The idea of executing child rapists, even when there in no loss of life, is making headway in the United States. Believe it or not there is a downside to legislation like this. Read on.
The Louisiana Supreme Court last week upheld the death sentence for a pedophile, and the governor of Texas is soon to sign into law legislation to that effect.
In 1995, Louisiana was the first state to adopt legislation authorizing the death penalty for child rapists.
Ten years later, the movement to make pedophilia punishable by death really picked up steam after nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford was raped and buried alive in Florida by a man with a prior conviction for sex crimes.
Too bad people have to almost be first-hand witnesses to this kind of crime to figure it out.
Various versions of the "Jessica Law" sprang up all over in the country, imposing in most cases a minimum 25 year jail sentence and the wearing of an ankle bracelet for life for raping a child aged 12 or younger.
They can make a special bright red one. With the first name of the kid they raped engraved on it as a reminder. And anyone who removes it goes straight to prison for the rest of their hopefully short and miserable lives. They should take the batteries out and bury them with the bracelet on when they die, too.
But in some states, elected officials amended their versions of the "Jessica Law" by adding the possibility of condemning a pedophile to death.
If they have incontrovertible proof, go for it!
They include Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia and Montana.
An overwhelming majority of lawmakers in Texas chose to join the list. Texas is responsible for a third of all executions carried out in the United States in the past 30 years and for two-thirds of those conducted so far this year. The draft law is now on the desk of Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has promised to sign it.
The idea seems to go against the grain in the rest of the country, where the death penalty is losing ground because of grave judicial errors and botched executions.
I don't know if botched is the word I would have chosen.
| How could it be 'botched'? The convicted felon ended up dead, didn't he? |
Yep, that's gotta suck.
"It is already difficult to report about a father, an uncle, a family friend ... It will be worse when the child knows they can spend a very long time in jail or be sentenced to death," she said.
Make the death penalty optional to the victim, to be decided when they darn well feel like it after age 30. Maybe they can decide on the length of their incarceration then, too. But in any case they get to wear the ankle bracelet for life.
| Can't punish these folks because that will reduce the odds that they'll be punished. Orwell would be so proud ... |
I'd worry more about the legal system doing stupid things that actually encourage this kind of crap. Agonizing over what is cruel and unusual punishment for this crime is one of them.
Moreover, it is uncertain that executing non-murderers will comply with the US constitutional mandate barring "cruel and unusual" punishment.
OK, how 'bout they get strapped over a pommel horse and get gently reamed by a frustrated stallion? Or three.
The only man among more than 3,300 prisoners on death row who stands to lose his life under the new law is 42-year-old Patrick Kennedy, who was sentenced to death in Louisiana in 2003 for raping his companion's eight-year-old daughter.
Hey, Pat! Was it worth it? $100 and a hotel room would have been a lot easier!
In 1977, the US Supreme Court invalidated the death sentence of a rapist, arguing the punishment was disproportionate to the crime.
Hmm. I wonder what Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the like would have said about that.
Later, evoking "evolving standards of decency," the court also rejected the death penalty for criminals who were minors or mentally retarded at the time they committed their crimes.
I can hear it now: I was mentally retarded at the time, but I'm feeling much better now!
But on Tuesday, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Kennedy.
Pappy, I'll need that sympathy meter back when you're done with it.