The Death Penalty

The Supreme Court has rendered a few rulings as all had anticipated, although the one I'm most interested in (and Titus as well if I recall) is the DC gun ban, and they haven't said squat yet regarding that (and I find the time its taking them a tad disconcerting I might add). However, there was one that caught my eye today. As you may or may not know there is a piece of human refuge on death row in Louisiana. He was convicted of a brutal child rape. LA, in their understandable reaction, gave him the death penalty for a non homicide crime. And that was the thrust of the appeal arguments - the death penalty is for the capital crime of murder, not rape, no matter how unbelievably horrendous.

First let me say I'm biased on this - I have tried but simply am unable to remove my prejudice, as a father, for wanting to put a round right through that irredeemable man's eyes and then bill his family for the cost of the bullet. Were I governor of LA I would tell the warden not to expect any last minute phone calls I assure you. That being said, the Supreme Court has decided against the state of LA and for the "plaintiff." Their position was that the death penalty while legal, should be reserved for murderers; BUT, reserved the feds right to implement it in cases of treason and espionage. That seemed a tad hypocritical to me. I have no doubt that there is a multitude of precedent which secures sure legal footing for holding these two positions simultaneously, however, (perhaps solely as an emotional reaction) it didn't sit well with me that we could hang until dead or employ a firing squad for a traitor, but a child rapist was untouchable. Child rape (and we are talking the savage rape of a five year old girl, not some 15 year old girl who told a 19 year old guy she was of age), it then follows, is less of a crime then spying. Again, this is probably an emotional reaction, but that just seems wrong.

I might add that Louisiana is one of six states authorizing a death sentence for child rape (until this ruling, clearly). The others are Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. Several other states were debating similar measures in their state legislatures. Assuming restrictions were in place (age, type of rape, etc, to avoid statutory rape cases i.e. - a 15 year old with an 18 year old boyfriend) I think such a law seems reasonable - rape a child and pay with your life.... I'm good with that.