Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court in a major capital punishment decision struck down on Wednesday the death penalty for child rape, its first ruling in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.

The nation's highest court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for the crime of raping a child violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Read the full story here


This about sums up how I feel about it:

Alito criticized the court's decision.

He said it means the death penalty would be barred "no matter 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."

He added, "I have little doubt that in the eyes of ordinary Americans, the very worst child rapists ... are the epitome of moral depravity."

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Look at it this way.... he has to live among the same scum as him and the chances of him making it very long are very slim... in way, he totally got the dealth penalty by being thrown to the wolves in the prison system.

But I definitely agree with your regarding the ruling. Shame shame.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

prisons have their own "justice system" for child molesters. I would personally rather them be subjected to that punishment than the "easy way out"

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

this ruling really upset my husband.

he just told me about it when he came home from work.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

death is too good for them

I would rather have them suffer in prison

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

I think rotting in prison for the rest of your life is much harsher than the death penalty.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

see, and i think hanging them from their b@lls until they bleed to death would be better

yeah, i know....cruel and unusual punishment - so be it. and being locked up in prison wouldn't be a cake walk either - but I do not feel they should be allowed to breathe, eat, sleep (all on taxpayer's dime) - for the rest of their lives either.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

The article bothered me at first but I believe the decision is correct. The death penalty is saved for murders. If we executed every rapist and molester then the death penalty would be more cruel and unusual punishment than it already is. Also, I think it is much better they have to spend the rest of their natural life behind bars because then they can think about what they did. The death penalty in this case would be the easy way out. JMHO.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

I was over it too.

I always thought of raping a child as "killing" them or at least their childhood. I don't know how I would apply this to the rare occassion of consensual sex - those with a 4 year age difference, like a 15 year old & 19 year old.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

I find this ruling very disturbing.

What it means that no matter how many kids you rape or torture, as long as you don't kill them, you will just go to jail.

What an incentive to stop crime!

Child molesters CANNOT be rehabilitated so in essence after 30 years they are back in the street and doing it AGAIN. Like we have seen it so many times on the news. Then it's too late, they actually kill the kid and we wonder how it could have happen again, why they are back in the street, etc...

I personally find children rape to be one of the most hineous crime.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

I think even if they put the death penalty they sit on death row for a thousand years anyhow.
All on taxpayers money.
Make the families of the rapists pay for their stay.
Fair...no..they didn't commit the crime but either did the tax payers.
The view all changes when Heaven forbid its you when u r little, your dd or niece...son...etc.
That 2 minute event or whoever long changes how that child would have been..
yuck...this is why I cn not serve on a jury-=be a lawyer or even hear about thse things...

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

at first I was mad about the decision, but after thinking about it, I guess it is the correct ruling under the law.

However, I do think there should be a mandatory sentence of life with no possibility of parole. As a tax payer, I would have no problem keeping these animals behind bars for the rest of their lives and keep our children safe. It would be worth the cost to me.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Message edited 6/26/2008 9:01:27 AM.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Child molesters don't last long in jail. It will be a miserable existence.

Either way, it tortures the family.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

I have very, very strong feelings about the death penalty, so I'm going to just try to say my perspective and then attempt to stay out of any hardcore debate. It's a sticky topic and chances are that nothing said here is going to change anyone's mind - at least not today. So I'll just give my perspective as others have. Please understand that these are my own personal views - not an attempt to debate or an attack on anyone who feels differenty. I have purposefully not fully read all the responses before writing this so I did not address anyone's post intentionally.

Of course, I also have very, very, VERY strong feelings about child molestors, rapists, and murderers. I read these stories about what happens to people and my first gut reaction is that we should drag the guys out into the street, string them up by their b@lls, and stone them. I think that sort of initial reaction is absolutely normal. I think most people (regardless of their stance on the death penalty) probably feel this way when they read about these heinous crimes. Just because I don't support the death penalty does not mean I am any less horrified by these crimes than anyone else.

I, however, cannot make the leap from having that gut reaction to taking it several steps farther and supporting state-sanctioned killing of these individuals. Not all of our gut reactions are good ideas or moral or ethical. No, I'm in absolutely NO WAY condoning the heinous crimes people commit. However, I can feel strongly about those crimes without supporting the death penalty - and I do. I've worked for years on death penalty issues (and FWIW, I'm fairly conservative). I could rattle off statistics about how it's unfair, prejudiced, etc., etc. But at the end of the day, to me, that's not why I'm against it (though they are excellent reasons not to support it in its current state). I just honestly think that it's fundamentally wrong (and FWIW, my views aren't based on religious beliefs at all). Personally, I completely understand the outrage, anger, etc. we all feel when we hear about these heinous crimes. I just have never understood how people can take that a step farther and support the death penalty. I know on a fundamental level, many people disagree, and we're all entitled to our opinions. This is just me voicing my opinion... I hope people will understand and accept that those of use who don't support the death penalty are not condoning such crimes and are no less horrified and outraged by them as everyone else. That's the message I wanted to get across.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Message edited 6/26/2008 10:15:46 AM.

Re: Supreme Court Decision - Denies death penalty for child rape cases

Although child rape is a heinous, disgusting crime, I think the supreme court made the right decision.
A decision to put people to death for reasons other than premediated murder would open too many doors.