I'm probably not the best person to be rendering an opinion on the death penalty where kids are involved, as I am an unempathetic SOB who couldn't care less about how harsh is the punishment for guys who victimize children. That being said, as the rule stands now, a life has to be taken for the perp to be eligible for the death penalty.....as it turns out, not so much....WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court this week hears arguments about whether the death penalty can be imposed for child rape, taking up for the first time in more than 30 years whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.
The nation's highest court has set arguments on Wednesday on whether the death penalty for the crime of raping a child represents unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.
The case involved an appeal by Patrick Kennedy of Louisiana, who was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter and sentenced to death.
The gut reaction of normal people is to think, "yeah, kill the guy. He raped a child", but is that Constitutional?
We know that the framers had Judeo-Christian morals in mind when they wrote the Constitution. So the concept of an-eye-for-an-eye was surely taken into account when they banned cruel and unusual punishment. So de we as a society have the right to impose the death penalty as punishment for a crime that most of us find more reprehensible than even murder, and it not be considered cruel or unusual? Frankly, I'm stunned that a lower court judge gave a jury the death penalty option for a rape, leading to a Supreme Court appeal.
The other, and possibly more important issue is this: if loss of life is no longer the standard for capital crime, then who's to say armed robbery, or simple assault, battery, bank-robbery...whatever, could at some point be grounds for the death penalty?
What do you think?
5 comments:
Victims of rape suffer long-term emotional consequences that can lead to suicide. What if the rapist transmits AIDS or Hep C?? This could be seen as attempted murder with the after math of the crime not playing out for years to decades after the crime. I totally support the death penalty for the rape of anyone, child, woman or man. I’m also the viewer rooting Dexter (TV show) on in every episode. I like the idea of a serial killer taking out those who “deserve it”. If my child were a victim of rape I would want Dexter on the hunt.
I actually think child molesters and rapists are worse off in regular prison. Just make it known to the "big" men in the yard what exactly they are in for, and let the big dogs have their way with them. I would probably prefer the needle to that.
@asilem, or should I call you melisa? What if a serial killer decided that you needed killing? After all, advocating such anti-social policies might be considered so outside acceptability that people like you need to be purged from the general population.
I wouldn't be out there advocating serial killers. Just Dexter......he kills criminals and is incredibly focused and good at it!! Everyone should take such pride in their work. Speaking of work are you sure you skipped today because of a traffic study? Dexter always comes up with excuses for his absences too. Hmmmm......
If you have me purged from the general population it would be on your dime(taxpayer) and then I'd probably enter some rehabilitation program unless you use violence to purge and eradicate people like me which you wouldn't. The rehab program would probably include room, food, meds, counseling and you'd have to do all my work while paying for my program.
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