Blunt seeks law to allow execution for child rapists

Gov. Matt Blunt wants to give Missouri prosecutors the option of asking for the death penalty in cases where children 12 and younger are raped, he said Monday at a news conference in Cape Girardeau.

In renewing his call for such legislation, Blunt referenced the case of Michael Devlin, a Kirkwood, Mo., man who pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of two adolescent boys, and a Springfield, Mo., child rape case involving a 7-year-old female victim who was attacked and then left for dead in a burning building.

In February, Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mount Vernon, filed a bill that would increase the potential punishment for child rapists to either death or life without the possibility of parole, treating the offense the same as first-degree murder.

"Eventually, I think this [bill] will pass," Blunt said.

Blunt went on to say that victims of these types of crimes suffer permanent damage, and said the option of the offender facing the "ultimate punishment" should be available.

Blunt recently filed a "friend of the court" brief, through a Washington lawyer, to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Patrick Kennedy v. Louisiana.

Arguments were heard on the case Wednesday to determine whether Louisiana's statute allowing the death penalty for child offenders violates the Eighth Amemdment of the U.S. Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment.

Currently, there are two people on death row for child rape in Louisiana. At least five other states have similar laws, and several more are considering enacting such legislation at the state level.

In 1964, a Missouri man was executed for rape, marking the last time someone in the U.S. was put to death for that crime.

In the brief Blunt filed, the attorney argued that there was no basis for the court to conclude that society viewed capital punishment as an excessive penalty for child rape.

"Nothing in Missouri indicates an affirmative rejection of the death penalty for child rape," the brief said.

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

The legislation also carries several potentially serious repercussions for victims of child rape, said Tammy Gwaltney, director of the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence.

Gwaltney said the extensive court proceedings inherent in capital cases may mean that 5-year-old victims could end up having to testify in ongoing appeals for upward of 10 to 15 years, delaying justice and prolonging an extremely difficult ordeal.

A fear may also exist among victims that juries would demand a higher burden of proof than reasonable doubt in a case where the death penalty is sought, Gwaltney said, possibly making victims less likely to come forward.

"Eight to 10 percent of all sexual violence crimes get reported -- that's an abysmal number," Gwaltney said.

Any impediments, even slight ones, to reporting sex crimes should be avoided, she said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the death penalty would serve as "just another weapon in a prosecutor's arsenal."

Swingle cited the recent conviction of serial killer Timothy W. Krajcir, whom he has dubbed, "The Bogeyman." Krajcir pleaded guilty to five counts of capital murder, seven counts of sexual assault and one robbery charge in Cape Girardeau to avoid the death penalty.

The proposed legislation could result in similar pleas if a child rapist knows the death penalty is on the table, meaning child victims would not have to testify, Swingle said.

In 2000, Samuel J. Farrow of Jackson was convicted of raping a 4-year-old girl and leaving her in the driveway of a rural Cape Girardeau home, and the victim's parents wanted the death penalty, Swingle said.

"You like to think that a beautiful community like Cape Girardeau would never have the opportunity to use such a statute, but seven years ago we would have," he said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245

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