Extension of the death penalty?

[Vermouth]

I'm wondering about this based on the recent case heard by the Supreme Court in which a man convicted of child rape was sentenced to death.

Since it reinstated capital punishment, the Supreme Court has held that the U.S. Constitution's bar on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits applying it to some defendants, such as the mentally retarded, and to certain crimes. In a 1977 case involving the rape of an adult, Coker v. Georgia, the court said "the death penalty, which is unique in its severity and irrevocability, is an excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such, does not take human life."

Since then, the court has repeatedly interpreted Coker as holding that the death penalty cannot be applied in cases of person-on-person violence other than murder or reckless disregard for life.

Louisiana thought it saw an opening in Coker, however, in cases of child rape, which the decision did not expressly mention. The state passed a law making rape of a victim younger than 12 punishable by death.

[Mr. Ed]

I'm wondering about this based on the recent case heard by the Supreme Court in which a man convicted of child rape was sentenced to death.

Since it reinstated capital punishment, the Supreme Court has held that the U.S. Constitution's bar on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits applying it to some defendants, such as the mentally retarded, and to certain crimes. In a 1977 case involving the rape of an adult, Coker v. Georgia, the court said "the death penalty, which is unique in its severity and irrevocability, is an excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such, does not take human life."

Since then, the court has repeatedly interpreted Coker as holding that the death penalty cannot be applied in cases of person-on-person violence other than murder or reckless disregard for life.

Louisiana thought it saw an opening in Coker, however, in cases of child rape, which the decision did not expressly mention. The state passed a law making rape of a victim younger than 12 punishable by death.

I'm all for executing the guilty.  The problem is accurately determining who is guilty.

The is the problem that has, and will continue to, plague mankind forever.

[SDML]

1) Should there even be a death penalty?

2) Assuming the answer is yes, then should it be applied to ALL murder, plus other crimes?

Personally, if we're going to have a death penalty, I would rather see it applied to cases where a person poses an on-going threat. Most murder, for example, is not serial whereas most rapist are serial offenders (at least that is what it said last time I was reading on the subject - please correct me if I'm wrong). Therefore, I'd rather see a rapist (especially child rapist) put to death than a guy who walks in on his wife & her lover and shoot someone, or some similar scenario.

[wow]

Texas executes pedophiles after a second conviction.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/041608dntexrapists.696df49b.html?npc

Texas to argue for right to execute child rapists at Supreme Court

06:28 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 15, 2008

By BRENDAN MCKENNA / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON — Texas says sometimes the sexual assault of a child can be so violent or obscene that the only appropriate punishment is to execute the offender.

And Wednesday, Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz will make that case to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that state legislatures have the constitutional right to allow the death penalty for child rapists.

The case before the court, Kennedy vs. Louisiana, concerns a Louisiana law and the case of a Jefferson Parrish, La., man convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. But striking down that law could call into question Texas’ 2007 “Jessica’s Law,” which allows the execution of certain repeat child sex offenders.

The Supreme Court ruled 30 years ago that death was an excessive penalty for the aggravated rape of a 16 year-old girl. But Mr. Cruz said that decision implicitly left open the door for capital punishment for the rape of children in referring to that victim as an adult.

“The damage inflicted on this 8-year-old girl … will remain with her every day of her life,” Mr. Cruz said. “The Constitution does not prohibit elected legislatures from making the determination that the most egregious forms of child rape should permit the jury to impose the most serious sentence.”

But the prospect of capital punishment could lead to fewer abuses being reported because most child sexual abuse is committed by someone known to and even loved by the victims, said Judy Benitez, executive director of Louisiana Federation Against Sexual Assault. The group is leading a coalition of victims groups opposed to applying the death penalty for child rapes, including the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

“These are extremely manipulative people,” she said. “They say to the child, ‘If you tell, you’re going to make the police come and take me away, and then how is Mom going to pay the bills.’ They put it very much on the child.”

The groups also argue that if the death penalty can be imposed for child rape, it could make some offenders more likely to kill their victims to prevent them from testifying, she said.

Aside from the moral arguments, David Bruck, executive director of the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse at Washington and Lee Law School, said Mr. Cruz and the lawyers for Louisiana face serious legal hurdles.

“The Supreme Court doesn’t take very many easy cases, but this should be one,” he said. “The rape of a child is not the same as killing a child, that’s basically what the court said [in 1977]. … Horrible as the crime is, it is not equivalent.”

Mr. Bruck said the court could strike down the Louisiana law and leave Texas’ statute intact because it more narrowly restricts cases in which the death penalty could apply. A ruling is expected later this year.