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Associated Press – June 25, 2008:
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“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. |
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# 3 Dr Dodd & # 14 sinn fein
You pathetic morons. You think we still live in the middle ages.
In all your “I MUST HAVE VENGEANCE” stupidity you seem to have forgotten…….If a child rapist is already eligible for the death penalty what is to keep them from killing the child after they rape them?
Ummm…if two thirteen year olds have sex with each other, aren’t they both child rapists in your country?
It never ceases to amaze me how many people somehow think that revenge and justice are synonymous.
And I will disagree with the ignorant, “If it happened to your kids” argument. I am a survivor of childhood rape and I vehemently do NOT support the death penalty for the crime. Regardless of the scares I will always carry because of what happened to me; regardless of the hate I will always feel for the person that did that to me; beyond all other considerations, the punishment does not fit the crime.
But unlike some respondents to this issue, I am a civilized human being who has evolved beyond the need to express an emotional reaction in violence.
21,
You win! Thread over!
#20 Well said. Thank goodness our founding fathers created the Supreme Court to protect the Constitution.
It still works – barely.
Yes when you think about the brutal rape of an 8 year old it’s terrible. But what is the legal definition of a “child rapist”? For example, an 18 year old black male has sex with a 15 year old white girl in the south and she lied about her age. Technically she’s a child. But they could convict him on child rape and give him the death penalty.
So I think they made the right decision by limiting death penalty to murder cases.
It’s impossible to discuss this without a definition of terms. Rape of a child, yes CERTAINLY the death penalty.
However, *statutory* rape of a minor, for example if a 21 year old has a 15 year old girlfriend, that of course should not incur a strong punishment. Punishment yes, but a less severe one.
#24 Marc Perkel
Took longer than I expected, but what good liberal discussion can survive without tossing race into it. How enlightened of you to create a scenario of a black man raping a white girl.
Well done Marc, you win the booby prize.
I understand that the decision was largely based on the high percentage of persons that have been wrongly convicted of capital murder. Some have been released recently, a few have surely been executed and a lot are still in prison. While I personally feel that habitual child rapists are best put down, care should be taken to ensure guilt or innocence. There has been examples of this level of surety in the news recently and those slam dunks should be prosecuted under the death penalty constraints.
Holy Crap!
What is up with all these blood thirty comments? How can anyone even consider the death penalty, when there is anything less than absolute certainty as to the person’s guilt. And what great thing exactly is anyone that they are entitled to kill someone, this applies to both murders and judges.
The only countries that carry out more executions than the US are: China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran. You are in good company.
Your country is terrifying.
One overlooked item: when is the last time you have heard of even close to any punishment, never mind death penalty for female perpetrator? Despite of proven propensity to repeat the crime… I suspect some will claim that boys would welcome it? Well, than what happens with male -to-male child rapist? Suddenly boys are not welcoming it?
My solution: default life in prison for such offenders regardless of the sex of the attacker or the victim as even when caught/convicted they repeatedly do it again. Only requirement: victim less than 18 attacker older than 18, no consent or ignorance loopholes.
#15, Green. AAhhh, that’s so sweet. How about you, your wife, and your daughters all hold hands with a few convicted child rapist and sing “Cum Ba Ya”.
If Anthony Kennedy is writing a 5-4 decision, you can guarantee it is poorly reasoned.
All your logic about how bad is the death penalty are arguments for why you should have it repealed, or not passed as the case for your state. They are not reasons for why the death penalty is unconstitutional. This is judicial activism.
I may live in the Middle Ages but the barbarian criminals that most you apparently love and respect (more than their child victims) are from the Stone Age.
So, the compassionate punishment…errr…corrective behavior…is to have the child rapists simply tell their victims and families, “Sorry. Shan’t let it happen again. My bad.” CASE DISMISSED!
You mopes are the same idiots who want to talk with terrorists to “better understand why they hate us.”
God Save America from its “well meaning” backstabbers.
#28 , you read wrong the Mark Perel post: he’s talking about consented sex (in real world), that due to law wording is (legaly, by age considerations) rape. Replace by two whites or two blacks if you want, the problem that Mark points will be clear to you. Nothing to do with racism.
#all:
A very practical reason to not death penalty for rape is this: If a rapist knowns it will be fryed, then it can think it will pays to kill the raped. One less to testify.
The logical solution is a point system with the below schedule where Death requires at least 100 points.
Murder : 100 (death guaranteed)
Rape of minor 80 (see debit/credit)
-Male rapes male +20
-Male rapes female +10
-Female rapes male -30
-Female rapes female +30
-Difference in age +1 point for each year
The above schedule can be adjusted each 4 years depending on society standards. This should clearly accommodate liberals and fascists. It may have some flaws, but you get the idea.
Is this system yields results, we can suggest other crimes to add to the kill list.
I am a genius!
The purpose of our Justice system is to reform the inmates. There is too much support for the death penalty.A child rapist shouldn’t be executed because they have the most likely shot of actually reforming to societies standards. Their issues are largely psychological and can be worked through.
#3, Dr.
But allow me to ask again after one of your children gets raped. I imagine the death penalty will be perfectly acceptable at that point.
If this happened to my daughter, I would be out there looking to blow the guys brains out. That, however, is why they don’t allow family and friends to sit in judgment. And, that is the difference between vengeance and justice, not the other way around.
So go ahead, accuse my brother and exact your justice on him for a crime he did not commit. Then expect me to come after you for your crime of punishing my brother. So we can have have justice, where the right thing is done, or we can have vengeance and the anarchy that goes with it.
# 34 sinn fein
Your comments are so stupid I don’t even need to retort.
“Hey every body lets just skip the trial too!!!! I say if you are accused you are guilty. Huh Huh. Huh Huh. I’m a Republican and I can’t think so I just react.! Huh Huh!”
Dumb Asses!!!
Its interesting to me how much of the ruling and the discussion is biblically based. Eye for an eye, except in this case there is no eye, so the eye cannot be demanded?
In fact, the death penality is justified as a statement of the values of the society. USA being the only first world country that allows it goes again to our religious roots.
It seems to me that the death penalty can be justified by identifying the “motives” of the criminal. Did he steal a loaf of bread? Bible even says you can’t punish a man if he steals food to feed himself–seems Napoleon missed that caution.
Still–can’t we all kinda understand the natural temptation to kill in the heat of the moment like when the spouse turns off the football channel, or when someone kills a guard to get at the bank’s money? All very understandable.
But what is the common human emotion present when child rape takes place? Innocent child vs predatory human. Sure seems to me that “if” the death penalty can be justified at all (and there are good reasons listed above as to why it isn’t) then common sense would include child rape. Its only the intrusion of bible religion to hold otherwise.