NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Louisiana's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a man may be executed for raping an 8-year-old girl, and lawyers say his case may become the test for whether the nation's highest court upholds the death penalty for someone who rapes a child.

 

Both sides say the sentence for Patrick Kennedy, 42, could expand a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held the death penalty for rape violated the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The high court said then that its ruling applied only to adult victims.

 

Attorney Jelpi Picou, director of the New Orleans-based Capital Appeals Project, said he will ask the Louisiana Supreme Court for a rehearing and, if rejected, will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

"As horrid as (rape) is and as harshly as we believe it should be condemned, death is inappropriate in this case," Picou said.

 

Louisiana law allows the death penalty for the aggravated rape of someone less than 12 years old.

 

"He's the only person in the United States on death row for non-homicide rape," Picou said.

 

Kennedy was convicted in 2003 of raping a relative as she sorted Girl Scout cookies in the garage of her home in suburban New Orleans. He bragged to one man that the girl "became a lady today," deputies said.

 

His defense attorney at the time argued that blood testing was inconclusive and that the victim -- who didn't report that Kennedy was her rapist until 21 months later -- was pressured to change her story.

 

In Tuesday's opinion, Justice Jeffrey Victory wrote, "Our state Legislature and this court have determined this category of aggravated rapist to be among those deserving of the death penalty, and, short of a first-degree murderer, we can think of no other non-homicide crime more deserving."

 

Victory wrote that the Louisiana law meets the U.S. Supreme Court test requiring an aggravating circumstance -- in this case the age of the victim -- to justify the death penalty.

 

The governors of South Carolina and Oklahoma signed laws last year allowing the death penalty for people who repeatedly rape children. Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., said he doesn't know of any successful prosecution under either of those laws.

 

A bill that would allow the death penalty for a second offense of child rape is awaiting the governor's decision in Texas.

 

Georgia law allows death as a penalty for rape. Dieter said Florida and Montana also have such laws, but authorities have said the penalty would be invoked only for rape of a child.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/23/child.rape.ap/index.html

Probably one of the few cases where I would agree with the Death Penalty. There are few more horrible things you can do outside of murder, and that's one of them.

Probably one of the few cases where I would agree with the Death Penalty. There are few more horrible things you can do outside of murder, and that's one of them.

Ridiculous law.

an obvious retort to this decision is it is a knee jerk reaction in my mind this actually justice because this child's life is ruined one life of 42 year old man for a life of an 8 year old girl ...justice is served

It's pretty outrageous to justify executing somebody simply because he molested an eight-year-old.

 

And man, I can't imagine how much it would cost if we went around putting all child molesters on death row.

It's pretty outrageous to justify executing somebody simply because he molested an eight-year-old.

 

And man, I can't imagine how much it would cost if we went around putting all child molesters on death row.

 

rape and molestation are two different things

It's pretty outrageous to justify executing somebody simply because he molested an eight-year-old.

 

And man, I can't imagine how much it would cost if we went around putting all child molesters on death row.

 

rape and molestation are two different things

Big time...

Fine by me. I'd rather have a child rapist who's guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt executed than a convicted murderer who may or may not be guilty.

If there is any non-homicide crime, other than treason, that is worthy of the death penalty it would be the rape of a prepubescent child.

It's pretty outrageous to justify executing somebody simply because he molested an eight-year-old.

 

And man, I can't imagine how much it would cost if we went around putting all child molesters on death row.

 

 

Its not like he touched her breasts. She was sorting girl scout cookies in the garage when he ran in there ripped her cloths of and raped her. He was probably 3 times larger. Raping a women is one thing, but raping an 8 year old child is much worse.

They cant pull the lever on this guy fast enough, the DP needs to be used more often.

Rape is a capital crime. Most states just don't treat it as such anymore, but most do have some sort of law in the books that makes it capital. Life in jail/death sentence is what I have always considered a capital offense.

Rape is a capital crime. Most states just don't treat it as such anymore, but most do have some sort of law in the books that makes it capital. Life in jail/death sentence is what I have always considered a capital offense.

 

Rape of a minor is a capital crime. Rape of an adult woman isn't, the supreme court said so like 15-20 years ago in a case I believe was called Coker v. Georgia.

Fine by me. I'd rather have a child rapist who's guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt executed than a convicted murderer who may or may not be guilty.

No such thing as shadow of a doubt in life.

Fine by me, they should cut back on the number of appeals for death row inmates though.

 

Then again if someone did that to my niece, they wouldnt get the chance to go to death row. I would kill them myself.

Fine by me, they should cut back on the number of appeals for death row inmates though.

 

Then again if someone did that to my niece, they wouldnt get the chance to go to death row. I would kill them myself.

 

Can't cut the appeals b/c theres always that chance the person is innocent. Government cant be going around killing people unless there as sure as possible that the person is guilty of the crime they were convicted of and in the way they allegedly committed it.

Rape is a capital crime. Most states just don't treat it as such anymore, but most do have some sort of law in the books that makes it capital. Life in jail/death sentence is what I have always considered a capital offense.

 

Rape of a minor is a capital crime. Rape of an adult woman isn't, the supreme court said so like 15-20 years ago in a case I believe was called Coker v. Georgia.

That's what I was talking about. Rape and homocide are capital crimes against children which can be punishable up to death.

 

Sorry about the vague post.