Patrick Kennedy raped his 8 year old stepdaughter and was on death row for this crime. The Supreme Court has determined that he cannot be executed as it is unconstitutional. Execution is reserved for murder.
I know this is way controversial, but I'm for the death penalty. Not willy-nilly, I think DNA evidence needs to be present. We have technology we did not have years ago so the innocent being put to death really doesn't carry water anymore. But, not just for murder. If you violate a CHILD, you should be put to death. There is no person who could possibly claim that they didn't realize it was a crime to rape an 8 year old girl. It's not a curable sickness and I have no sympathy, no bleeding heart here, and no tolerance. Our society should be a safe haven for children. I have to set up f*cking playdates because I can't let my son just go outside to play without my eyes always on him. The penalties for hurting a child should be strong so our message is strong...we value our children above all.
See the article here:http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/scotus.child.rape/index.html
15 comments:
I totally agree. I would also like to see the molestor slowly tortured prior to being put to death.
this is heavy. i'll give you my opinion for what it is worth...
sexual abuse of a child by an adult is probably worse than killing them. i don't know, maybe that's too brutal....this poor child will suffer trauma unimaginable.
an explanation the supreme court made is that the primary witness in this type of case would be a child and the child could easily be "manipulated" to get someone's conviction. it makes me ask, is that too much responsibility to put on a child, the guilt an 8 yr would live with knowing his/her decision resulted in someone being put to death or not?
i don't believe in the death penalty. in this case, my taxes can pay for mr. kennedy to rot in prison and becomes somebody's bitch.
I don't believe in the death penalty either. In this particular case, he won't last for more than a week in jail. But I'd rather see him in there and try to survive it. solitary, 23 hr./day
i don't know, r. maybe solitary is too kind. don't you think he'd fare better with the general population? they're all such big fans of child molesters...
i'm torn on the death penalty. while i fully believe some people (and maybe all of us) deserve to die...i'm just not sure what gives me the right to decide who and for what.
and having said that (and reread it and realizing i may have come across like a hater, which was NOT my intention)...i fully respect jess for having such a strong belief and i concur fully with protecting our kids being a priority.
Having just sat here and stared at the screen for twenty minutes to add additional perspective, all i know is that there are SO many, many layers to peel back on this one....there could be a gazillion comments by week's end on it.....
when i initially read this my first reaction was to turn off the computer. i couldn't comment at the moment because it hit me too hard and i wasn't sure i could adequately express my own views.
i do not believe in the death penalty. i think that death is easier than spending a life trying to survive in prison. putting someone to death might make those affected by a crime feel better but it gives the perpetrator a way out. i agree with denise on this one. she beautifully summed up how i feel.
jess, your statement was so powerful that it's caused me to spend the last 12 hours thinking about it. it's wonderful that a group of women can have an intelligent discussion about a serious and, let's face it, very heavy and controversial issue. i was so impressed and proud to read these comments and know the women that wrote them. civilized debate is lacking in our society - it's nice to see that people can still disagree in a thoughtful and intelligent manner.
well said b. this had me up thinking all night long (with stella's help). thanks for stimulating some deep thought jess!
well put, b. it's what i wanted to say after 20 minutes of staring but didn't know how to succintly formulate it.
jess - this definitely sparked some very deep and long thinking and conversation on my end, so thanks for the stimulating topic. it's really good to dig deep like that.
I really appreciate you all weighing in. It isn't an easy topic...one big gray area. It's takes strength to put your views out there and listen and consider those of another. It's what makes democracy work...these checks and balances.
I understand the dilemma with regards to the witness being a child and the further emotional damage to them having been the "cause" for someone being put to death. But, counseling must take place regardless and helping them understand that they were not the cause of either the rape or the subsequent death would be a wiser course of action. It's not an easy choice by any stretch. However, that being said, if by publicly terminating the life a violent criminal meant that it gave pause to another thus saving 3 more 8 year old girls from being raped, would that make a difference in your thinking? This notion of a ripple affects me in a very personal way. Also, with regards to serving time being worse than death. That may be true, however, our prison system is to capacity, that means criminals of a lesser degree are being paroled early to make room for violent crimes. Also, the prison culture is one of shared knowledge...learning how to be a better thief or how to get away with raping a child. It becomes a vicious cycle whereby criminals serve less prison time and come out better criminals. I say if you have no value for the fragility an d beauty for human life...especially a child, then we owe you no assigned value in return.
I'd also like to know how you all feel about Obama disagreeing with the Supreme Courts ruling on this case. For me, his stock went way up.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_el_pr/obama_child_rape_case
"Yes I think he deserved to die and I hope he burns in hell." - Carl Lee Hailey
Interesting blog.
They violate the sanctity of our society. Don't worry, we'll jail them. Then, some get out. They do it again. A very high percentage of offenders are likely to repeat. Many who were violated in some way as a child become sex offenders themselves (http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-likely-are-sex-offenders-to-repeat-their-crimes-258/). I wonder what the rate of success is for rehabilitating them. At a rate of $20-55/k per annum to keep one person in prison, who is getting the shaft? By my count that is two crimes. The number of violent inmates is increasing. Simple statistics indicate a losing proposition. We simply cannot afford to keep them all locked up forever while at the same time adding to their numbers. I guess as with all American problems, we'll just raise taxes or print more money.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/corr2tab.htm
El Becko - Your blog is "interesting" also. Do you ever actually post there?
Thanks for commenting. I went to both sites you listed. Really very good information. Love the quote. Especially appropriate considering the topic.
Hope to have you commenting again in the future and that your blog finally makes you less mysterious.
Ok....instead of being my usually emotionally oriented self, I am going to try and be pragmatic in this..... First off, I do believe in the death penalty, BUT ONLY WHEN THERE IS NO SHADOW OF A 100% DOUBT. Jessie, mah dear, you are wrong about there being no safe guards even in this day of advanced technology. Mistakes are still made, and money, greed, power, lack of scruples or morality will serve to corrode and compromise the integrity of some investigations.
That said.... The death penalty for child rape is a pretty radical choice of opinion. As someone pointed out, children can be manipulated into saying, OR EVEN BELIEVING, that certain things occurred when they in fact did not. Without elaborating, our family is familiar with a certain situation where a child was coerced into implicating her father. His life was emotional, mental and financial hell.....CAN YOU IMAGINE IF IT WENT AS FAR AS HIM BEING EXECUTED??????
But, let's assume for the sake of argument that all things are true.... In that case, my proposed solution is mandatory sterilization or another medical procedure that would allow the accused to essentially function (i.e. waste elimination), but not be able to physically attempt to harm another child...... of course,there are other ways to do this beyond the genital area...however, biological, neurological, and/or hormonal compulsion is really the culprit. As the saying goes, guns don't kill people kill people. So, perhaps some sort of chemically induced neutralization of this chemical imbalance takes care of the problem without taking a life???
But really............come on......face facts........there are animals on death row that still havent been put down...do u really think anyone sentenced to death for child rape is ever gonna meet the "squirt" or the "fryer" before he/she is too old to buy the farm anyway?
I'll say one thing....if anyone ever lays a hand on either of my lil' buddies, for any reason, the state won't have to wait twenty years to take care of the problem. Uncoo Michoo will gladly oblige.....
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