The Supreme Court last week decided to determine whether states of the right to execute a child rapist. The justices agreed to hear an appeal from Patrick O. Kennedy, 43, of Louisiana, who was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. Rape in Louisiana is a capital Offense. This person is allegedly the only person on death row in the United States for a non-capital offense. Here is a blog I posted when Texas recently passed a law making certain types of sex offenses a capital offense.
The death to all sex offenders’ band wagon is now full and moving downward at rapid pace with Texas being the latest state to come up with a ridiculous bill designed solely to prey on emotional responses of constituent’s with no chance of any real world application.
What am I referring to? I am referring to the “Jessica’s Law” freight train sweeping through the nation to incarcerate, incapacitate, castrate and execute if necessary, every pervert, pedophile, child molester wherever they may be found, no matter how long ago the crime was committed and if its your second offense? Well castration is not an option; the head that is coming off is the one on your neck.
Sound good to you? Sounds good to me! Why shouldn’t we execute every pervert the Texas legislature deems unworthy of living. Might save my child, might save yours….
Under the proposed Texas law, one more misstep and Genarlo Wilson is going to do a lot worse than the 10 years he is currently serving for getting consensual blow job from a 15 year old girl when he was 17. That next ill advised blow job gets him a lethal injection. That sounds reasonable to the Texas Legislature so it must be a good thing right? Sorry Genarlo….. Given that scenario he will be thankful he is incarcerated I Georgia… Did I say that?
My legal judgment is that the Texas version of Jessica’s law is the stupidest, most PR motivated legislation I have ever seen. It has no chance of EVER becoming law in its’ current form but your state rep when asking for money for the next election can say I wanted death to all perverts!
Of course he doesn’t tell you that it is your taxes that will bear the burden of all these new prosecutions, incarcerations and executions, and lengthy appeals of convictions. He will be long out of office and in his/her cushy new law practice. Your boss didn’t give you the “pervert” raise to cover this……
Let us start with the fact that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty in rape cases. The Supreme Court has spoken on this. Yes rape is a capital offense in some states but no one has ever been excuted for it and absent a dramatic reversal by the Supreme Court no one eer will be Why? When people were being hung for it, only minorities were being executed! Forget it! It is not happening….. You heard it here. No state will ever execute any one for child molestation even if it was their 50th child. End of story… We have something called civil commitment to deal with that.
Every person who is a Law and Order addict knows what civil commitment is. When the evil rapist/child molester serves his complete sentence, Jack McCoy has him committed civilly for the rest of his life to save society from a serial pedophile.
I actually believe civil commitment is a great thing when used properly to keep serial sexual predators off the street. The problem is that states are using it to lock up every possible type of sex offender after they have served their complete sentence. Anyone heard of double jeopardy? There was a great article in the New York Times last week about how civil commitment is being abused to keep those who may not be a danger to society locked up long after they have served their criminal sentence.
The part of the Jessica’s Law bill requiring a life long ankle monitor on repeat sex offenders is unconstitutional on so many levels and cost prohibitive on so many levels that it is just laughable. You going to ask your boss for a raise to pay for that?
These types of monitors are nothing new in terms of the conditions of parole and probation. It again gets down to the same issue of restraining liberty after someone has served their compete sentence. Unless you civilly commit the person you can’t do it constitutionally. If the person is civilly committed you know where he is and he doesn’t need an ankle monitor does he?
So well every one is cheering for our brave and “fatherly” state representatives for getting tough on sex offenders. That’s the emotional response. The real world deal is that this bill will not pass in its current form. There will be no death penalty for any sex offense that does not involve first degree murder type intent. The statute of limitations will not be abolished. Sentencing will be made tougher to some degree for repeat offenders.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for tougher sentencing for certain types of child molestation crimes and repeat offenders. You know what; I also have no problem with no statute of limitations. They should be off the streets. If it’s my child, I certainly want death and if it takes 50 years to catch the perv and execute him, no problem with me. If it’s your child, maybe death penalty is too harsh for the crime. Why did I just say that? To make a point.
Is that not situational morality? That is what this is all about. Trying to legislate the latest horrific crime of the day we see on CNN.com.
Situational morality can not dictate justice. The rule of law dictates justice. The Supreme Court said that many years ago when the southern juries imposing their own situational morality said they would only execute African-Americans for sex crimes. No whites would be executed.
Situational morality this year mandates we execute the guy who molests your daughter. Situational morality in 10 years may mandate we execute the drunk driver who kills your daughter. Situational morality in 10 years dictates we execute you when you have one to many and kill someone in an accident.
That is not justice or the rule of law.
In this country we do not take a life where a life has not been intentionally taken or taken with such complete disregard for the risk of death that it raises to the level of intent. That rule of law applies to the scum sucking pervert who molests your child, the drunk driver who kills your child, the shoplifter, the jaywalker. It applies to me. It applies to you….
Jessica’s Law in theory is a good thing but in its current form is a terrible law that is just wasting time and money and will clog up the courts. Hey I guess that is good for me as an attorney, more money to be made…. Wait, I am not that cynical…. I do want all child molestors off the street. I dont want to look for the Constitution of the United States floating in the same sewer they are hiding in……
