SCOTUS is still ticking me off

[Tobra]

Anthony Kennedy pulling laws out of thin air.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/scotus.child.rape/index.html#cnnSTCText
So if they can't execute child rapists unless they murder the kid too, can we put them in the general population when they go into prison? I sort of doubt if the consensus in the US is that death for somebody who rapes an 8 year old violates the 8th amendment.

Lets take a poll

[the]

"Alito also wrote that the majority ruled against the death penalty "no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted and no matter how heinous the perpetrator's criminal record may be."

It was a close decision, at 5-4.

If Obama gets to appoint a couple of Justices, something like this won't even be close. Will be 7-2.

[red-beard]

It's funny, all fenonies used to be capital crimes, by definition.

[David]

Originally Posted by the

If Obama gets to appoint a couple of Justices, something like this won't even be close. Will be 7-2.

Actually Obama disagreed with the verdict and said states should make the decision what's a capital crime. He's openly for the death penalty.

[Jim Richards]

Presidents that appointed the current SCOTUS lineup:

Gerald Ford - 1
Ronald Reagan - 2
G. H. W. Bush - 2
Bill Clinton - 2
G. W. Bush - 2

Ya jes never know what yer gonna get.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

Actually Obama disagreed with the verdict and said states should make the decision what's a capital crime. He's openly for the death penalty.

The liberal judges he would appoint won't be.


And FWIW I am against the death penalty, but not for the usual reasons. Just give em real hard time.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

Presidents that appointed the current SCOTUS lineup:

Gerald Ford - 1
Ronald Reagan - 2
G. H. W. Bush - 2
Bill Clinton - 2
G. W. Bush - 2

Ya jes never know what yer gonna get.

I would have preferred a box of chocolates...

[Jim Richards]

Oh yeah.

[David]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

The liberal judges he would appoint won't be.


And FWIW I am against the death penalty, but not for the usual reasons. Just give em real hard time.

I've heard child rapist's have to be kept from the general population, but are still accidentally mixed with the general population on occasion.

I imagine if they're on death row it would be harder for the guards to accidentally loose them for a moment of beatings.

So maybe the ruling is a blessing in disguse.

[einreb]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Anthony Kennedy pulling laws out of thin air.

So if they can't execute child rapists unless they murder the kid too, can we put them in the general population when they go into prison? I sort of doubt if the consensus in the US is that death for somebody who rapes an 8 year old violates the 8th amendment.

There is an argument that if there was a death penalty for raping a child it would encourage the criminal to kill the kid anyway to better their chances of getting away with it.

I can sort of see that logic, but the subject is amazingly horrible to contemplate.

You just hope they do time and get killed in prison.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

Actually Obama disagreed with the verdict and said states should make the decision what's a capital crime. He's openly for the death penalty.

I'd prefer to read that Obama disagreed with Kennedy's arbitrary and capricious "reasoning" on many SCOTUS decisions. Whether Obama thinks a child rapist should get executed is pretty irrelevant, since the feds should have nothing to do with such punishment. Pretty sure that excecuting a child rapist would not have been considered remotely cruel when the Bill of Rights was written.

[lendaddy]

The Supremes shouldn't be factoring ramifications into their decisions. Doing so not only over reaches their powers but prevents the law changes that should happen to counter those ramifications and perfect the system.