25 June 2008

Absolute truth

Someone once asked what 'absolute truth' was.
The answer: a 5-to-4 decision by the Supreme Court.
Today we've got another one, and it's a beaut: you can't execute child rapists, because capital punishment is reserved for murderers: "Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that 'evolving standards of decency' in the United States forbid capital punishment for any crime other than murder. Execution of Patrick Kennedy, the justices ruled, would be unconstitutional... In 1976 and a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court banned capital punishment for rape -- and, by implication, any other crime except murder. But 19 years later, Louisiana passed a law allowing execution for the sexual violation of a child under 12. State lawmakers argued that the earlier high court cases pertained only to adult women."

Rico says he's read the Constitution from beginning to end, and there's nothing in it about reserving capital punishment for anyone. There's stuff about cruel and unusual punishment, but no one Rico knows would consider death either cruel or unusual for a child rapist... (Rico guesses that makes him non-evolved in the 'standards of decency' department.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"After a review of the 'history of the death penalty for this and other nonhomicide crimes, current state statutes and new enactments, and the number of executions since 1964, we conclude there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape,' Anthony Kennedy wrote."

Since when is it the job of the Supreme Court to conduct an opinion poll for a "national consensus"? Isn't their job to interpret the US Constitution. Egad.

Anonymous said...

Let the Supreme Justices allow their daughters to be raped at 8 and 5...ps I dont mean fucking am or pm.

 

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