Final Decision
Date: June 25th, 2008
Supreme Court Vote: 5-4 decision
The Majority: The U.S Supreme Court held that executing Kennedy was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment since the victim was not killed
Before this case, there were two men on Death Row for the rape of a child. Since this case ended, there has not been a single man nor women put on Death Row for the rape of a child
Today, the death penalty is legal in 32 states and illegal in 18 states.
U.S Supreme Court
Defendant Arguments
Plaintiff's Arguments
Enmund v. Florida
Permitting the death penalty could result in:
Roper v. Simmons
1982
Atkins v. Virginia
2002
- Petitioner was apart of first degree murder that ended with two elderly women being shot
2005
- Christopher Simmons was sentenced to the death penalty at the age of 17
- He was sentenced to the death penalty under Florida's Supreme Court
- Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery and capital murder
- The main augment was whether or not the death penalty was violating the 8th Amendment of "cruel and unusual" punishment to a minor
Final Verdict: The court came to a conclusion that Petitioner did not kill or intend to kill the victims, therefore sentencing him to the death penalty violated the 8th Amendment
- Atkins was sentenced to death, however the Virginia Supreme Court ordered a second sentencing because of a physiologist who testified and said that Atkins is mildly mentally retarded
1. Worsening the problem of under-reported rapes
Final Verdict: The Court ruled that executing a minor does violate the 8th Amendment
Final Verdict: The Court upheld the death sentence from Atkins stating that sentencing the death penalty to the mentally retarded violates the 8th Amendment
Coker v. Georgia
1977
- The defendant, Coker, escaped from prison where he was being sentenced for kidnapping, rape and assault
- He was then charged with escape, armed robbery, car theft, kidnapping and rape of a women.
2. Allowing Louisiana to execute would increase the incentive on child molesters to kill their victims
- He was sentenced to the death penalty under a Georgia statue for raping a women
Final Verdict:The Eighth Amendment of the United States forbids the death penalty of the criminal for the rape of a women
Kennedy v. Louisiana case
3. Children, under the age of twelve, normally do not do well on the stand therefore they cannot defend themselves
Kennedy's Argument:
- Patrick Kennedy claimed that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment (8th Amendment) because the crime did not result in death of the victim.
The Problem...
- Does the 8th Amendment prohibit the death penalty for the rape of a child under the age of twelve?
- The 8th Amendment is very broad. The statement "cruel and unusual" has different meaning to each individual
- Each state decides separately whether or not to have executions
Louisiana's Court
- Kennedy was found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty under Louisiana's state law
- The court found Kennedy guilty under two circumstances:
- The victim was under the age of twelve
Crimes Punishable by Death:
**All these crimes vary on each states decision of the death penalty
Kennedy v. Louisiana
Key Facts
- In 2003, Patrick Kennedy was convicted of raping his eight year old stepdaughter
Patrick Kennedy's mug shot after being convicted of raping his eight year old stepdaughter
Where was the crime committed?
Harvey, LA
- The victim suffered from injuries of her private areas which had to be fixed with surgery
- Under Louisiana's state law, any criminal that rapes a child under the age of twelve can be sentenced to the death penalty.
- At this time, forty-four states prohibited the death penalty for rape of a child
- Kennedy was sentenced to the death penalty which he appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court
- Louisiana's highest court agreed with the state in which then Kennedy appealed his case to the U.S Supreme Court