Constitutional Law/Death Penalty - Kennedy v. Louisiana, 128 S. Ct. 2641 (2008).

The United States Supreme Court Holds that the Eighth Amendment Bars Louisiana from Imposing the Death Penalty for Child Rape Where the Crime did not Result, and was not Intended to Result, in the Victim’s Death. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 128 S. Ct. 2641 (2008).

A stepfather called 9-1-1 to report that his stepdaughter, L. H., then eight-years-old, had been raped. He told the 9-1-1 operator that, upon hearing loud screaming, he ran outside and found L. H. in the side yard. Stepfather told the operator that two neighborhood boys dragged L. H. from the garage to the yard, pushed her down, and raped her. Stepfather claimed he saw one of the boys ride away on a blue 10-speed bicycle.

L. H. was transported to the hospital. An expert in pediatric forensic medicine testified that L. H.'s injuries were the most severe he had seen from a sexual assault. L. H.’s injuries required emergency surgery.

Both L. H. and Stepfather reported that L. H. had been raped by two neighborhood boys. However, eight days after the crime, Stepfather was arrested for the rape.

The prosecution presented the following evidence, later credited by the jury: Stepfather gave inconsistent descriptions of the bicycle; investigators found a bicycle matching Stepfather’s description, and Stepfather identified it as the same bicycle, yet its tires were flat, it did not have gears, and it was covered in spider webs; the grass on the side yard, where Stepfather reported the rape occurred, was mostly undisturbed, which was inconsistent with a rape having occurred there; there was blood on the underside of L. H.'s mattress, indicating that the rape occurred in her bedroom; Stepfather made telephone calls on the morning of the rape –one to his employer, indicating he was unable to work that day, the second to a colleague, inquiring as to how to get blood out of a white carpet, and the third to a carpet cleaning company, requesting urgent assistance in removing bloodstains; Stepfather did not call 9-1-1 until about an hour and a half later.

Approximately four months after the rape, L. H. reported to her mother that Stepfather had raped her.

The State charged Stepfather with aggravated rape of a child and sought the death penalty. After a jury trial, Stepfather was found guilty and the jury unanimously determined that Stepfather should be sentenced to death, under a Louisiana state statute authorizing capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12 years of age. The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

The Court based its decision both on consensus and its own independent judgment. The Court reviewed the authorities informed by contemporary norms, including the history of the death penalty, current state statutes and new enactments, and the number of executions since 1964. After consideration of such factors, the Court concluded that there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape.

The Court found that there would be serious negative consequences of making child rape a capital offense. Further, the Court held that the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child.

The Court noted that the death penalty must be reserved for the worst of crimes and limited in its application. In most cases, justice is not better served by terminating the life of the perpetrator rather than confining the perpetrator and preserving the possibility that the perpetrator and the system will find ways to allow the person to understand the enormity of his/her offense.

The Court reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Louisiana and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.