Federal or State matter?
As we talked about in class, the Supreme Court is examining the standard for judging whether chemicals used to administer lethal injections make that method of execution unconstitutionally cruel.
The Court will issue their opinion in the coming months.
The Supreme Court also agreed to decide whether the Constitution allows the death penalty for the rape of a child.
These will be the first death penalty cases the court has taken in decades.
Should the Supreme Court, a federal institution, tell individual states what to do regarding the death penalty? Should people be executed for raping a child?
posted by CitizenPatriot at 2:56:00 PM
13 Comments:
the death penalty is such a complicated issue...
Yes someone who has killed another person must dies, but is it that simple? What if someone is charged guilty for a crime he/she did not commit? is it enough to replace a family member with money?
If the judicial system could be better and less prone to corruption i'm sure the death penalty can be justified. The only problem to this solution is if it's possible to have a better judicial system.
Sharanya Ramesh
7:10 PM
Haha, without realizing it, I wrote exactly what Sharanya wrote..."the death penalty is such a complicated issue"...and it's true. It's so complicated that it would be extremely problematic to have the Supreme Court define what is or is not right regarding the issue for the whole country...easily, tons of people would be distraught, no matter which way they go. Individual states choosing it would disappoint less people, for sure.
And as for raping a child...even if you deem the death penalty is just, you have to ask yourself whether the offender deserves death, such an ultimate punishment, after committing such a wrong...and even beyond that, do we really think that by issuing a death penalty for these situations, the prevalence of child rape will decrease? obviously the offender is beyond persuasion not to do what they want to do...i dare say even the possibility of being punished with death would not phase them.
Michael Lipkowitz
11:11 PM
Hey Elbs!
So I thought I would comment on the blog because I don't have class with you anymore and that's depressing. But I remembered we talked about the death penalty. Nowhere in the constitution does it say anything about the death penalty (at least that's what I think you said in class) so I don't think the federal government has the right to say whether the death penalty for the rape of a child is right or wrong. I think it is up to the states to decide individually what they think on the issue.
I miss gov :-(
-Ellis
5:49 PM
I'm not quite sure where I stand on this... Part of me says that this is a heinous crime that should be punished at the most extreme level (death).
But at the same time, there have been so many cases where a criminal is on death row, and after re-examining the case or using DNA evidence, many are let go because they were wrongly convicted.
In my opinion, each state should decide whether or not the rapist is put to death.
- Matt Zwiebel
6:46 PM
Sadly I agree with Bay-
The states are the ones who try the cases in most circumstances so they should have the right to decide whether the use of the death penalty is necessary for the situation. Personally I think the raping of a child should be punishable by death but that matter should not be up to the Federal gov, but the individual states.
Kyle Fairbanks
7:13 PM
well, since raping a child is cruel and unusual, I believe that the punishment should be cruel and unusual. Whether it be a lethal injection or hacking the persons head off with a dull say. I am for it.
-Hisham
7:58 PM
SAW********
7:59 PM
three cheers for FEDERALISM!! yes, i think it should be up to the states. i think i'm becoming one of those devolution folks. bring power closer to the people and they will be more involved. and then, as to the rape of a child...as much as i hate to say it, i agree with mikey. it probably won't solve anything to make the punishment worse. and i would argue that the same principle applies to other crimes as well. i think there are things fundamentally wrong with our punitive system...we have so many repeat offenders...i'm not advocating something Clockwork Orange-y of course...but...something should be different. we should be experimenting to try and improve the system. *sigh* i miss gov. :(
10:00 PM
I strongly believe that the death penalty should not be allowed. If someone for example murdered another person, your being hypocritical by putting them to death! (isnt that what they just did, kill someone and now your killing them? That doesnt make sense!)Also, it would be different if their death was long and painful, but its quick and all that happens is they are put to sleep! If we really wanted to torture them we would hang them, or use the electric chair. The problem with this is what if later, after they are dead, we find that they were really innocent. That is a great possiblity and is totally unfair! They should have to suffer in jail and ever single day of the rest of their life and they should have to think about what they did!
10:20 PM
I strongly believe that the death penalty should not be allowed. If someone for example murdered another person, your being hypocritical by putting them to death! (isnt that what they just did, kill someone and now your killing them? That doesnt make sense!)Also, it would be different if their death was long and painful, but its quick and all that happens is they are put to sleep! If we really wanted to torture them we would hang them, or use the electric chair. The problem with this is what if later, after they are dead, we find that they were really innocent. That is a great possiblity and is totally unfair! They should have to suffer in jail and ever single day of the rest of their life and they should have to think about what they did!
ERICA SHECK
10:21 PM
Elbaum,
I personally think the death penalty should not be issue for raping a child. First, it does not involve the death of a human being, however im not against locking them up for a long period of time. Second, the punishment would not fit the crime. Rape is a terrible thing a person can do, but it isn't something to put end a convicted person's life. In general I believe the death penalty should be legal, in only rare cases. Reason being if someone who you were close to was killed you wouldn't be all understanding if it was someone else's family or friend. You most likely would not want that person living after killing someone who is close to you. The death penalty should, only be used if someone is 100% proven guilty. If the case has some speculations on whether the person could be innocent, the death penalty should not be used.
1:26 AM
If we're trying to lower our taxes, then by all means, execution is the way to go.
IF we're trying to punish someone, I have two words and I apologize for anyone whom this may offend:
Prison rape
I think that this is far worse than the death penalty.
12:30 AM
Haha, Oleg, that's pretty funny.
But I say we just kill them.
Way to be controversial, Hannah. woohoo
Elbaum would be so proud.
4:22 PM
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