Children & the Law Blog

It was reported today that the Supreme Court rejected the use of capital punishment for convicted child rapists as cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth Amendement in the case Kennedy v. Louisiana. In the 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy and joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, the Court ruled that “The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” since, according to the Court’s decision, the use of capital punishment would not be a proportional punishment for crimes committed against individuals that do not result in the death of the victim. The majority argued that there was a national consensus against the use of capital punishment for convicted child rapists as shown by the fact that only six states had permitted its use for child rapists. Justice Alito, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia and Thomas, dissented from the majority, and argued that the reasoning of a moral consensus against using capital punishment for convicted child rapists was faulty. They noted that other states had legislation pending allowing capital punishment for child rapists if the constitutionality of Louisiana’s law was upheld by the Court.

The Court’s Opinion found at: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-343.pdf

New York Times Article on the case: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/washington/26scotuscnd.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin