Court rejects death penalty for raping CHILDREN?!

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 25, 10:14 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.
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In a 5-4 vote, the court says the law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in cases of child rape violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"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.

There has not been an execution in the United States for a crime that did not also involve the death of the victim in 44 years.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday also cut the $2.5 billion punitive damages award in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to $500 million.

The court ruled that victims of the worst oil spill in U.S. history may collect punitive damages from Exxon Mobil Corp., but not as much as a federal appeals court determined.

Justice David Souter wrote for the court that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses, about $500 million compensation.

Exxon asked the high court to reject the punitive damages judgment, saying it already has spent $3.4 billion in response to the accident that fouled 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline.

A jury decided Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. A federal appeals court cut that verdict in half.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_rdp


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What IS a suitable punishment for those who dare rape children and steal their young lives from them?!

This makes me so mad!!!!

It -is- irritating, but then... you should see what happens to these particular people in prison.

A death sentence is a comparative mercy in most cases.

...

Still, I have to agree, stiffer punishment is called for...

All I'm saying is that there needs to be some kind of punishment more than simple jail time. These people steal the lives and the innocence of these young children, and what do they get? A bad name? A jail cell complete with cable TV?!

IMO, the men who do this should be castrated, at the VERY least!!!

No, I agree completely. Castration is a good start, and its hard to see why it is not a mandatory punishment in such a case...

But, all I'm saying above is that jail time is never as simple as going in and simply serving your time. Not usually at least. And even amongst the dregs of the prison system these disgusting pieces of filth are on the bottom.

Kensei has a point, prison systems have their own hierarchy, where rapists, especially child rapists and molesters are considered by all inmates the lowest of the filth inside. However Firestorm, I do HAVE to agree with you in your point that a far stiffer punishment should be required than jail/prison time. I HAVE to agree with you there.

On a more sadistic note, we should find out if the child rapists have any children of their own that they haven't defiled.

I don't think that it's right, that they let them off easy like that....

What about if the rapist killed said child, would they get off of the death sentance even then?

Ru, a resulting death would be handled under a diferent set of rules. Specifically those that deal with death.

...

I can't believe I have to keep repeating that a child rapist being thrown in prison is not getting off easy.

But to be honest I don't even know why I'm still arguing that point, since, if you look back on my first post, I agreed stiffer punishment -should- be called for...

...

This is just a depressing topic in general. I think I won't look back on this thread. The whole thing is just making me angry (The Supreme Court decision, not the comments posted) :/