Death for child rape nixed

High court rules against execution of child rapists
The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court declared by a 5-4 vote Wednesday that the crime of child rape does not warrant the death penalty. The decision overturns a ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court that would have allowed the execution of a man convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that death penalty for child rape would be excessive, violating the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Considering the nation's "evolving standards of decency," he noted that the vast majority of states that allow capital punishment do not permit its imposition for the crime of rape. He said that no one in America had been executed for child rape since 1964.