Did you know the Supreme Court messed up on Capital Punishment for Rape of Children under 12?

Question

http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/365drohy.asp

Answer 1

I don't think the knowledge that the military, under UCMJ, allowed the death penalty for child rapists would have swayed the justices writing for the majority.  Also, the military hasn't executed anyone since 1961 I think.  Although they may be about to execute PVT Gray.

Answer 2

Rape isn't murder.

Answer 3

No. The fact remains that people simply are not sentenced to death for anything less than murder in this country, thus making it an unusual punishment. Even if it is allowed, it is not used as a sentence, let alone a punishment.

Answer 4

The most important thing is to protect kids. With that in mind, the decision was a good one.  

•First of all, to avoid the death penalty the rapist is more likely to kill the key and only eyewitness, namely his victim.

•Secondly, rape and abuse of children is already one of the most underreported crimes, because they are most often committed by fathers, uncles, and family friends. If the perpetrator can face the death penalty, the crime will be even less likely to be reported.

•Additionally, children who are victims of rape and abuse often carry a heavy load of guilt which would be made much worse if the victimizer is executed.

•Last of all, defendents in rape cases have been misidentified by victims. Take a look at www.innocenceproject.org for information about cases where rape victims identified the wrong person. Children have also been manipulated into making accusations of rape and abuse where no such crimes even occurred

Answer 5

If the penalty (death) is the same for rape or murder, what would stop a child rapist from simply killing the child after their disgusting and heinous act?

I say castration is a better penalty for s*x offenders. Save the death penalty for murderers, otherwise more people will become murderers because they've got nothing more to lose at that point.

Answer 6

Back in the old west, when coast-to-coast railways were in their infancy, there was a huge problem with train robberies.  There were so many isolated stretches of railroad, that it was easy for robbers to stop trains and loot the cargo and take the passengers' valuables.

It got so bad that finally the government decided to institute the death penalty to all train robbers, thinking this would reduce the problem.

What ended up happening wasn't a reduction of train robberies; rather, there was a dramatic reduction in train robbery survivors.  Rather than leave witnesses that could testify against them, the train robbers would simply bring extra ammunition so that they could kill everyone on the train.

What makes you think a child rapist wouldn't do the same exact thing?