June 25, 2008
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Death Penalty and The Rape of a Child
The Supreme Court ruled that “it’s unconstitutional for Louisiana to impose the death penalty on prisoners who have been convicted of raping children.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote “the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child.” Here is the link: Link
Is the death penalty a proportional punishment for the rape of a child?
Comments (192)
I could think of worse things that are proportional punishments for such a crime.
No, definately not.
I believe that capital punishment is fitting of only the worst cases of murderers.
I can’t think of anything that is bad enough to be proportional.
well, lets put it this way… if you rape a child, i really don’t think you deserve to live.
No, it really isn’t. I agree with the decision and the consent of the justices.
Though, in my opinion, I don’t agree with capital punishment.
Unfortunately, I don’t think rape justifies the death penalty.
The people who go to prison for rape will get their just do over that while they are in the pen.
I’m a firm believer in no death penalty.
I don’t think the death penalty is ever a fitting punishment, no matter what the crime.
I generally don’t like to argue with the Supreme Court. They have the express power to interpret the law.
But I am so sick of pedophiles. So sick of them. They get out of prison, they rape another kid. Simple as that.
Pedophiles never change.
Who cares, it is just another example of a courts putting themselves above the law, making it say anything they want it to.
I am personally anti death penalty, but I very much believe that it is not a judges job to make up laws. That should not be at all controversial, but due to people being idiots it is, and the courts get away with it.
If anyone deserved the death penalty, it was this guy.
America is so hypocritical. Its unconstitutional to execute a sick child rapist but its constitutional to organize the assassination of foreign leaders you dont like? c’mon america, apply the damn thing equally across the board.
i say EXECUTE HIM
I would say yes and advocate for it but children are in a great number of cases unreliable as witnesses. As many child advocates point out most child rape cases involve someone a child knows or a family member. I honestly struggle or wonder about how a child would react to putting their father, uncle or anyone they know to death. Tough issue with no easy answer…
I have nothing against the death penalty, so long as the guy is actually guilty.
While I believe that there are few crimes more heinous than the rape of a child, I don’t think that, in most cases, it would constitute the death penalty. I don’t say this lightly, as I am actually someone who was raped as a child.
In prison, it’s rapists and child molesters that are treated the worst. Or so I’ve heard. I think that anyone sentenced to prison for such a crime would be likely to get what’s coming to them.
No. But I do think they should “torture” these pedophiles in ways they tortured the victims. Muwahahaha. The victims are stuck with that PTSD for the rest of their lives and the rapists could just get away with being put to death? Let them suffer while they’re alive.
This is one of the things I have absolutly no sympathy for. I think they deserve worse than death…
@fullmetalbunny - As a victim of rape as a child, I feel qualified to respond, though I was not going to.
But I think everyone can change. Though many may not, and many may not know that they can.
@trunthepaige - right again, although I am pro death penalty. Remember, this is the same court that gave legal rights to our enemies, in clear defiance of the 5th Amendment.
Yes. Because if they’re alive then there is always the chance that they’ll get out and do it again. And if they get life in prison without a chance to get out, then there’s no use in wasting tax dollars keeping them alive.
I’m usually against the death penalty but for some reason I wouldn’t be against the death penalty for the rape of a child. I really can’t think of anything much worse than that.
No.
I don’t think any man should have the right to take the life of another. It isn’t our place. Let him rot in a cold cell alone for the rest of his sick life.
I’m a victim of rape, and I in NO WAY feel that the death penalty is necessary.
I strongly disagree with capital punishment. While raping a child is horrible, I will never condone taking a human life. Besides, I feel that it would be much worse to let them sit in jail for life, thinking about what they did. Make them meet with rape survivors and hear their stories. Put them through as much mental hell as is legally possible. I feel like death is just the easiest way out for them.
They should remove the tendons in their wrists and feet, cut out their tongues, tattoo the word “PEDOPHILE” onto their foreheads, and have them healed properly. After the operations they should be set free to go.
i have to wonder if those against it have ever had a child, or been a victim as a child….
Death? Maybe they should just be incarcerated for life? I’d say cut it off, but some have said that it actually makes them more violent. I don’t know. I haven’t read any of the studies.
I would approve the death penalty to people who look at me funny.
@mkenyon719 - I would definitely sign up to be one of the government’s pedo-torturers.
@Mom4Him - How would this this disqualify any of the rest of us from making a rational, sound assessment?
Until they legalize death by toture, I’ll take the current death penalty for rape of a child
For those how don’t know the crime. the girl was his step daughter, she was 8 years old. He is a 300 pound man. After he was through with her, she came close to bleeding to death and required emergency surgery to save her life. He had her convinced that if she told the truth she would die. So she lied about who raped her for 18 months, claiming it was a gang rape.
So don’t say the crime does not fit the punishment, if the death penalty ever is justified, this would be the time.
I think they should suffer slow and brutal punishment
No, I think that going to prison and getting the punishment that the inmates give to ppl that abuse children is pain enough… most ppl don’t make it out… cause there is an inmate justice… you just don’t mess w/ kids.
No, it isn’t. Slow and elongated torture that continues until they dies of other causes would be proportional but unfortunately that is not allowed. Thus the death penalty is as close to proportional as the law allows.
death penalty isn’t the solution for everything. but i’d probably say different if i had a child who was a rape victim. although, i do believe rapists need some painful and torturing punishment in return for what they’ve gone..
i`m against capital punishment. yes they did a horrific thing but killing them won`t erase the memory or help the child.
I don’t like the death penalty. It’s twisted. It’s sick.
But my life has been permanently changed by a child rapist. My family is permanently messed up. My sibling will never be the same.
Kill the bastards. Treatment for pedophiles has been proven ineffective countless times. Just off them, because they are bound to hurt again.
Sure, but only if you let me abort fetuses till the break of dawn. Who knows, I may even be aborting a future pedophile or murderer, I’d be doing the world a favor.
@lotta_valdez - Exactly my point, although apparently not a popular one. I can have an opinion, but only the victims know the pain and agony of such a horrific act. My heart is with your family…
One child? Maybe not the death penalty, but you should lose many of your rights and have to live out the rest of your life in a 6′x6′ cell.
Now if he rapes multiple children and/or kills his victims? By all means, give him the poison.
@lotta_valdez - Kill the bastards. Treatment for pedophiles has been proven ineffective countless times. Just off them, because they are bound to hurt again.
It’s cheaper to lock them up.
@trunthepaige - Ugh, I didn’t know that’s what the story was. That’s completely disgusting, and he deserves severe punishment for what he did.
If someone does that to an innocent child, adult then yes.
I say life in prison without parole. And prison should be reformed to have cheaper, crappy food. I’m anti-death penalty anyway. But I just don’t think so many convicts should get parole.
The death penalty seems like the easy way out for these pedophiles. I say we take them over to Iraq and use them to find any stray land mines the hard way.
As someone who was molested as a child, I can say that I would rather have them suffer the same punishment that they made me go through. It took me years to recover and to this day I still have nightmares. The death penalty is too easy on them…
I honestly don’t know. They should at least go to jail for life.
I suppose not. (if you follow the eye for an eye theory)
Well, speaking proportionally, a child is proportionally smaller than him, so killing a man of his size is not proportional to raping a child.
no,. i dont think it is.
if anything put them in jail with otehr ppl who like to rape and see how they like it…for years and years and years and years to come.
i say that is actually fair. fck one, get fckd by many
yes. that child is going to suffer for what they did. they deserve to suffer too.
Absolutely. Such a perverted excuse for a human being deserves far worse – unfortunately, death is the most humane.
@Mcon - I’d go for that.
Absolutely. Such a perverted excuse for a human being deserves far worse – unfortunately, death is the most humane.
@Mcon - I’d go for that.
Absolutely! In my opinion the person that rapes a child sentences that child to emotional pain for life. Then again cutting off their protruding parts might also be justified. Then again beating them with a big stick until they wish they were never born might also be appropriate.
I’ve been in an ongoing discussion on another blog about this and it’s getting a little nasty. I just want to say that I hope no one close to me never has to be personally affected by such a horrendous crime. I don’t know how I would feel if someone I loved was brutalized in such a way. However, I am not in favor of the death penalty for rape. There is still a part of me that naively believes that certain people are capable of redemption.
I’m against the death penalty in general. I must be one of them damned hippies.
YES! Anyone that can hurt a child, that which we are given to protect and nuture and love then they do not deserve to live. I just think that the death penalty is to good for them. I personally feel that they should be tortured. But that is just a personal belief. Death is to good for them. But that is the best that we can do.
I have no idea.
Sure.
Death isn’t a good punishment. There a many worse things that can be done.
@huginn - I’m aware, but with overcrowding, release is more likely. It sounds terrible, but we need to expedite the death penalty and end needless appeals.
@LightningRichy - That’s a different issue entirely. A baby is completely innocent. A rapist like this one has mutilated another person’s body and mind.
@k_cakes - So we should just give him a chance to ruin another child’s life?
@lotta_valdez - I rather dislike the whole punishment for justice thing. There are no practical gains.
In a perfect world, of our worst criminals, I’d like slave laborers (to help the economy) and organ & blood extractions (to help the medically needy). Alas, politics. -_-
While I am anti-death penalty, I find that rape and murder amount to the same thing in my view, and especially that of a child, I’d say execute the bastard and set an example. Otherwise, how else will the others out there learn?
If the possiblity that rape might carry a death sentence, the attitude would change about it, wouldn’t it?
I don’t agree with death penalty at all, unless the person is so obviously messed up that getting rid of them is really a good idea
You know what I say? I say we put him in prison for life. I say we release all the one-time drug offenders from our prisons and put people who deserve to be there in prison, such as rapists and people who consistently drive while drunk.
Yes.
@JessicaAshley7 - there are alternatives that do not resort to murder.
AND i never said nor implied such a thing. how dare you.
some say that the rape of a child does not warrant a death penalty. i say it does. a child is defenseless against a sexual advance of this magnitude. the perpetrator was a step-father. he called a carpet cleaning service to clean the blood stain on the floor. a surgeon had to be called in to repair the damages to the child. and he was 250lbs of beast. who in their right mind would do such a thing. i say he should be let out amongst the general population and let justice be done. he should be castrated. he should be cut off from the society. he should work for the costs associated with his imprisonment. if we can’t kill him then we should not pay for his living. a child’s life has been ended and it is a travesty that his life is not.
really as stupid as labeling certain murders as hate crimes,,,, uh,,,, if you took the time to kill them,,, chances are you hated them,,,,
capital offense laws differ in all states,,, and of course there are a lot of states who dont even have capital offenses,,,,
another reason i like mexico,,,
no death penalty here,,, dont need it,,,, anyone suspected of a crime,,,, (such as this one) would never make trial,,, hahahahahahaha,,,, of course not much investigation is conducted first tho,,,, usually the normal beating a confession out of the suspect,,,, so,,, the wrong person may die,,, but,,, no worry,,,, the real culprit will strike again,,,, he may not be so lucky next time around.
I think we want them to die, but really the death penalty is too extreme.
And its, to me, a slippery slope toward extending the death penalty beyond reason. And I’m not sure we should have it to begin with.
@fullmetalbunny - I agree.
i don’t believe in the death penalty under any circumstance. I believe rehabilitation is a better way of going about things rather than killing. I guess both solve the problem, but still…
maybe it’s just my libertarian roots shining through…who knows.
just went over this in my criminal justice class; unfortunately they will never rule that it is proportional, this question came up with another case of rape where the child was 5 years old and they tried to sentence the man to death. it is unfortunate that they wont allow it.
No. Child rapists should be sentenced to babysit the grandchildren of Supreme Court Justices. For free.
A proportional punishment for the rape of a child–or the rape of anyone, for that matter–would be for the rapist to be locked in prison and raped by the big, scary men in there. The death penalty is a bit harsh.
@RagamuffinKing - Chances are that such a measure would be struck down.
@blanket_attack - I doubt that the prospect of poking scum isn’t very appealing to the big scary men.
@huginn - true, touché.
Fucked up thing about it is that this is liberal decision and a very, very conservative Supreme Court (scratches head). Victims suffer all of their lives….lost lives. You don’t have to be dead to be gone.
The death penalty used to be the appropriate punishment for child rapists.
Death is too good for people like that. They should rot behind bars.
I really didn’t know for sure, but I had a hunch you owned it and he worked there. I figure Remy does the storytime there too. I still haven’t figured out who dishes out the candy.
death for death,
if even then.
i’m not too into our system.
i would never let the death penalty be a punishment. i really dont think people have the right to kill others….no matter how much the person deserves to die. i mean, just think about it…wouldnt you want to keep that person alive so you can torture them or something? if you kill them they wont learn regret and they wont know what guilt feels like. you wanna make them suffer. killing them would leave emotionless. they wont learn anything from it.
good question.
I say rape of a child or anyone for that matter is just cause for the death penalty……..that is what is wrong with the US we just put them in jail give them free room and board…………..
How sick can you be when you believe that people who have FORCEFULLY HAVE SEX WITH CHILDREN should get a chance? ‘Oh, have pity on the poor man. He is suffereing from, er, mental issues.’
Those who are that sick should be killed. Thankfully I’m a christian or I would be shooting those people myself! Imagine any kid YOU know being raped. Revolting.
I’m a Christian who believes in captial punishment. God does, why not me?
And if you can’t kill them, then make sure their life is living hell.
yes. rapists kill the innocence of children, so death is a perfectly proportional punishment.
yes, how can you get any lower than raping a child?. also who gives the supreme court the right to come in and change the law that was put in place? why even have the Louisiana court if the supreme court can just come in and change it?
Yes
yes. one loses his rights as soon as he/she takes the rights away from another human being.
fry his ass.
If I were the parent of that child, I’d much rather have him tortured than sitting cushily on death row for ten years.
But that’s just me.
@AvenueToTheReal - You said you were 18!!!!
@DrugInducedDuck - At least someone here has some common sense.
Yes.
I don’t think so. But I’m not really sure what is equivalent to the death penalty in my book.
I think they should yank there balls off and live knowing that they don’t have any, actually I don’t think a child molester or rapist of children deserve to live…
In some cases, I think so.
Ok, as a mother and a human being, I would love to see the death penalty used in overwhelmingly decisive cases involving child rape (i.e. DNA evidence, etc.).
However…
1.) I agree that it will dissuade children from coming forward if they were to know that the person (probably a family member or family friend) could be killed because of it;
2.) It is disproportionate. While horrible, it’s not an eye for an eye so to speak; and
3.) They did discuss as to whether or not to allow it in cases where the rape was so brutal, it was as bad as death (mutilation, etc). That I still agree with.
We’re overpopulated with sickos. Their lives mean nothing to me.
@MoBunshin - You can rest assured that the rumors are true. A good friend of mine has been a corrections officer for well over 10 years, and child rapists get the worst treatment in prison. That helps me to sleep a little better at night. It’s the ones who I have to receive notices about within the vacinity of my child’s preschool (luckily my husband works there) that I have to be concerned about…
…Who wants to be a vigilante?
i hate judicial activism.
it’s not the job of the courts to make laws or break laws – that is expressly the job of the legislative branch. the job of the courts is solely to interpret and apply the laws as they stand to each individual case.
i think capital punishment or life without parole are the most appropriate for heinous crimes like rape- since often rape and murder go hand in hand… and even in cases where it’s only rape how can we expect the victim to recover if they have to live with the fear that their predator might one day be set free to roam on the streets and possibly seek out the victim again? after all we’re talking about children here- people in their most formative years. why should they have to live in fear because their government cares more about being nice to the criminal than it does the victim?
the point of the justice system is to administer justice- to punish the guilty and to protect the innocent. there’s not supposed to be mercy in the justice system- they are opposites. there are other programs and interest groups that do well to do benevolent acts toward the guilty in prisons- but that is NOT the job of the justice system. Justice, quite frankly summed, is “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” anything short of that is not justice but a cruel mockery of the rights of the victims and the victims’ families.
Nope. It’s not a good enough punishment.
No but, I bet the victims of the rapist want them to get the dealth penalty.
I agree wholeheartedly with capital punishment for a murderer. From there on up the ladder of criminal activity, the line blurs. If someone rapes a child, it’s because he or she has a psychological issue that may have its root in his or her own childhood. Should the state put time and money into finding that root and treating the person, or should it get rid of the problem the easy way? I just don’t know… truly, the person is wholly responsible for his or her actions either way. Everyone has a conscience. If it doesn’t work the first time it might not work the next. If there’s any chance of a repeat offense, and with rapists there always is, I suppose capital punishment is necessary, and it may help prevent some crimes to put a harsh price on them.
I don’t think someone who rapes a child should be put away for life. If he or she raped outside of jail, then he or she will rape in prison as well. If it comes to those two options then I say death penalty. If the person seems remorseful, perhaps therapy would present the best outcome. (Sorry! Long comment!)
death is substantial. as it is, when they go to prison, they gonna get it worse from the other inmates who’s crimes are more on the surface or robbery and stuff. so they might as well die anyway.
Nope. It’s not a good enough punishment.
I’m against the death penalty, so I would say life in prison. Let him have nothing else in the world to do but think. Hopefully there’s a chance for him to redeem his soul.
No.
I do agree with capital punishment for some crimes. And I’m inclined to think that most of the people, who think of raping a child as a “lesser” crime probably don’t have children. But I think castration would actually be a legitimate solution for people who commit sex crimes. Then they could be rehabilitated and rejoin society. Isn’t there a way to “chemically castrate.”
@kvdubs - I want you to do me a HUGE favor. Look up (google) rehabilitation of child rapists. Find the stats on it. I can tell you, they aren’t very good. In fact rehabilitation hardly ever works for these sick individuals…
@Anothermadhousewife - There is such a thing as chemical castration, but it doesn’t reduce the urge to commit the act, it just makes them angry and frustrated that they can’t follow through. I hate to be graphic but in those circumstances they generally resort to other objects, to say the least, which often do more damage physically and have the potential to become weapons in the hands of an angry and frustrated child rapist. Its sick, but its happened…
I believe that any violent sexual offense or sexual offense against a child should automatically warrant life without parole. I firmly believe that violent sex offenders and those who target children cannot be rehabilitated.
However, I believe that capital punishment is never, ever acceptable. Life in solitary without parole, however- definitely.
@lizheartshakespeare - i believe that there is some good in people…you have to.
@kvdubs - good in some people, yes. Good in a person who is willing to brutally rape someone that has no power over the situation whatsoever? Not so much. Study after scientific study backs me on that one. I would encourage you to look it up.
To hurt a child like that–if the law wouldn’t put you to death, other inmates in prison sure would try.
umm…castration and then the death penalty is not even enough…that child is affected for like after an incident like this…it’s sad that people are stupid enough to think that the death penalty is unjust for these cases
I’m pretty torn on this one. Clearly, if the man is guilty, he deserves a harsh punishment. But how harsh? Where do we draw the line on when to execute? It can’t just be a judgement call every time.
The current standard is that only murder warrants the death penalty, so the court was just following the current rule. Can’t blame them for that.
But I wonder if the current rule is right. Maybe the rape of a child does deserve death? Maybe no crimes deserve death, ever? I’ve been going back and forth all day. Not sure how I feel.
In the end it doesn’t matter much, since inmates sit on death row for, what, thirty years before they’re killed anyway?
We’re WAY too soft on our criminals if you ask me. Raping a child is essentially taking not only their dignity from them, but essentially their life (and possibly sanity if they never get over the trauma). I mean the poor thing has only been on the earth a few years and has to be exposed to that kind of abuse? No, unacceptable.
Death is a nice punishment for raping a child; if we wanted to be really mean, then we’d release the rapist to the family of the child they raped and left that person’s existence in the family’s hands.
@Fididdle - Good point, they did it to Dahmar.
When our founding fathers wrote the constitution, including the amendment against cruel and unusual punishment, rape was a capital offense, as were – if I remember right – 32 crimes including horse stealing. Unfortunately, in our country the death penalty has been misapplied, and people have been put on death row or worse lynched for crimes they have not committed.
I think that if someone rapes a child that person really is a menace to society and ought to be put to death or at least put in jail for the rest of their lives.
He also stated other reasons that given the relative power of an adult to the abused child, it could be harmful for the children if capital punishment was allowed, e.g.,
Children would not report rapes, especially rapes by family members, if they were afraid of the death penalty being a possible consequence
Create an incentive for rapist to murder his / her victim
I think it is not an easy decision to make on a death penalty for raping children…
i think they should be tortured and have a huge p tattooed on the inside of their right wrist
with absolutely NO chance of getting out of jail before their time is up
I’d say castration and a lot of jail time would be more appropriate.
@smileykaytie - agreed….a big a on their forhead or something.
execute
No there are way worst crimes that deserve death penalty
No, they should just be castrated and then publicly humiliated. killing them isn’t payment enough.
Woa, even Singapore isn’t as harsh as that!
To do such a thing to an innocent child…it kills me that there are people capable of such an evil crime.
All I can say is, if that were my child…the man who hurt her would be begging me to kill him after I got a hold of him.
@firetyger - Amen
I have mixed feelings on the death penalty, but in the case of a child being raped, I would say let him live and pay the consequence. Death is far too easy on them.
Anybody that says “no” to this post-
When your child gets raped, come back to this post and see if you still feel the same.
Absolutely not. The death penalty is barbaric and unnecessary in any circumstance.
@Bixby_or_Bray20 - I can definitely understand that side of the argument, and I have no doubt that if someone raped my child, I’d be harbouring feelings of hostility and quite possibly rage. But isn’t one of the biggest things that separates us from our primeval, simple cousins the very idea of self restraint?
If the rape of a child isn’t death penalty worthy, I don’t know what is. I can tell you with all honesty, if someone raped one of my children & I found them, the chances of them living to make it to the police station would be slim to none.
They say that the death penalty is not “humane” – I think if you Rape a Child you have demostrated you are not human, but a dangerous predator. Therefore, you should die. Same for murder.
And none of this “15 years on death row” crap either. Next day. ~ L
I think if the rape was particularly cruel or violent, then yes, the death penalty is warranted. I don’t think it should be a blanket punishment but I do think that the option should be open.
Oh hell yes. Children? Are you kidding me? THERE SHOULDN’T EVEN BE A QUESTION!
Nope. I’m against the death penalty, but if it must be given, it should only be given to serial killers.
Totally agreed, i could barely think of any better way of punishing those clod-blooded pedophile else than sentence them to death.
Concerned issues in Malay that children are caught and rape and one of the case that i remembered the most was a girl was found death because someone had put some long hard things to the private part. It was a cucumber!!
Anyone agaisnst this decision will have to imagine what if the victim was U or UR CHILD. **touch wood** =p
I think they should be executed, however, I don’t think they should have lethal injecions. I think they should bring back public stoning. Let me tell you something, if some asshole put their hands (or anything else) on my child I would find a way to kill them myself. However, I think it would be much more enjoyable to be a fly on the wall while they are in prison. You know how those inmates have no tolerance for prisoners who hurt/rape/murder children. Who’s the bitch now? Anyone who takes innocents from a child should be punished severely. And nothing anyone will say will EVER change my mind.
probably if any sort of individual crime is proportional, it’s that, assuming premeditated and fully aware and with a child below a certain age where it will be really emotionally traumatizing…
but i wouldn’t say death penalty is good for any indivdiual crime. the death penalty says that someone is irredeemable. It’s giving up. I don’t believe we should ever give up on anyone. So only use the death penalty on super genius evil villains or powerful figures who are doing mass murder who we can’t really control well enough to have any hope of reforming.
if you rape a child you dont deserve to live i mean.. if you put him in jail .. or on bail.. he just going to get out and do it all over again… why not just… make sure he never does…
NO. They deserve FAR WORSE…
In terms of rape, you should use chemical castration and some hard time as the punishment. Death is the punishment used only for the most violent crimes.
No, it’s absolutely not proportional punishment. The rapers should be brutally raped.
@trunthepaige - Isn’t that a contradiction?
the reason shit like this happens is because the law of this nation is so goddam weak. Ive read about rapists and molestors getting off with COUNSELING (which has proven NOT to work and is just a huge waste of money) Our prisons practically have revolving doors and the repeated offender rates are through the roof. So maybe just maybe a more strict law will curtail this incredibly high crime rate and prevent monsters like this one from raping little children. i say again
EXECUTE HIM
I don’t know. Castration seems like a more fitting, not to mention poetically just, punishment…
When vengeance becomes punishment, the line between the two is blurred, and I’m uncomfortable with the State dictating who is allowed to live and who is allowed to die.
So, yeah. Castrate the guy. Cut off his balls. But don’t kill him.
@Color_me_Karma - Vigilante justice! What a great idea!
As horrible as rape is – a violation of a person’s humanity, and nothing less – it is not killing them. It does not destroy their life forever. It is not murder.
HEre’s proportional…let someone else rape them…repeatedly.
I don’t believe we should ever use the death penalty, so no. If we’re not to judge, I’m thinking executions–the ultimate judgement–probably aren’t a good idea either.
I have a question for you, though: How can people who claim to be “pro-life” also be supporters of the death penalty? Murder is okay if it’s someone not-so-innocent?
Oh, and to add another dimension to this discussion; one of the reasons the court ruled the way it did was that allowing the death penalty for child rape would just encourage more child rapists to also become murderers–to eliminate the witness to their crime.
Maybe not, but castration would be. Seriously. That would make sure that he never rapes anyone again and deprive him of sexual pleasure. Seems fuitting. It’ll probably never happen, though. Regardless, a child rapist will probably be killed by his fellow prisoners anyway. From what I understand, most hardened criminals have even moral fiber to say violating chidlren is wrong, and they hate guys who do it.
Ask victims of child rape.
Here’s one.
Death is too fucking kind for these people.
@notreally_butokay - because someone who rapes a child is going to feel bad hearing about children getting raped right?
i say hell no, it’s not, but it’s the best we can do. and actually, i like this idea —>@Mcon - im a firm believer that the death penalty should be in place not just for child rape, but for any rape. extending to facilitation(that means anyone involved in helping even if they didnt actually rape.) i would love to see this brought out and enforced epsecially in places where sexual slavery is rampant. and for those who say it does not exist, there was a “massage parlor” just 2 houses away from mine that was part of a chain that was raided and shut down right here. so yeah, it happens, and it happens here in the heart of suburban america. people who subject women, and in some cases children to that horror should not be given a warm bed, free cable, work out room, yard to play in, and three nuitritious meals for the rest of their lives. they should be killed. you want to lock them up? fine, lock them up in a dark cold pit with no food or water and leave them, but dont spend my tax dollars making sure they have a better life than someone who’s only crime is not being able to hold a job, so they and their family are out on the street.
@Endowedbythecreator - im not sure what you are saying(sarcasm) but i am inclined to agree(seriously.)
I dont think the death penalty is ever right.
I think that the death penalty should be reserved for serial killers, or murderers that are 100%guilt by evidence AND admission… wouldn’t it suck if months later they found out they’d killed an innocent person?
As for child rapists [or the animalistic people who rape anyone]; death is too good for them.
They should have to be put in prison, raped over and over again until they need a new bumhole. That would almost be close to enough punishment.
Almost.
The punishment should fit the crime.
PS – I agree with the idea of castration.
It is a fitting punishment.
PPS – I also agree that killers and rapists etc should not be fed or allowed a cushy prison life. Why should we work our @$$es off to keep in happy condition a killer of our people?
Let the sick barsterds [intentional typo
] suffer.
I can honestly say this, i have a little 7 year old brother, and if anyone were to ever hurt him… they would get off easy if the police got to them first. I think the death penalty is appropriate for such hanus crimes. Maybe if we had a more strict penalty for certain offenses they would happen less often. now often times as it is a sex offender gets released after serving half their sentence only to repeat the process again and hurt another innocent child. So why not eliminate this repeat process and just shoot them in the head the first time they do it.
I am not against capital punishment!!!
but I dont know if killing him or any other torture is equally good ..i dont know if this wil bring peace to all those who are affected such bastards.. i can never erase the memory.. its past!! ..but what do u think can prevent such a thing from happening again!!?? ..who can make sure that another child or a
woman will not suffer like this again!!!????
So I say:
Punish him and make sure its tormenting ..that it will evoke fear in the minds of those bastrards ..n above all LET EVERYONE KNOW THIS!! ..release videos of the penalty he had taken or whatever..so every such bastard will NEVER EVER commit such a crime and make people suffer …at least the number of people who suffer will reduce!!!!!!!!
..prevention is better than cure!
Well, I’m a mother, and if someone raped any one of my children, I would want them dead and possibly kill them myself…so yeah, it fits the crime for me.
I don’t agree with the death penalty, but for those who fear death, it’s definitely at least somewhat proportional. For people who don’t care if they live or die, though, it’s not enough.
The death penalty doesn’t solve anything, though, at all. It doesn’t take away the memory of rape and it certainly doesn’t bring a child back to life.
I don’t believe in the death penalty in general. Every human life is precious and I feel that people can change however; if it was my child or my sibling that got raped, I would want the perpetrator to die. It’s a difficult question. I don’t know.
I completely and 100% agree with the death penalty for heinous crimes. Ones such as multiple murder charges, rape of both adults and children, and for former felons, that have all ready been in prison. I feel that if you have all ready been in prison, and did not learn your lesson, that the death penalty is right. Whether it is constitutional or not, I don’t know, and I personally do not care.
However, I don’t agree with the death penalty if it has been given to someone that has not been proven 100% guilty of the crime accused. Like in the case of the Rosenberg’s, that was a mistake for the wife, the husband, not. Don’t know what I am talking about? Look it up >_<
@huginn - you honestly think murder is worse than raping a child?
@im_a_pretty_present - Yes.
Rapists and pedophiles are sickos, putting them to death might be an easy way to put them out of their miserable life, but their victims will live with it for the rest of their lives. Jailed for life with no chance of parole while they themselves are raped daily by Bubba would be more fitting.
It only ruins the child’s life.
I don’t think it makes sense when we have murders sitting in jail with sentences less than 30 years.
People used to agree with the punishment; that is, when they cared about virginity and the stolen innocence and scarred memories the child will carry forever…
Along with the very real possibly that their ability to have a normal, intimate, trusting, sexual relationship with a future partner will be sabotaged.
What did God say about it?
First, a careful study of Old Testament laws required restitution for smaller crimes, not incarceration.
The perpetrator stayed within the community under supervision, where he could also remain with his family and work to pay back the victim.
The amount returned was always more, and varied as to whether what was stolen was something that the victim needed to make a living or not, as well as other considerations.
But murder and rape stole lives and futures that could not be replaced. Therefore, the only thing that could satisfy the debt to society was a “life for a life”.
Even under these laws, there had to be two or three witnesses, and no witness could have ever previously been brought up on similar charges for fear of sympathizing with the perpetrator.
God is not the A-Hole so many people make him out to be, nor are His laws!
@huginn - i’m sorry, but i strongly disagree. i’m not sure you realize the brutality and effect of being raped as a child. it affects you for the entire length of your life, psychologically, emotionally, mentally, and a lot of times physically. there are women who are sterile because of being raped as a child. honestly, i would much rather have been murdered…
@StumblingOx - i completely agree…
@im_a_pretty_present - What about this as a test.
Imagine a typical child. If we were to offere the child two choices: To be murdered on the spot or to be raped on the spot, which do you think the child would prefer?
Even after being explained the physical and emotional concenquence of each act, I’m sure that most children would consider murder to be the worse of the two choices.
@im_a_pretty_present - Or if what you say is true, then every person who were ever raped as a child would kill themselves and escape their supposed worse-than-death fate. But they don’t all do.
@im_a_pretty_present…
What child can understand the implications you’re throwing at them to choose between being brutality violated or murdered in cold blood??
Secondly, counseling services and strong support groups are available, but every situation is so different–the age of the child at the time of rape; their individual psyche and ability to deal with the trauma; the income and concern of the family to get the best treatment possible; the child having to possibly face the rapist in court; a future parole date and living in fear….and on and on.
Please!
@JimiRy - In what way?
If you mean my not liking the death penalty, that is not the same thing as believing the court had the right to rule in this manner. Just because I like the results, does not mean I believe the courts should ever create law. They just ruled that the constitution says something, that it clearly does not say.
Ohkay. So as I agree that child rapings are one of the worst crimes a person could ever posibly commit. I don’t know. I haven’t had a child. I haven’t been a victim of rape. And I haven’t really thouhgt about this topic before now.
Although I don’t say no to the death penalty, I believe they should be put through more mental punishment than physical.
Children are innocent. They are still pure. And if a rapist feels they have the right to mental as well as physically torture an young innocent being, the law should have the right to put one of those uninnocent beings [child (any) rapists] through just as much… heck! More pain and suffering than the child they hurt or even killed!
Pedophiles can be “treated” but never cured. Their urges will always be present. Teatment focuses on changing, curbing, or re-directing the acting-out behaviors. http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=273
The recidvism (return to prison) rate overall is 52%, but in some areas, the rate is as high as 83.3%!!
Their crimes, when they do repeat child abuse, are unusually harmful, and their victims particularly vulnerable.
Dr. Dennis Doren pointed out, for example, that convicted rapists are more likely to re-offend in the years immediately after release, and more likely to commit other violent crimes. “If we’re concerned about violence generically, it’s rapists we should be concerned about” in the short term, ” he said. (Wall Street Journal) http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-likely-are-sex-offenders-to-repeat-their-crimes-258/
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So if want to keep them locked up for life for 3 hots and a cot daily, free medical care, a free college degree (some of them get a degree in criminal law), and other amenities–hey, it’s your tax dollar.
Interestingly enough, we covered this case in a Law class that I took this semester… I thought it was a proportionate punishment, personally.
I would say its an appropriate for of punishment. But if this is not feasible giving these men a little of their own medicine would help them put their behavior in perspective.
Jesus Christ taught:
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
- Luke 17:2
I would say intentionally raping a defenseless child would be offending, wouldn’t you say? I maybe taking this scripture out of context here, not sure if this scripture would apply to the abuse of children in general, in two other scriptures “child” is referring to the Christian believer, this type of punishment would be for those who intentionally offend the Christian believer. But it may apply.
sorry that should be “form” not for.
Killing for rape? That’s way overboard. I could maybe see a rape for a rape, but that’s still too revenge-minded for me.
Honestly, they should garnish the wages of these people for the rest of their lives – maybe 1% – and give that money to rape recovery facilities. Then they could perhaps pay society back for their crime.
Makes one think one of two things.
1) Does this judge rape children himself?
2) What would be “proportional punishment” of the crime?
To say that a man should not die for this crime is like saying it’s ok to rape children because you will still be able to live. Live your fantasies while the child(ren) you raped are haunted by what you did. While those children die a little bit every day. Either put them to death or bend them over a bar with thier hands and feet chained to the wall and floor so every inmate who needs a “fix” can relieve urges of thier own. Let them get a permanent girlfriend named Bubba. Come on Your Honor, the only ”proportional punishment” for this crime is a death sentance. The sentance is no more extreme than the sentence he imposed on an 8 year old child.
/against death penalty in all situations.
YES!
Ain’t no use having people that do things like that, in this world and then to incarcerate and segregate them (from the general public) at the tax payers expense?
@huginn - i completely agree with stumblingox. a child, no matter how much you explain what would happen with each of the choices, wouldn’t understand the real consequences of each. my point is, i would much rather my life have ended back then, than to have to live with the destruction that my life is because of what happened. rape is worse than death. you are forced to live a life that’s destroyed. killing myself and preferring to have died then are completely different matters. committing suicide is not equal to having died back then. do not pretend to know completely about a situation you’ve never experienced.
@im_a_pretty_present - i would much rather my life have ended back then, than to have to live with the destruction that my life is because of what happened.
But there is value to your life now, right? You’ve had positive experiences and precious memories since your rape, right? Happiness is possible for you, right?
To have been murdered rather than raped as a child, all the positive memories from that point to now, and all the potentially positive experiences in the future, would have been taken from you.
Death is a denial of any worthwhile, existentially. As long as happiness is possibe post-rape, rape isn’t worse off than murder.
rape is worse than death. you are forced to live a life that’s destroyed. killing myself and preferring to have died then are completely different matters.
It’s a relevent matter. In weighing the horribleness of each action, we must not only take into accoutn the immediate concenquences, but their lasting effects. By child rape victims not having killed themselves, they are, to some degree, acknowledging that their lives at the moment is worth living.
do not pretend to know completely about a situation you’ve never experienced.
I am not. If you precieve me as such, then I’m sorry. I have not experienced anything particularily horrific, mentally or physically, in the totality of my life.
This, however, does not preclude me from analyzing a situation and judging it. If you want to defeat my argumetns, then do it– point out their flaws and exploit it. Judge my position by its own merits, and not through some subdued, pitiful whine.
Pedophiles are disgusting and intolerable!! Do you think they deserve to live longer?
I’d rather him die than pay for his food, lodging and entertainment fees from sitting in prison until he dies of natural causes.
the death penality is a deterrent to crime, If someones rapes a child (or adult) for that matter, they are no longer fit to live in society. As such that person remains a prediator an d will strike again. Maybe the next time they will kill the victim. I wish t thee was ways of execution that would be fitting to the crime. Louisianna has opted for cateration and want to use chemicals to get the job done. I feel that the only way to redeem the person is to make him (or her) suffer for the crime that they commit. Then a lot less people will want to comit the crime.
No, the death penalty is an easy punishment for the rape of a child.
I don’t agree with the death penalty in general, but at the same time… raping a child? That’s up there with murder for me.
Keep ‘em alive to suffer, is what I say.
(The pedophile, not the kid)