U.S. Supreme Court
Petition Says Snafu Requires High Court to Revisit Child Rape Ruling
Posted Jul 22, 2008, 05:14 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The state of Louisiana is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its decision barring the death penalty for child rape because of an overlooked fact: The military has a law authorizing the death penalty for child rape.
The majority decision by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy found a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime, based in part on the few states that have laws authorizing it. The petition for rehearing notes that the Supreme Court rarely grants such requests, but says this case is the “rare exception,” SCOTUSblog reports.
Law professor Neal Kumar Katyal of Georgetown is the lead lawyer on the petition. He told the New York Times he opposes the death penalty, “but I am also opposed to courts taking fundamental decisions away from American voters.”
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