Kennedy Vs. Louisiana- Fail.

In today's supreme court decision regaurding the rape of an 8 year old girl, it was decided that the rape of a child is not a capital punishment-worthy offense.

I have to disagree.

This is America. There are some things you do not get away with here. Sure, you can object to the high rate of executions in Texas, but even in a liberal state like California the three-strikes law exists so that if you prove yourself to be incapable of reformation- like, say, repeated drug offenses- you will be removed from society permanently. Granted, California just gives you room and board with three square meals a day for the rest of your life and doesn't kill you, but I'd argue that drug offenses are less sever than murder or rape and don't necessarily merit the death penalty.

The kind of person capable of raping their eight year old stepdaughter is not the kind of person I want in my society. Period. Even if you oppose the death penalty, do you want this man living next door to you and having access to your children? Of course not! Our prison system is overcrowded. Putting this man away for life without parole (a popular alternative sentence idea from those who like being taxed) would only ensure that a man who has been judged unfit to live in normal society is well taken care of for the rest of his life. Keeping someone who has obvious disregaurd for human life alive for the next, say, 40 years, is expensive.

One of the defense arguments was that allowing the death penalty for child rape would encourage attackers to kill their victims to avoid the death sentence. Uhm, wouldn't killing their victims pretty much ensure them a death sentence anyway? I don't see how that argument applies here. You can't avoid a capital crime by comitting a different capital crime.

I don't think the death penalty is disproportionate for child rape. I think it's perfect. Child sex offenders have a high repeated offense rate and are very rarely rehabilitated. This man did his crime after the law allowing capital punishment for child sex offenders had been put in place. I see no reason why he shouldn't have been prosecuted under the full extent of the law.