Supreme Court overturns death penalty for rape convictions
Thursday, June 26th, 2008No death for child rapists, court says
by Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune
Wednesday June 25, 2008, 10:16 PM
Executing child rapists is cruel and unusual punishment, a divided U.S. Supreme Court decided Wednesday in overturning a Jefferson Parish death sentence and declaring as unconstitutional Louisiana’s 1995 aggravated rape statute that allows the death penalty when victims are younger than 13.
The 5-4 decision also invalidates similar laws in five other states and prohibits the death penalty in crimes in which the victim does not die. The court left intact the death penalty for crimes against the state, such as espionage and terrorism.
The high court handed down its ruling in the case of Patrick Kennedy, 43, who was convicted and sentenced to die five years ago for raping an 8-year-old relative in his Harvey home in March 1998. Removed from death row, Kennedy now faces a mandatory life sentence in prison, another penalty for aggravated rape of a child younger than 13.
“The court has simply said crimes against individuals, where there’s no homicide or no homicide intended, the death penalty is simply inappropriate,” said New Orleans capital appeals attorney and death penalty opponent Denise LeBoeuf.
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