High court: Don't execute child rapists

The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child. (Snip) In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed for raping a child 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.

[- have we devised a special punishment for them alone that's particularly cruel?
- what is unusual about exterminating predators of our children?
-- this year's election is very important]

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