Background
Kennedy was convicted of raping his step-daughter at the age of eight. He was sentenced to death but appealed the ruling saying that the age of the child should not matter.
Issue
Does putting somebody to death for child-rape violate the defendant's 8th amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment?
Decision
It does indeed violate the defendant's eighth amendment right if the rape did not intend to kill and did not result in killing the child.
Majority - Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent - Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito
My Opinion
Based upon the precedents set in Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons, I agree that he should not receive the death penalty. There is an evolving standard of decency set forth when referring to the death penalty. At the time, only five states had imposed the death penalty on convicts guilty of child rape. Therefore, five states does not constitute a national consensus and he should not receive the death penalty.
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