Activists on U.S. Supreme Court Get It Wrong

In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court, today, ruled unconstitutional a Louisiana state statute that authorized the death penalty for defendants convicted of raping a child under the age of 12. Clearly, this wrong-headed decision is the fault of Hillary Clinton.

Ok, so I'm only half kidding, that was for my "anonymous" friend. Having temporarily absolved her of responsibility, let me assess blame where it belongs -- to the five justices (two of which were appointed by her husband, two of which were appointed by W's father, and the fifth appointed by President Ford) who clearly have no clue (or chose to ignore) the structure and meaning of the 8th amendment to the United States Constitution.

The 8th amendment states that "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted".

Over the years, case law has, in my opinion, eroded the meaning and expanded the umbrella under which the 8th amendment is applied. For example, in Roper the Court said that "Under the precept of justice that punishment is to be graduated and proportioned to the crime, informed by evolving standards, capital punishment must “be limited to those offenders who commit ‘a narrow category of the most serious crimes’ and whose extreme culpability makes them ‘the most deserving of execution.'" What?

In their decision today, are the 5 Justice's in the majority telling us that our society has eroded to the point where raping a young, innocent child is not among "a narrow category of the most serious crimes"?

I apologize in advance, but let me just give you the details of the case and you can make up your own mind on whether or not the death penalty is warranted in this case. If you have a weak stomach, do not read on:

Facts:
Early in the morning during the day in question, the defendant called 911 to report that his step-daughter had been raped in their yard by two individuals who fled on a blue 10-speed bicycle. When the police arrived 10 minutes later, the young girl was lying on her bed wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. She was bleeding profusely from her vagina. She was taken to the hospital and examined by a pediatric forensic medicine specialist. The specialists findings revealed "a laceration to the left wall of the vagina had separated her cervix from the back of her vagina, causing her rectum to protrude into the vaginal structure. Her entire perineum was torn from the posterior fourchette to the anus". Facts and her admission (which you can read in their entirety in the opinion--linked above) revealed that it was her step-father who, in fact, raped her.

As hard is that is to read, imagine how hard it was for her to hear, today, that the monster that did this to her gets to live a full life. Now she must rely on prison justice.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Alito articulates his objections clearly and concisely (and in a manner far more capable than i). He says, and I quote directly from his opinion:

The Court today holds that the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for the crime of raping a child. This is so, according to the Court, no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted, and no matter how heinous the perpetrator’s prior criminal record may be. The Court provides two reasons for this sweeping conclusion: First, the Court claims to have identified "a national consensus" that the death penalty is never acceptable for the rape of a child; second, the Court concludes, based on its "independent judgment," that imposing the death penalty for child rape is inconsistent with "‘the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.’" Ante, at 8, 15, 16 (citation omitted). Because neither of these justifications is sound, I respectfully dissent.

Real mature, we are. A sad day for justice.

--G