Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether a Louisiana man can be executed for raping his 8- year-old stepdaughter in a case that tests the constitutionality of the death penalty for crimes other than murder.
The justices today said they will hear an appeal by Patrick Kennedy, who contends his execution would violate the constitutional ban on ``cruel and unusual punishment.'' The Louisiana Supreme Court in May said Kennedy's death sentence could be carried out.
Kennedy, 44, would be the first person executed in the U.S. for rape since 1964. Of the 36 states that have the death penalty, Louisiana is one of five that explicitly permit execution of people convicted of raping a child.
There is a growing trend in America towards allowing the death penalty for cases of Child rape even as the general trend is against the death penalty as a whole. This Louisiana case will test laws for death penalty other than murder.
These kinds of issues should make it clear how very important it is to elect a president who will appoint constructionist judges to the federal courts.
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