What’s your reaction to the high court’s decision on child rape?
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that a Louisiana law mandating the death penalty for child rape was unconstitutional. Says the Associated Press story today:
The Supreme Court declared Wednesday that executions are too severe a punishment for raping children, despite the “years of long anguish” for victims, in a ruling that restricts the death penalty to murder and crimes against the state.
The ruling was 5-4, split along predictable lines, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the majority’s opinion (link to the PDF file). The AP story goes on to say that, “The ruling also invalidates laws on the books in five other states that allowed executions for child rape that does not result in the death of the victim.”
In Missouri, some lawmakers and Gov. Matt Blunt had pushed for similar legislation. The governor reacted to the court’s ruling:
“Child predators attack the innocent and the defenseless, and the pain they inflict is permanent - in many cases physically and in all cases emotionally,” Blunt said in a statement. “I am extremely disappointed in the court’s decision not to allow the most serious punishment, both as a matter of justice and deterrence to protect our children from vile sexual predators.”
And my colleague Jake Wagman writes on the Political Fix blog that attorney general candidate (and state senator) Mike Gibbons was also outraged. Also, he writes here about Democratic attorney general candidate Chris Koster’s view, which is also opposed to the high court.
Are you? Or did the court do the right thing?



(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor.
I can understand the publics outcry over this decision, but back in the day when the Constitution was written, the King could lock you up without charge and subject you to punishment that people today have a hard time understanding. The Framers sought to change that for good in this country. However, there is an out for the American Public. Just have your Senator or Congressman introduce a bill amend the Constitution. Once it passes both houses, the President, and is ratified by 37 states, it is now the law of the land and cannot be challenged.