Justice Department Admits Snafu in Death Penalty Case

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Justice Department Admits Snafu in Death Penalty Case

Posted Jul 3, 2008, 07:25 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The U.S. Justice Department has admitted it erred when it failed to inform the U.S. Supreme Court that a law adopted in 2006 authorized the death penalty for child rape in military cases.

The solicitor general’s office did not file a brief in the case, Kennedy v. Louisiana, the New York Times reports. “We regret that the department didn’t catch the 2006 law when the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana was briefed,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

Justice Department lawyers weren’t the only ones who missed the fact. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and the authors of 10 Supreme Court briefs also failed to notice, the Times reported yesterday. Kennedy wrote the wrote the majority opinion last week in the 5-4 case that barred the death penalty for child rape.

“It’s true that the parties to the case missed it, but it’s our responsibility,” the statement said.

In his majority opinion, Kennedy wrote that child rape is not a capital offense under the laws of 44 states or the federal government. He said that, based on consensus and the court’s own independent judgment, the penalty is unconstitutional for rapes that don’t end in death.

Dwight Sullivan, a civilian defense lawyer who handles death penalty appeals for the Air Force, pointed out the error on his blog last weekend.

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Posted by Paul - 1 month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes ago

Well you cannot expect them to do EVERYTHING!
I mean, fighting whistleblowers, setting up inquisitorial panels to vet liberal lawyers, justifying illegal wiretaps and writng analyses supporting torture takes up a lot of time.
I mean, what do you expect???
Posted by S. Mark Edwards - 1 month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 10 hours ago

Paul—I couldn’t agree more!
Posted by Off2DR - 1 month, 3 weeks, 5 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes ago

Death penalties are a necessity of order, when someone commits an act so heinous that there is no other course than to execute them for the greater good of the society than the only sensible act is to execute them.

Murder = Death
Rape = Death
Molestation = Death
Treason = Death

Execute the guilty! Honor the victims! Educate the uninformed!

Pam - Administrator
http://www.off2dr.com
PRO Death Penalty Information Community
Posted by Paul - 1 month, 3 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 36 minutes ago

There is one very important, key consideration with regard to the SCOTUS decision:

The death penalty for child rape provides an incentive to kill the victim.

If you challenge this, then you challenge the whole deterrent argument which justifies any application of the death penalty. The thought that a child rapist might kill even one child victim to avoid the death penalty (by eliminating a key witness) is more abhorrent to me than life sentences for a dozen child rapists.
Posted by Paul - 1 month, 3 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 32 minutes ago

But please, do not try to explain this to people. Instead, make it a law-and-order campaign issue and use it to blame activist jurists (such as the ones who just addressed gun control) for legislating from the bench. Highly emotional issue are great for posturing in an election year. Logic only confuses the issue and smacks of suspect cynical lawyer sophistry.
Posted by Doris - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 2 hours, 36 minutes ago

I believe that anyone who rapes and/or deliberately kills a child should receive a mandatory death sentence.

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