5-4 vote liberal justice

[woranch]

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 29 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.



In a 5-4 vote, the court says the law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in cases of child rape violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented.

 

[Mike]

Liberal lawmakers like this are scary. Yea, we need change. The kind of change that will do away with these type Libs:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371344,00.html


"I'm gonna rip them apart," Fagan said of young victims during his testimony on the bill. "I'm going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined, that when they're 8 years old, they throw up; when they're 12 years old, they won't sleep; when they're 19 years old, they'll have nightmares and they'll never have a relationship with anybody."

 

[alabama]

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 29 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.



In a 5-4 vote, the court says the law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in cases of child rape violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented.

The Supreme can kiss my ass. If someone rapes one of mine they better keep me away from him. I am going to kill him my self. Wjy are they forcing us to take the law into our own hands?

 

[hopalong]

What the he!! is then, a slap on the wrist and a promise to do better,
Our liberal friends on the forum will more than likely come down on me for saying this but kill them all and let God sort them out

 

[Sandhusker]

Was it the same 5-4 split as the Kelo and Habeus Corpus rulings?

 

[Mike]

Was it the same 5-4 split as the Kelo and Habeus Corpus rulings?

Haven't looked but I'm relatively sure it was.

 

[aplusmnt]

Liberals think you can rehabilitate child molesters with therapy.

when in reality if a person becomes aroused by a child you can not get that out of them. At best you may be able to get them not to act on it but you can not take away whatever inside them makes them become aroused.

Best way to make them not act on their desire is for them to realize they will die if they do!

 

[Anonymous]

While I don't agree with the ruling-as I think its not something the Federal Courts should be sticking their nose into-- I do think you will find in the coming years more and more Judges, Juries, Courts, and Legislatures opposing or hesitant to the death penalty--mainly because of the high number of convicted persons for such crimes that have had their case overturned with advancements of Science - like DNA- and because of old investigative techniques that were found to be faulty....

I think we've had two homicide or rape convictions in Montana already, plus several lower level crimes that have been overturned- thrown out - and the admittance the wrong person was possibly convicted.....

So its going to take a lot stronger case anymore to bring about the absolute, unappealable punishment- the death penalty.......

Death Penalty for Child Rape Barred by Top U.S. Court (Update4)

By Greg Stohr

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- A divided U.S. Supreme Court barred the death penalty for the crime of child rape, saying a Louisiana man's execution would violate the constitutional ban on ``cruel and unusual punishment.''

The justices, voting 5-4, spared Patrick Kennedy from becoming the first person since 1964 to be executed in the U.S. for a crime other than murder. Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

``The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,'' Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court.

The ruling extends a line of Supreme Court cases that have restricted the circumstances in which the death penalty can be applied. It also underscores Kennedy's significance as the court's deciding vote on many social issues.

The court divided along ideological lines. Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The ruling drew criticism from both major-party presidential candidates. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, faulted the court for issuing a ``blanket prohibition'' on the death penalty for child rape.

``The rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime, and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that does not violate our Constitution,'' Obama said at a press conference in Chicago.


McCain Criticism
Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, in a statement condemned the majority for ``an assault on law enforcement's efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime.''

------------------------------------------
The last U.S. execution for rape was in 1964, when Missouri put Ronald Wolfe to death. The last for any non-homicide crime took place later that same year, when Alabama executed convicted robber James Coburn.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=au2.OPWsqO7s&refer=home

 

[hopalong]

While I don't agree with the ruling-as I think its not something the Federal Courts should be sticking their nose into-- I do think you will find in the coming years more and more Judges, Juries, Courts, and Legislatures opposing or hesitant to the death penalty--mainly because of the high number of convicted persons for such crimes that have had their case overturned with advancements of Science - like DNA- and because of old investigative techniques that were found to be faulty....

I think we've had two homicide or rape convictions in Montana already, plus several lower level crimes that have been overturned- thrown out - and the admittance the wrong person was possibly convicted.....

So its going to take a lot stronger case anymore to bring about the absolute, unappealable punishment- the death penalty.......

Death Penalty for Child Rape Barred by Top U.S. Court (Update4)

By Greg Stohr

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- A divided U.S. Supreme Court barred the death penalty for the crime of child rape, saying a Louisiana man's execution would violate the constitutional ban on ``cruel and unusual punishment.''

The justices, voting 5-4, spared Patrick Kennedy from becoming the first person since 1964 to be executed in the U.S. for a crime other than murder. Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

``The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,'' Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court.

The ruling extends a line of Supreme Court cases that have restricted the circumstances in which the death penalty can be applied. It also underscores Kennedy's significance as the court's deciding vote on many social issues.

The court divided along ideological lines. Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The ruling drew criticism from both major-party presidential candidates. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, faulted the court for issuing a ``blanket prohibition'' on the death penalty for child rape.

``The rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime, and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that does not violate our Constitution,'' Obama said at a press conference in Chicago.


McCain Criticism
Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, in a statement condemned the majority for ``an assault on law enforcement's efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime.''

------------------------------------------
The last U.S. execution for rape was in 1964, when Missouri put Ronald Wolfe to death. The last for any non-homicide crime took place later that same year, when Alabama executed convicted robber James Coburn.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=au2.OPWsqO7s&refer=home

Were you the judge on those cases that were overturned?
Opps more A JP does not set in on major cases, how was trafficcort this week, send anyone to jail????

 

[hopalong]

While I don't agree with the ruling-as I think its not something the Federal Courts should be sticking their nose into-- I do think you will find in the coming years more and more Judges, Juries, Courts, and Legislatures opposing or hesitant to the death penalty--mainly because of the high number of convicted persons for such crimes that have had their case overturned with advancements of Science - like DNA- and because of old investigative techniques that were found to be faulty....

I think we've had two homicide or rape convictions in Montana already, plus several lower level crimes that have been overturned- thrown out - and the admittance the wrong person was possibly convicted.....

So its going to take a lot stronger case anymore to bring about the absolute, unappealable punishment- the death penalty.......

Death Penalty for Child Rape Barred by Top U.S. Court (Update4)

By Greg Stohr

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- A divided U.S. Supreme Court barred the death penalty for the crime of child rape, saying a Louisiana man's execution would violate the constitutional ban on ``cruel and unusual punishment.''

The justices, voting 5-4, spared Patrick Kennedy from becoming the first person since 1964 to be executed in the U.S. for a crime other than murder. Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

``The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,'' Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court.

The ruling extends a line of Supreme Court cases that have restricted the circumstances in which the death penalty can be applied. It also underscores Kennedy's significance as the court's deciding vote on many social issues.

The court divided along ideological lines. Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The ruling drew criticism from both major-party presidential candidates. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, faulted the court for issuing a ``blanket prohibition'' on the death penalty for child rape.

``The rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime, and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that does not violate our Constitution,'' Obama said at a press conference in Chicago.


McCain Criticism
Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, in a statement condemned the majority for ``an assault on law enforcement's efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime.''

------------------------------------------
The last U.S. execution for rape was in 1964, when Missouri put Ronald Wolfe to death. The last for any non-homicide crime took place later that same year, when Alabama executed convicted robber James Coburn.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=au2.OPWsqO7s&refer=home

Were you the judge on those cases that were overturned?
Opps a JP does not set in on major cases, how was traffic court this week, send anyone to jail????

 

[Anonymous]

Actually they weren't really overturns on the Montana ones-- when the new evidence was revealed- the prosecuting attorneys asked for the convictions to be thrown out- being able to see justice was not carried out properly....
There may be several more- but they haven't been as quickly pursued as their sentences have been carried out...Many of these involve false and incompetent hair evidence testimony by a Crime Lab analyst...

One of the cases I was involved in- the main piece of evidence that convicted the child rapist was the fact that the 4 year old alledged victim had venereal warts of the same type as the defendant (stepfather)...

Medical testimony and the accepted medical theory at the time was that these type warts could only be transferred thru sexual contact....Some years later, as medical science progressed, it was shown and proven that that was a false theory- and that they could be transferred on occasion with casual contact... :shock:

The convicted fellow, that got sent to 40 years in the State Pen, had already died in prison... That caused me to question our actions- until his defense attorney , who was a good friend (and one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the State), told me that after the fellows trial and conviction he had admitted his quilt to him-- which helped ease my conscience that I hadn't falsely accused and helped imprison an innocent person.....

 

[hopalong]

Actually they weren't really overturns on the Montana ones-- when the new evidence was revealed- the prosecuting attorneys asked for the convictions to be thrown out- being able to see justice was not carried out properly....
There may be several more- but they haven't been as quickly pursued as their sentences have been carried out...Many of these involve false and incompetent hair evidence testimony by a Crime Lab analyst...

One of the cases I was involved in- the main piece of evidence that convicted the child rapist was the fact that the 4 year old alledged victim had venereal warts of the same type as the defendant (stepfather)...

Medical testimony and the accepted medical theory at the time was that these type warts could only be transferred thru sexual contact....Some years later, as medical science progressed, it was shown and proven that that was a false theory- and that they could be transferred on occasion with casual contact... :shock:

The convicted fellow, that got sent to 40 years in the State Pen, had already died in prison... That caused me to question our actions- until his defense attorney , who was a good friend (and one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the State), told me that after the fellows trial and conviction he had admitted his quilt to him-- which helped ease my conscience that I hadn't falsely accused and helped imprison an innocent person.....

Yep for sure :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
deeper and deeper it gets all the time!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court.
The court divided along ideological lines. Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Whats this- 3 Repub appointed Justices voting in favor :???: Them darn LIBERAL Republicans :wink: :lol: :lol:


Majority
Stephen Breyer, appointed by Clinton
John Paul Stevens, appointed by Ford
David Souter, appointed by GHW Bush
Anthony Kennedy, appointed by Reagan
Ruth Bader Ginsburg appointed by Clinton

Dissenting
Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by Bush
Samuel Alito, appointed by Bush
Clarence Thomas appointed by GHW Bush
Antonin Scalia appointed by Reagan

 

[Sandhusker]

It's the same 5 that voted for Kelo - and I know you didn't like that one either, OT. Those 5 must be smoking something.

 

[Anonymous]

It's the same 5 that voted for Kelo - and I know you didn't like that one either, OT. Those 5 must be smoking something.

To most that had to live thru him- especially law enforcement - the worst Justice ever appointed was a strong leader (Governor, V.P. candidate, candidate for Presidential nomination) for years in the Republican Party and appointed by a Republican President- Eisenhower---Chief Justice Earl Warren...
He began the movement for adjusting the social tempo of the country by legislating from the bench....

It just makes me crack up to listen to these cultists neocons on here rant and rave about Dems or liberals being the cause of everything that happened-and it being their fault for all these court rulings-- when that isn't true.....

From Wikpedia

As Chief Justice, his term of office was marked by numerous rulings affecting, among other things, the legal status of racial segregation, civil rights, separation of church and state, and police arrest procedure in the United States. In the years that followed, the Warren Court became recognized as a high point in the use of the judicial power in the effort to effect social progress in the U.S. and Warren himself became widely regarded as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in the history of the United States and perhaps the single most important in the 20th century (and certainly its most controversial).

 

[Larrry]

Cultist, OT Learned a new word tp go with neocon.

 

[Ben H]

Maine Department of Corrections is working on a website to have a database of everyone in our prison system, info on parole, release and so on. I think you may have to search by name instead of browsing though. Unfortunately our Governer is trying to block it. This could be every Vigilante's dream come true.

On another note, check out this website, they lure in child predators on the internet by posing as a child, then nail them when they come to do the deed. http://www.perverted-justice.com/

For the record, I do not support this Supreme Court. They contradict themselves when they say you can't kill someone because they didn't commit murder but you can for espionage

 

[woranch]

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court.
The court divided along ideological lines. Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Whats this- 3 Repub appointed Justices voting in favor :???: Them darn LIBERAL Republicans :wink: :lol: :lol:


Majority
Stephen Breyer, appointed by Clinton
John Paul Stevens, appointed by Ford
David Souter, appointed by GHW Bush
Anthony Kennedy, appointed by Reagan
Ruth Bader Ginsburg appointed by Clinton

Dissenting
Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by Bush
Samuel Alito, appointed by Bush
Clarence Thomas appointed by GHW Bush
Antonin Scalia appointed by Reagan

Does"nt congress have to approve those appointed ? And I think Dems were in control of congress durring GHWBush and Reagan , and most of Clintons terms .....

 

[Mike]

When the Dems "Borked" a fine appointee, it was all downhill from there. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

This ruling really shouldn't be any big surprise tho- as the courts have hinted at limiting death penalty use for 40-50 years- even putting a hold on it totally for awhile- and then if I remember right when they reinstated it- they again said for very limited use-- exs. death of a prison guard or law enforcement officer, murder by torture, kidnapping that results in the death of the victim, mass murder or terrorist type murder , treason....

While I don't agree with the Feds sticking their nose into what should be a State issue-- the ruling doesn't surprise me...

The death penalty has been abolished by over 100 countries and in about 35 states....

In Montana the cost of the appeals and court challenges leading up to the execution got so high for the State- that few prosecuters would ask for it- except in the most heinous of crimes....