The US Supreme Court narrowly ruled Wednesday that a man convicted of raping a child cannot be sentenced to death, saying capital punishment must be reserved for murder cases.
By a one-vote majority of 5-4 the justices said the US constitution which prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment" bars the imposition of the death penalty "for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim's death."
In its written ruling, the court specified that even if a rape was particularly atrocious, it was impossible to set down a list of circumstances under which the death penalty would be justified, without opening the door to arbitrary decisions.
Over the past years many parts of the United States have tightened legislation against child rapists introducing maximum penalties of 25 years in prison.
Five states have also introduced the death penalty for the rape of a child, usually for repeat offenders.
The case before the Supreme Court involved an appeal by lawyers for Patrick Kennedy, 43, who was sentenced to death in Louisiana in 2003 for raping his girlfriend's daughter five years earlier, when she was eight years old.
But in its ruling, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court cited a "national consensus" across most US states that do not have laws allowing capital punishment for the crime of child rape.
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By a one-vote majority of 5-4 the justices said the US constitution which prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment" bars the imposition of the death penalty "for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim's death."
In its written ruling, the court specified that even if a rape was particularly atrocious, it was impossible to set down a list of circumstances under which the death penalty would be justified, without opening the door to arbitrary decisions.
Over the past years many parts of the United States have tightened legislation against child rapists introducing maximum penalties of 25 years in prison.
Five states have also introduced the death penalty for the rape of a child, usually for repeat offenders.
The case before the Supreme Court involved an appeal by lawyers for Patrick Kennedy, 43, who was sentenced to death in Louisiana in 2003 for raping his girlfriend's daughter five years earlier, when she was eight years old.
But in its ruling, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court cited a "national consensus" across most US states that do not have laws allowing capital punishment for the crime of child rape.
Read the full article>>
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