Posted on 03/01/2005 7:21:16 AM PST by Next_Time_NJ
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states.
The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes.
The executions, the court said, were unconstitutionally cruel.
This report will be updated as details become available.
Yeah, I guess this'll just mean some more vigilante justice in America.
I also agree.
The point isn't whether or not it's right to execute brutal murderers if they were under 18. The point is whether this is a constitutional issue, under the phrase "cruel and unusual punishment." I think not.
If it's wrong to execute murderers under 18, then this should be a matter for the voters and the legislatures.
No killin' kids. Except fetuses. And defectives. And the brain-damaged...
Show me the 15 yr old executed (Since the dp was reinstated) and I'll eat my computer.
Juveniles are NOT executed in this country.
But that's not a constitutional issue. The U.S. Supreme Court is absolutely wrong on this one.
"It's not a good idea" is not the same thing as "It's unconstitutional."
That's nice. We will send the little demons in human form to live in your house ok?
Kennedy wrote the summary decision. O'Connor dissented with Rehnquist, Thomas and Scalia.
This SCOTUS is one of the worst SCOTUS's their has been. Expect more insane rulings such as the ruling on eminent domain, and all other important issues to be ruled in favor of their Leftists agenda!
I think this is the right decision. The Death Penalty should only be reserved for the worst of the worst (those for whom prison is not enough to maintain the security of the state, e.g. terrorists).
Because banning the death penalty is equivalent to banning all punishment, right?
Well, Robert Heinlein,
classic libertarian,
thought society
for self protection
could put people to death, but
had no right at all
to treat human beings
like animals and lock them
in cages for life.
This only effects 19 states.. if your theory held true then there would be 31 other states with a high level of underage killers.
Why do you say that? Even without the death penalty, they can be sent to jail for the rest of their lives.
this is sheer lunacy
This, for example, sends John Malvo (one of the beltway snipers) to life. No need now for Alabama or other states to try him for the death penalty, since he is already in prison for life.
[I'd like the justices to point out that part of the Constitution that prohibits an 18-year-old from the death penalty. This sounds like one of the European laws they are using as precedent, rather than US law.]
Fine, but only after a conservative court has sat for about 40 years, so the perversion to the Constitution that has occurred in the interim can be fully addressed.
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** WE CAN ONLY HOPE!! **
I disagree. Do you really beleive the death penalty is a deterrent? I don't. If it was, the states which have the death penalty would have fewer murders, and the opposite would be true in states that do not.
You are quite wrong. Most sociopaths, whether 15 or 55 respond quite well to threats of their own demise.
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