As many of you may not be aware, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana that child rapists cannot be executed. The ruling stemmed from the case of Patrick Kennedy, who appealed the 2003 death sentence he received in Louisiana after being convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that execution in this case would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, citing "evolving standards of decency" in the United States. Such standards, the justice wrote, forbid capital punishment for any crime against an individual other than murder. "We conclude that, in determining whether the death penalty is excessive, there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons, even including child rape, on the other," wrote Kennedy. Patrick Kennedy, 43, would have been the first convicted rapist in the United States since 1964 to be executed in a case in which the victim was not killed. Kennedy was convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in her bed. The attack caused severe emotional trauma, internal injuries and bleeding to the child, requiring extensive surgery, Louisiana prosecutors said. This is devastating to know that our children are not protected from rapists that prey on our children. This again shows the moral standards being continually lowered. The Holy Bible specifically calls for the death penalty for rapists of any kind, and the majority of states up until 1964 allowed execution for this type of crime. However, the 60s is when the U.S. Supreme Court started moving away from Christian based decisions. But some in Congress are attempting to take action. House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) is so outraged by the United States Supreme Court's decision in the Kennedy v. Louisiana child-rape case that he has drafted a letter to the Supreme Court Justices asking them to withdraw the current opinion and reconsider the case. Please call your Representatives today at 202-225-3121 and ask them to add their voices to the issue. The courts should never consider "evolving standards of decency" in a brutal rape case. I recently received an email from another attorney on this and have posted it here.----------------------------
Dear Jason. I recently ran across your blog . I, like you, am an attorney, a family man, and a believer in Jesus Christ. I have my own law practice in St.Louis County, Missouri. Although I expected the Supreme Court's ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana, I was deeply saddened and grieved at the Court's ruling which protects the vilest of criminals. The Court's reference to evolving standards of decency would be laughable if it weren't so perverse and alarming. I see nothing decent in making this country safe for pedophiles. These justices are products of a deluded 20th Century educational system that taught them God doesn't exist, that demonic influences don't exist, and that people on the inside are all essentially identical blank slates who will all act the same if they are just provided the same education. They were taught that the key to eliminating bad behavior, including murder and rape is simply education. They couldn't be more wrong. God does exist, demonic influences do exist, and people are vastly different from each other and will act very differently when exposed to the same educational and other environmental influences. I believe that Kennedy v. Louisiana needs to be cried out against over and over again as an example of the depravity of the decision makers in this country. Hopefully, the political right won't let this miscarriage of justice be forgotten. I hope you will use your forum to cry out against the gross miscarriage of justice that is the Court's ruling in Kennedy vs.Louisiana, God Bless you and your family. Please keep speaking out against evil, it will not be in vain. Yours very truly, Frank L.
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