Constitutional Law

High Court Denies Rehearing Of Child Rape Case Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court will not reconsider its decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, denying the use of the death penalty in child rape cases, The Washington Post reports. Louisiana officials and the U.S. Department of Justice had asked the high court to reconsider its June 25 decision, arguing that the majority opinion should have taken into consideration military law that allows the imposition of the death penalty in child rape cases. The Post notes that the five justices in the Kennedy majority agreed today not to rehear the case. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the military law “does not draw into question our conclusions that there is a consensus against the death penalty for the crime in the civilian context and that the penalty is unconstitutional.” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., argued for a rehearing of the case.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on October 01, 2008 (boomark / email).