Blunt, GOP ask high court to allow death penalty for child rape

Missouri lawmakers say states should be able to decide whether to allow death sentences for those who rape children

By CHRIS BLANK

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt and two-dozen Republican lawmakers have filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Louisiana law that allows the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child.

The governor's office announced Thursday that Blunt and 28 legislators had filed a "friend of the court brief" for a Louisiana case a day earlier. In a written statement, Blunt said those who rape children deserve the most serious penalty possible.

"Violent sex offenses against children are unspeakable crimes, crimes so horrific that they defy comprehension and demand harsh punishment," Blunt said.

The Supreme Court next month is scheduled to hear the appeal of Patrick Kennedy, who was given the death penalty after he was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 2003. He is one of two men in the United States -- both from Louisiana -- who have been sentenced to death for a rape that didn't result in a death. The Louisiana Supreme Court has upheld Kennedy's sentence.

Cruel and unusual

At issue is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a 1977 case that overturned the death sentence of a Georgia man who raped an adult woman who survived. In that ruling, the court found that the death sentence violated the Eighth Amendment's protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

But Missouri policymakers want the court to differentiate between cases in which the victim is an adult and those in which the victim is a child. They argue that states should be able to decide whether to allow death sentences for those who rape children.

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said violations of the Eighth Amendment are never allowable.

"If something is cruel and unusual, you can't leave the door open to it," he said. "Sometimes doors need to be closed to protect rights."

Dieter said that no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Constitution still could be amended and the court could later reverse itself.

According to the Missouri brief, which was prepared for free by a Washington law firm, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas also allow the death penalty for certain sexual offenses. Lawmakers in Alabama, Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee are considering it.

Joining the debate

The Missouri brief argues that tossing out the Louisiana law would end any debate about whether people who rape children deserve the death penalty rather than prison sentences.

That's a question it says has been raised after Michael Devlin, of the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, pleaded guilty to state and federal charges that arose from the kidnapping of two boys. Devlin is serving 74 life sentences in a state prison in Cameron for kidnapping and molesting the boys.

"It is neither necessary nor appropriate for this Court to silence a debate in Missouri and other states on the death penalty for child rape before that debate has been joined," the brief said.

Blunt, before the legislative session, called for a law allowing executions for those convicted of raping a child. Lawmakers have filed several bills to do that, but none has been debated by the full House or Senate. Two measures specifically mentioned in the brief have not yet been considered by legislative committees.

Lawmakers have until May 16 to approve new legislation.