Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

[Robert Franklin <>]

Here is some stuff I found

And something to consider

Between 1930 and 1976, 455 men were executed for rape, of whom 405 - 90
percent - were black.) A higher percentage of the blacks who were executed
were juveniles; and the rate of execution without having one's conviction
reviewed by any higher court was higher for Blacks.
(http://www.aclu.org/capital/general/10441pub19971231.html) And I beleive
all the women were white, Hhhhhmmmm????? Something to keep in mind when
addressing this issue in understanding the connectedness of oppressions and
how this was just another form of institutional lynching.

************************************************************************

Monday, June 19, 2006 
Death Penalty for Rape? 
"Borrowed" from the Texas Moratorium Network:
http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/2006/06/death-penalty-for-rape.html

The 2006 Texas Republican Party Platform endorses the death penalty for
people convicted of rape.


In 1977, the Supreme Court declared in the 7-2 Coker v. Georgia decision
that applying the death penalty in rape cases was forbidden by the Eighth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as cruel and unusual punishment because
the sentence was disproportionate to the crime. Coker resulted in the
removal of twenty inmates -- three whites and 17 blacks -- awaiting
execution on rape convictions from death rows around the country.

>From the 2006 Texas GOP Platform:

"Capital Punishment - We believe that properly applied capital punishment is
legitimate, is an effective deterrent, and should be swift and unencumbered.
When applied to the crime of murder, it raises the value of human life.

Sexual Assault - We believe that rape is a heinous crime for which
punishment options should include death."

****************************************************************************
****
Louisiana's newest capital crime: the death penalty for child rape. 

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001293532&er=deny

by Annaliese Flynn Fleming 


I. INTRODUCTION 

In Louisiana, prosecutors are currently seeking the death penalty against
two men accused of raping children in the case of State v. Wilson.(2) In
1995, Louisiana passed a state law making it a capital offense to rape a
child under twelve. Louisiana Revised Statute 14:42 (C) reads in pertinent
part: 
    

 Whoever commits the crime of aggravated rape shall be punished by life
imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or
suspension of sentence. However, if the victim was under the age of twelve
years ... the offender shall be punished by death or life imprisonment at
hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence,
in accordance with the determination of the jury.(3)    Prosecutors indicted
two defendants, Anthony Wilson and Patrick Dewayne Bethley, under the new
law. Prior to conviction, both moved to quash the indictments, challenging
the statute's constitutionality on its face.(4) The respective trial courts
granted both motions to quash, and the State then appealed to the Louisiana
Supreme Court, which consolidated the cases for review.(5) On appeal, both
defendants argued that the law is unconstitutional because imposing the
death penalty for raping a child is cruel and unusual punishment.(6)
Although the Louisiana Supreme Court found the law constitutional, the
question bears further examination: is the law constitutional? Or is the
imposition of the death penalty for a non-homicide crime cruel and unusual
punishment? This Comment proposes that imposing the death penalty for child
rape is unconstitutional because the Eighth Amendment prohibits punishments
that are disproportionate to the crimes for which they are imposed. Part II
reviews the background law involving the Eighth Amendment and relevant
Supreme Court case law. Part III analyzes the issues presented by the
decision in State v. Wilson and discusses four hurdles for the Louisiana
statute: (1) a procedural hurdle which insures against arbitrary and
capricious imposition of the death penalty;(7) (2) that the punishment must
not be excessive in relation to the crime;(8) (3) that the punishment must
serve a legitimate goal beyond the needless imposition of pain and
suffering;(9) and (4) that a punishment must not be so severe as to be
unacceptable to contemporary society.(10) Part IV concludes that the
Louisiana statute will likely be struck down when it reaches the Supreme
Court of the United States because it is excessive punishment for the crime
of rape. 

II. BACKGROUND LAW 

A. THE ADOPTION OF THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT 

The Eighth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, ratified on December 1.5,
1791, prohibits the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments.(11) The
Framers took the language of this amendment from the English Bill of Rights,
adopted by Parliament in 1688, after the English Civil War.(12) The English
Bill of Rights contained the same language: "excessive bail ought not to be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted."(13) The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment was
absent from the original body of the United States Constitution, an
exclusion that was hotly debated at the time of enactment. At the
Massachusetts Convention, this exclusion was protested: "Congress shall have
to ascertain ... and determine what kind of punishments shall be inflicted
on persons convicted of crimes. They are nowhere restrained from inventing
the most cruel and unheard of punishments."(14) At the Virginia Convention,
Patrick Henry echoed this fear:...     

       Questia Media America, Inc. www.questia.com 

Publication Information: Article Title: Louisiana's Newest Capital Crime:
The Death Penalty for Child Rape. Contributors: Annaliese Flynn Fleming -
author. Journal Title: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Volume: 89.
Issue: 2. Publication Year: 1999. Page Number: 717. COPYRIGHT 1999
Northwestern University, School of Law; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

Robert L. Franklin, MS
Male Outreach Coordinator 
Division of Injury and Violence Prevention
Virginia Department of Health
109 Governor Street, 8th Floor
Richmond VA  23219
Phone: (804) 864-7739
Fax: (804) 864-7748

email: 


web: http://www.menendingviolence.com
web: http://www.varapelaws.org
web: http://www.paramihija.com
web: http://www.vahealth.org/civp/sexualviolence


-----Original Message-----
From: 

[mailto:]On
 Behalf Of Jemison, Erin
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 11:08 AM
To: 

Subject: capital crime question


Does anyone know about recent legislation passed in some states
categorizing rape as a capital crime?  I heard there was a CNN story to
this effect, perhaps in Kansas and/or one of the Carolinas?  Can anyone
shed some light on this issue?

 

Thank you.

 

Erin Jemison

Outreach Coordinator

MSU VOICE Center

14 Hamilton Hall

Bozeman, MT 59717

406.994.5682

24-hour line: 406.994.7069

www.montana.edu/voice

 

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