[Note: Friends of Justice is a personal blog. I speak only for myself.]
Dear Friend of Justice,
Vote-hungry politicians — including Saint Barack Obama — have been getting exercised over the Supreme Court ruling banning the death-penalty for child rapists.
It is understandable that people, especially parents, become so upset by child rape. But few take all of the the facts into consideration.
First of all, a child rapist could be anyone (of any age) who has sex, including consensual sex, with someone under the legal age of consent in his or her state. (This is 18 in most states.)
Secondly, it is extremely difficult for a person accused of child rape to receive a fair trial. The false conviction rate is higher than for almost any other crime.
If the death penalty for child rapists had been in effect, many of the innocent people sponsored by the National Center for Reason and Justice would be dead by now: e.g. Bernard Baran, Ryan Smith, Gerald Amirault, and others.
If our criminal-justice system were perfect, the death penalty would be a valid topic for debate. But given our system’s gross unfairness, I can’t endorse the death penalty for anyone for any reason.
-Bob Chatelle
