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In a rare case, the Louisiana Supreme Court has upheld a sentence of death for a defendant who did not cause the death of his victim. Only a few states allow the controversial penalty of death for defendants convicted of child rape when the victim survived. The Louisiana decision could make groundbreaking law.

Patrick Kennedy was convicted of the brutal and disturbing rape of his eight-year-old step-daughter. Her physical injuries were so severe, surgery was required to repair them. Her emotional injuries probably run much deeper. Going with the jury’s verdict, I’d like to pummel this guy to death myself. But, our system does not, for good reason, allow individuals to take the law into our own hands. If this monster should killed for his actions, where does it stop? Should every rapist be killed? Should someone who hits a child be executed? A few states currently allow capital punishment for those who commit crimes against the government, like treason, espionage, or aircraft piracy.

In this case, Kennedy originally blamed the girl’s rape on two neighborhood boys and his step-daughter backed him up. She later told her mother and a therapist that Kennedy had actually raped her. Kennedy was sentenced to death under Louisiana’s law providing capital punishment for anyone convicted of raping a victim under the age of 12.

In 1977, the United States Supreme Court overturned the death penalty for a man convicted of raping a 16-year-old. The Court said “the death penalty, which ‘is unique in its severity and irrevocability,’ is an excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such, does not take human life.” In more recent rulings forbidding the execution of defendants who were minors or mentally retarded when they committed their crimes, the Court said capital punishment should be reserved for those who commit “a narrow category of the most serious crimes.”

Following the 1977 ruling, Louisiana changed its capital punishment law for the crime of rape, asserting that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling only applied when the victim was at least 16-years old. The Louisiana Supreme Court, in upholding Kennedy’s death sentence, said his crime fit within the narrow category of most serious crimes for which the death penalty is appropriate.

Kennedy’s case could indicate where the U.S. Supreme will stop the slippery slope of capital punishment.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Criminal Defense Law and Criminal Defense Lawyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.