Capital Punishment For Rape?

[ImWithStupid]

The US Supreme Court ruled in 1977 in the case of Coker v. Georgia that capital punishment is to harsh/cruel for the rape of an adult. How about the rape of a child?

 

Is Capital Punishment Too Harsh for Rapists?

A Louisiana Jury Sentences a Child's Rapist to Death

By SHERRY F. COLB

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Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2003

 

Last month, in Louisiana, Patrick O. Kennedy was sentenced to death for the rape of an eight-year-old child. The state law under which he was sentenced, passed in 1995, permits the death penalty for the rape of a child under the age of 12.

 

If the sentence withstands appellate challenges in state court, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to grant review, because the issue presented is both important and relatively untested within our federal jurisprudence: Does the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments prohibit the imposition of capital punishment upon those whose crimes do not cause a victim's death?

 

In 1977, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Coker v. Georgia that the rape of an adult woman may not constitutionally be punished by execution. A plurality of the Court reasoned that such a punishment would be "grossly disproportionate" to the crime of rape, because the rapist does not take the life of his victim. The opinion explained that "[l]ife is over for the victim of the murderer; for the rape victim, life may not be nearly so happy as it was, but it is not over and normally is not beyond repair."

 

By specifying the question presented as concerning the "rape of an adult woman," the Court left open at least two questions: May a state execute the rapist of a child (of either sex)? And, may the rapist of an adult man be legitimately punished with death?

 

The Louisiana child rape case plainly raises the first question. But it also implicitly invites us to reconsider the Coker decision regarding the execution of rapists more generally.

 

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[snafu]

I had to think about it for awile. But the punishment doesn't fit the crime. They let murders live, I would say give them life.

[Guest schoolmom]

I believe it is completely acceptable to use the death penalty on people who commit certain crimes against children. I also believe that when children go through torture, extreme abuse and rape their lives really are over. Do these children live normal lives? A child's life is long, and they have to live with this forever. I think the lives of (and crimes against) children should be treated differently than the lives of adults. Quite honestly too often crimes against children (especially those committed by their family members) don't get the same penalties as crimes against adults. In my opinion, this is completely backwards!

 

I think the rape of men should not be considered for the death penalty any more than that of a rape of a woman.

 

I know I am a moderate liberal, but. . . I do not oppose the death penalty in certain cases. I have two young children, if I found out one of them was being sexually abused I would want the perpetrator on death row.

[atlantic]

Anyone who can rape a child has absolutely no morals, no conscience, they are sick, and they will not get better. I say death row is what they should get for the rape of a child/or life imprisonment with NO possibility for parole.

[Guest sheik-yerbouti]

I believe in punishment, and in addition, the certainty, that certain offenders can never reoffend.

 

Life does not mean life in England. It can mean as short a time as 5 years. Meanwhile the bleeding heart liberals will be doing everything possible to get the guy out even sooner !

 

This vile piece of must never reoffend. There is just this one thing to do in my opinion.

 

String this animal up.

[RegisteredAndEducated]

I think the death penalty should be used in alot more cases than it is now.

 

I think that regular rapists, if the case is bad enough, should be put to death.

 

So i vote yes, kill child rapers.

[ImWithStupid]

I had to give this one quite a bit of thought. A child victim of rape or any victim of rape for that matter may have to deal with the effects of the rape for the rest of their lives. This could be like a life sentence of suffering.

 

Now, my decision was made based on the words, "may" and "could" in the above paragraph. Even though this is a particularly heinous crime, the victim could recover, and therefore, even though my first instinct was to vote yes, I don't think that the capital punishment is a fair and just sentence for the crime of rape, to either an adult or child.

[snafu]

I had to give this one quite a bit of thought. A child victim of rape or any victim of rape for that matter may have to deal with the effects of the rape for the rest of their lives. This could be like a life sentence of suffering.

 

Now, my decision was made based on the words, "may" and "could" in the above paragraph. Even though this is a particularly heinous crime, the victim could recover, and therefore, even though my first instinct was to vote yes, I don't think that the capital punishment is a fair and just sentence for the crime of rape, to either an adult or child.

 

 

I think the added trauma of a person being put to death because of the crime would have a profound effect on the victim.

[Old Salt]

I think the added trauma of a person being put to death because of the crime would have a profound effect on the victim.

Some of these sick SOBs rape children too young to comprehend what has happened to the pervert.

[snafu]

Some of these sick SOBs rape children too young to comprehend what has happened to the pervert.

 

Not right away but they will find out later in life. Then they will have to deal with the knowledge of a life taken. Victims already have a high guilt rate. They tend to believe that they might have done something to provoke the crime.

[atlantic]

Not right away but they will find out later in life. Then they will have to deal with the knowledge of a life taken. Victims already have a high guilt rate. They tend to believe that they might have done something to provoke the crime.

I would also think the victim would feel worse if someone that victimized them was let out of prision and reoffended and hurt another child. It is a known fact that pedophiles will continue what they do (they cannot help themselves), and isn't society sick of paying for them to be fed, kept warm in prison for a short spell, only to be let out again and receive welfare, and reoffend, Justice for the children seems to have taken a step backwards

[wez]

I gotta say no.. not a fan of the death penalty. Humans are not capable of making these decisions, IMO. One innocent person being put to death is one too many. Could you imagine if it were you? And it's happened plenty..

 

 

What about angry parents who spend years physically and mentally abusing their own kids? No better than rape as far as I'm concerned, not to mention, these are the people that are suppose to love and protect them.... Should they be put to death too?

[snafu]

I gotta say no.. not a fan of the death penalty. Humans are not capable of making these decisions, IMO. One innocent person being put to death is one too many. Could you imagine if it were you? And it's happened plenty..

 

 

What about angry parents who spend years physically and mentally abusing their own kids? No better than rape as far as I'm concerned, not to mention, these are the people that are suppose to love and protect them.... Should they be put to death too?

 

I think you gotta point there.

[snafu]

You know the death penalty might be the answer but we would be putting a lot of Billy Bob's to death.

[wez]

You know the death penalty might be the answer but we would be putting a lot of Billy Bob's to death.

 

 

 

You made some excellent points up there too snaf.. I think the child would suffer more from the perp being put to death.. How could they ever get closure? Killing the person will never take away what happened, or make things right..

 

Time for people to quit playing God and we'd all be better off I figure. Fat chance of that though.. And like I said, plenty of parents physically, mentally, and verbally rape their kids every day, all day for years on end.. Old sparky would be busy if we're really serious about protecting kids by killing people who hurt them..

[hugo]

This issue should be a state issue. IMO the 1977 decision was wrong.

 

From the dissenting opinion in Coker:

 

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER, with whom MR. JUSTICE REHNQUIST joins, dissenting. In a case such as this, confusion often arises as to the Court's proper role in reaching a decision. Our task is not to give effect to our individual views on capital punishment; rather, we must determine what the Constitution permits a State to do under its reserved powers. In striking down the death penalty imposed upon the petitioner in this case, the Court has overstepped the bounds of proper constitutional adjudication by substituting its policy judgment for that of the state legislature. I accept that the Eighth Amendment's concept of disproportionality bars the death penalty for minor crimes. But rape is not a minor crime; hence the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause does not give the Members of this Court license to engraft their conceptions of proper public policy onto the considered legislative judgments of the States. Since I cannot agree that Georgia lacked the constitutional [433 U.S. 584, 605] power to impose the penalty of death for rape, I dissent from the Court's judgment. (1) On December 5, 1971, the petitioner, Ehrlich Anthony Coker, raped and then stabbed to death a young woman. Less than eight months later Coker kidnaped and raped a second young woman. After twice raping this 16-year-old victim, he stripped her, severely beat her with a club, and dragged her into a wooded area where he left her for dead. He was apprehended and pleaded guilty to offenses stemming from these incidents. He was sentenced by three separate courts to three life terms, two 20-year terms, and one 8-year term of imprisonment. 1 Each judgment specified that the sentences it imposed were to run consecutively rather than concurrently. Approximately 1 1/2 years later, on September 2, 1974, petitioner escaped from the state prison where he was serving these sentences. He promptly raped another 16-year-old woman in the presence of her husband, abducted her from her home, and threatened her with death and serious bodily harm. It is this crime for which the sentence now under review was imposed. The Court today holds that the State of Georgia may not impose the death penalty on Coker. In so doing, it prevents the State from imposing any effective punishment upon Coker for his latest rape. The Court's holding, moreover, bars Georgia from guaranteeing its citizens that they [433 U.S. 584, 606] will suffer no further attacks by this habitual rapist. In fact, given the lengthy sentences Coker must serve for the crimes he has already committed, the Court's holding assures that petitioner - as well as others in his position - will henceforth feel no compunction whatsoever about committing further rapes as frequently as he may be able to escape from confinement and indeed even within the walls of the prison itself. To what extent we have left States "elbowroom" to protect innocent persons from depraved human beings like Coker remains in doubt.

 

That SOB should have been executed. How else do you punish an individual already doing life?

[wez]

This issue should be a state issue. IMO the 1977 decision was wrong.

 

From the dissenting opinion in Coker:

 

 

 

That SOB should have been executed. How else do you punish an individual already doing life?

 

 

16 hours of hard labor per day?

 

 

Killing him isn't punishing him.. it's killing him. What if they find out he committed another crime after he was executed? How do you punish an individual that's already dead?

[hugo]

16 hours of hard labor per day?

 

 

Killing him isn't punishing him.. it's killing him. What if they find out he committed another crime after he was executed? How do you punish an individual that's already dead?

 

Dead people do not escape and rape again.

[Feckless Wench]

I gotta say no.. not a fan of the death penalty. Humans are not capable of making these decisions, IMO. One innocent person being put to death is one too many. Could you imagine if it were you? And it's happened plenty..

 

 

What about angry parents who spend years physically and mentally abusing their own kids? No better than rape as far as I'm concerned, not to mention, these are the people that are suppose to love and protect them.... Should they be put to death too?

 

TOTALLY agree!

[hugo]

Alexis de Tocqueville noted in Democracy in America:

 

"The legislators of the United States, who have made almost all the clauses of the penal code milder, punish rape with death, and there are no crimes that public opinion pursues with more inexorable ardor. That is understandable: since the Americans think nothing more precious than the honor of woman, and nothing more deserving of respect than her independence, they consider that there is no punishment too severe for those who take them away from her against her will."

[wez]

since the Americans think nothing more precious than the honor of woman, and nothing more deserving of respect than her independence, they consider that there is no punishment too severe for those who take them away from her against her will."

 

 

 

 

Apparently, he/she... heshe doesn't remember the chastity belt and other assorted history of the persecution of women in America by Americans who took away her independence and called themselves hubby and daddy. Least they got the right to vote in the 19 teens.. How come the founding fathers didn't punish themselves?

 

Alexis de Tocqueville is a dumbass.

[hugo]

Like father like son

 

newsobserver.com | Murder-for-hire plea nets man 21 years

[wez]

Child Abuse Statistics

From Vincent Iannelli, M.D.,

 

Child Abuse Basics

How many children are abused and neglected in the United States?

Each week, child protective services (CPS) agencies throughout the United States receive more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In 2002, 2.6 million reports concerning the welfare of approximately 4.5 million children were made.

 

In approximately two-thirds (67 percent) of these cases, the information provided in the report was sufficient to prompt an assessment or investigation. As a result of these investigations, approximately 896,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect?an average of more than 2,450 children per day.

 

More than half (60 percent) of victims experienced neglect, meaning a caretaker failed to provide for the child's basic needs. Fewer victims experienced physical abuse (nearly 20 percent) or sexual abuse (10 percent), though these cases are typically more likely to be publicized.

 

The smallest number (7 percent) were found to be victims of emotional abuse, which includes criticizing, rejecting, or refusing to nurture a child.

An average of nearly four children die every day as a result of child abuse or neglect (1,400 in 2002).

 

Who is more likely to be abused or neglected?

 

No group of children is immune. Boys and girls are about equally likely to be abused or neglected.

 

Children of all races and ethnicities experience child abuse. In 2002, one-half of all victims were White (54 percent), one-quarter were African American (26 percent), and one-tenth (11 percent) were Hispanic. American Indian or Alaska Native children accounted for 2 percent of victims, and Asian-Pacific Islanders accounted for 1 percent of victims.

 

Children of all ages experience abuse and neglect, but the youngest children are most vulnerable. Children younger than 1 year old accounted for 41 percent of all abuse-related deaths reported in 2002; three-quarters (76 percent) of those killed were younger than 4.

 

Child Abuse Statistics

 

 

 

Better start juicing up old sparky... gonna be a busy year.

[hugo]

You can be for or against the death penalty for rape, but ithe death penalty for rape sure as hell ain't unconstitutional. This is a matter that should be decided by state legislators, not the federal judiciary.

[ImWithStupid]

It appears that the Supreme Court says, "no" to capitol punishment for both adult and child rapists.

 

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