Bryan Fischer
Supreme Court trashes Constitution and victims of child rape
By Bryan Fischer
In another heartbreaking, gut-wrenching 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court today further trashed the Constitution's 10th Amendment by prohibiting states from executing people convicted of raping a child. Court disaster Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee and the swing vote on most activist rulings, said, "The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," taking that public policy decision away from state lawmakers where it belongs.
The perpetrator in this case raped his 8-year-old stepdaughter in Louisiana. Justice Samuel Alito upheld states' rights in his dissent. "It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of states that these harms (to victims and society at large) justify the death penalty."
The Louisiana Supreme Court had upheld the death penalty, saying that "short of first-degree murder, we can think of no other non-homicide crime more deserving" of capital punishment.
Kennedy inexcusably bases his ruling on a supposed "national consensus" against capital punishment for the crime of child rape. But where in the Constitution is the Supreme Court given the authority to decide constitutional matters on the basis of some mythical "consensus?" Nowhere.
Kennedy says the death penalty would violate the 8th Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment," apparently utterly blind to the plain fact that rape was punished by execution in states such as New York, New England and Pennsylvania at the time the 8th Amendment was passed, meaning it is historically impossible for capital punishment for rape to be a violation the 8th Amendment.
And where did the famous liberal compassion for children go? Where did the outrage against rape go? It vanished in a haze of sympathy for a brutal violator of a child's sexual innocence.
Naturally pedophile protectors were delighted. "It looks like a smashing victory on all fronts for us," said a capital defense attorney in New Orleans.
Now off the hook is another Louisiana man, who was sentenced to death in December for repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl.
The whole purpose of civil government, according to the Scriptures, is to provide justice for the victims of crimes against their persons or property. When the justice system fails its victims, as it has here, people's thoughts begin to turn to vigilante justice, which leads to anarchy and chaos. This is exactly why we must have a legal system that dispenses justice swiftly and fairly.
While it cannot be justified, we should not be surprised if we eventually begin to see more individuals taking the law into their hands as they deal with the immense frustration of being victimized twice — once by the perpetrator and a second time by a justice system that is supposed to be on their side.
© Bryan Fischer
In another heartbreaking, gut-wrenching 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court today further trashed the Constitution's 10th Amendment by prohibiting states from executing people convicted of raping a child. Court disaster Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee and the swing vote on most activist rulings, said, "The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," taking that public policy decision away from state lawmakers where it belongs.
The perpetrator in this case raped his 8-year-old stepdaughter in Louisiana. Justice Samuel Alito upheld states' rights in his dissent. "It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of states that these harms (to victims and society at large) justify the death penalty."
The Louisiana Supreme Court had upheld the death penalty, saying that "short of first-degree murder, we can think of no other non-homicide crime more deserving" of capital punishment.
Kennedy inexcusably bases his ruling on a supposed "national consensus" against capital punishment for the crime of child rape. But where in the Constitution is the Supreme Court given the authority to decide constitutional matters on the basis of some mythical "consensus?" Nowhere.
Kennedy says the death penalty would violate the 8th Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment," apparently utterly blind to the plain fact that rape was punished by execution in states such as New York, New England and Pennsylvania at the time the 8th Amendment was passed, meaning it is historically impossible for capital punishment for rape to be a violation the 8th Amendment.
And where did the famous liberal compassion for children go? Where did the outrage against rape go? It vanished in a haze of sympathy for a brutal violator of a child's sexual innocence.
Naturally pedophile protectors were delighted. "It looks like a smashing victory on all fronts for us," said a capital defense attorney in New Orleans.
Now off the hook is another Louisiana man, who was sentenced to death in December for repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl.
The whole purpose of civil government, according to the Scriptures, is to provide justice for the victims of crimes against their persons or property. When the justice system fails its victims, as it has here, people's thoughts begin to turn to vigilante justice, which leads to anarchy and chaos. This is exactly why we must have a legal system that dispenses justice swiftly and fairly.
While it cannot be justified, we should not be surprised if we eventually begin to see more individuals taking the law into their hands as they deal with the immense frustration of being victimized twice — once by the perpetrator and a second time by a justice system that is supposed to be on their side.
© Bryan Fischer
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