Does raping a child warrant the death penalty?

TRUTH

even though it is a horrible crime,it is not a death penalty offense. the supreme court ruled on it based on the laws present. although the supreme court rules on cases,they dont make the laws,they only enforce them.

americanfreeman

If it was my child either the state or I would kill him.

Marvin the Martian

Oh no, we should heavily tax the most productive members of our society to fund self esteem classes for the rapists. Surely that will fix the problem. That seems to be the liberal answer to everything.

However those of us who actually do care about children and their future are just fine with frying a few predators.

It's That Guy

I have two answers to that.

The emotional one, which is that it wouldn't bother me to see rapists executed.

And the logical one, which is that the purpose of government crime policy is not to make people feel good, it is to protect us from crime in the most effective (and cost-effective) way possible. And the death penalty does not do that. There's no evidence that it is a deterrent to crime, actually statistically it is just the opposite. And it costs more than keeping a person in jail for life.

When it comes to execution for rape, we had this discussion years & years ago. Back in the 60s and 70s. All across the country it was decided that if you had the death penalty for rape, rapists would be much more likely to murder their victims because the punishment was no worse but the chance of conviction was much less without the victim's testimony.

It would be interesting to see statistics on whether or not this change has decreased the number of rape victims who were murdered, and what effect it's had on conviction rates.

Still, when we execute someone here in California (seldom) I read about what the person has done and I'm not sorry for him.

jurydoc

No, it is out of proportion to the crime according to evolving community standards.

That aside, you do realize, don't you, that having the death penalty for child rapists will increase the likelihood of victims of child rape being killed? If the punishment is the same, the perp will be more likely to kill the child in an attempt to avoid detection. As heinous as it is to the child to be a victim of rape, at least if they survive they are still alive, can receive help, etc. Nevermind the argument about cruel and unusual if it bothers you. From a purely pragmatic viewpoint, the decision is likely to save children's lives.

Ryan F

Abso-freakin'-lutely... I think it's about time for a new Supreme Court...

Marty

when a adult rapes a child ,this causes a domino effect and through out the years it carries on to the next generations. i say yes it should warrant the death penalty. granted we are animals but we are intelligent animals. the strong should not be allowed to destroy the weak. and a child is precious and should be protected,even the animals protect the young.

rickinnocal

Death penalty for this would mean more murdered children. One of the justifications for the death penalty is to deter the crime it is imposed for. To sentence people to death for child rape would actually ENCOURAGE murder.

If a rapist rapes a child, and knows the penalty for his crime is death, there is no reason for him then not to simply kill his victim. Murders are FAR harder to prosecute than rapes, because there is no victim to identify her attacker, or even describe where the attack occurred to help in the collection of evidence. It also takes little time for a body to decompose badly enough for any DNA evidence to be worthless.

Richard

Susan S

The death penalty for raping but not killing a child carries unexpected problems and risks. We should think about the children who will have to live with the possibility that, as a result of his reporting the abuse, their fathers, uncles or other family member could face execution â€“ a heavy load for any child, on top of what he has already gone through. We should also be concerned that a rapist may decide to kill his victim to get rid of the key eyewitness.

We should also think about the fact that many victims of rape, including adults, have misidentified their attackers. (For examples, check out www.innocenceproject.org.) and about the documented cases where children were manipulated into saying they were abused even though no abuse took place.

Mr. Taco

Nothing warrants the death penalty.

Here's a scenario for you. Let's say your wife or girlfriend turns into a nut, and is seeing someone on the side and decides they want to be rid of you. So the next time you make love, they steal some of you "essence," and fingers it (and who knows what else) up your child's you-know-what. Then they wake you up, kicking and screaming, bruising you once, and injuring themselves while they are at it. Then they call the cops and tell them they caught you raping your own child. Turns out you catch a bumbling bunch of cops that evening, and they do a poor job of collecting evidence. You're confused and stunned, and you stumble over your explanation, making it sound like you're making it up as you go, but you are not. Some of her friends and family testify against you in court. It's an election year, so the case is pushed through quickly, and you lose. Now you're found guilty of raping your own child.

As far as the court is concerned, you did it. You raped a child. Should you get the death penalty? Consider that this happens to you. Consider that it happens to someone you are close to. One single innocent person killed by mistake is too many. The death penalty is what third world countries do to solve their problems, not civilized and logical countries. It's foolishness.

Now if you want to argue whether the rapist DESERVES to be killed, be my guest. Sure they do! But so long as the FACT remains that any one of us could be accidentally convicted of a crime, the death penalty is wrong. Dead wrong.

nickthaniel1

Can you believe the liberal arguments saying the death penalty for child rapists would lead to more child deaths because the child can't testify? How stupid is this argument? If this were the case wouldn't they kill the child anyway to get rid of the witness? It makes absolutely no sense. Wouldn't there be fewer child rapes if the rapists knew they would be killed for their crime??????

Liberals make me laugh

Yes

slave to gwar

anyone who commits this awful crime should recieve the death penalty. but it doesnt really matter, cause when gets in prison the rest of the inmates will make him wish he hadnt raped a helpless child. it will be the worst remaining days of his life.

bikashroy9

Death penalty is right . If at all it seems to be too harsh in a country like the USA , well, it should be a life term in Jail; that's the minimum punishment that a court can award.

Alice Fett

It's not rape if you smile.

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