.

We all know that the police have a habit of being wrong at times and there have been people accused of such crimes only later to be vindicated.

Would it be worth an innocent life in order to bring justice about for the betterment of society as a whole?

At least we have DNA evidence these days to help insure that the right person is convicted, but when does the punishment overtake the crime itself?

reply to post by CallMeMaury



To be clear, I was not saying that a child would be better off dead.


When I said "Im not so sure about that" I was referring to the point that you made about death no being a deterrant for pedophiles. Im not sure it would cause predators to kill the victims at any higher rate. I think the prospect of facing death if caught could actually impact the criminal mind in a way that would prevent him from offending at all.

reply to post by BlackOps719


What you say about innocent victims is true. However, it shouldn't really be an argument against the death penalty. We should assign the punishment we think is the correct one under the circumstances, not the best one that takes into account the flaws of our legal system. I am sure I would feel differently were I wrongfully accused.

I think the whole system needs to be improved. But I feel the death penalty would not be a deterrent in this case as the rapists are usually driven by by some kind of mania. I just think a lot more rapists who would never kill would do so since it is the same punishment.

Originally posted by BlackOps719
reply to post by CallMeMaury

 

To be clear, I was not saying that a child would be better off dead.


When I said "Im not so sure about that" I was referring to the point that you made about death no being a deterrant for pedophiles. Im not sure it would cause predators to kill the victims at any higher rate. I think the prospect of facing death if caught could actually impact the criminal mind in a way that would prevent him from offending at all.

I misunderstood. My apologies. I just wanted to make sure this thread didn't go down tha troad.

Worst. SCOTUS. Decision. EVER!!!

Who the hell do they think they are? If there is any crime worthy of the death penalty, it is child rape. The SCOTUS has absolutely no business telling the states how to enact criminal justice. It is a state law. If you are a child raper and you live in a state that kills people who commit this crime, then DON'T DO IT, or MOVE AWAY!! We don't want you anyway, and honestly I would just as soon kill a child rapist myself than look at it. (Yes, "it", because anyone that would commit this type of crime is far less than human, and not deserving of human rights, dignity, or respect).

What is the definition they are relying on for "cruel and unusual" anyway? IMHO, "cruel and unusual" should be applied from the prespective of the crime committed and the impact on the victim. In cases of child rape, where the damage to the child is lifelong, I believe that it is neither cruel nor unusual to torture and kill the convicted perpetrator, as long as the evidence is rock solid and not merely circumstantial.

Bad SCOTUS, bad!! You should be ashamed of yourselves for perverting what shreds of justice still remain in America.

Overall, follow-up studies typically find sexual recidivism rates of 10%-15% after five years, 20% after 10 years, and 30%-40% after 20 years (see, Hanson, Morton, & Harris, 2003). However, these numbers are conservative because not all offences are detected.

Link


What about in the cases of repeat offenders with multiple strikes?

Where do you really draw the line? I mean judging by the calculated factors involved, the odds of a child sex offender doing it again and ruining another young life is incredibly high.

I would be in favor of a three strikes rule. If you are convicted a third time for a violent sexual offense, not only do you get the death penalty, but you instantly go to the front of the line. No decades worth of appeals, no sitting around in prison at the expense of the tax payers.

If someone is obviously never going to change, what is the point of storing them in our already overcrowded prisons?

Touchy subject indeed, but in case you haven't noticed I have VERY strong opinions on these types of subjects. I also don't shy away from stating an opinion which may be unpopular to some.
I think the ruling here is as far from correct as is possible.
What do I think?
Glad you asked.
I think that the death penalty SHOULD ABSOLUTELY be instituted for any perp convicted of the crime of child rape.
Executing such vermin considered cruel and unusual punishment? I have one word. Ridiculous. These wastes of skin don't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us.
So often we hear of that children - CHILDREN - so young that their ages are still in single digits get raped. Often times they are killed as well.
Now let's put this in perspective, as my words are strong, and my beliefe in extinguishing the life of a child rapist is even stronger.
I could use up pages of this forum, but will use just one example.
Christopher Michael Barrios. He was 6 years old. SIX. He was raped and murdered by George David Edenfield, and Edenfields parents.

Story Here

Edenfield is a repeat child molester
Now think about this. This little boy was six. Can you imagine his terror as he screamed for his Mommy and Daddy while he was raped? Think about that. He was SIX.
When I was six I was still trying to learn to ride a bicycle without training wheels. I thought girls had cooties. I was proud when I could color within the lines. I dreamed of being an astronaut.
How about you? What were you doing when you were six? If Edenfield was killed the first time this little boy would be alive. Who nows? Maybe Barrios would have grown to be the man who cured a disease, or invented alternative energy. We will never know. EVER.
I have NO pity whatsoever for criminals who commit these aggregious acts. NONE. I will GLADLY be the one to end the life of these criminals, and I will sleep sound at night.
Cruel and unusual my toosh.
Frankly, I wouldn't care if these pieces of garbage died screaming.
Yes. I believe what I said, and I stand by it.

Has anyone consider the idea of castration?

I have heard some states have pilot programs where the offender chooses to do this program for less time in jail. The have to go in weekly and take a pill that chemically castrates them.

What does anyone think of actual castration?

Obviously this wouldn't work for female child rapists, and don't kid yourselves, there are female child rapists.

reply to post by lombozo




I remember that case, was very sad. That little boy went through hell before he died.

Hard to disagree with executing the likes of a monster like that. I think the world would never miss a pedophile, in fact most people would applaud the fact that he was dead.

[edit on 6/25/08 by BlackOps719]