The Eighth Amendment to our constitution states that…
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. It is the latter of this that is the subject here. Cruel and unusual
punishment; Upon first reading that term it would seem as if it were pretty self explanatory, however history, and many court cases have proven the opposite, in fact it is more of an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of many different definitions.
The State of Georgia in 1974 convicted and sentenced Erlich Anthony Coker to death for raping a woman after escaping from prison. Later Coker's lawyers presented to the Courts that in fact to sentence him to death violated his constitutional right, that being the 8th amendment, and in a 7-to-2 decision in June of 1977, the Court held that the death penalty was a "grossly disproportionate" punishment for the crime of rape. The Courts further stated that because rape did not involve the taking of another human life, the Court found the death penalty excessive "in its severity and revocability."
Cruel and unusual punishment is not a term intended solely for criminal, it applies to all Americans. Rape is a very cruel and unusual punishment, especially when it is the rape of a child. Now South Carolina is considering imposing the death penalty in cases of children 11 years or younger. The state senate endorsed making repeat child rapists eligible for the death penalty; setting aside arguments the move might be unconstitutional. The proposal would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases of repeat sex
offenders convicted two or more times of rape of children 11 years or younger.
A child being raped is the ultimate definitation of cruel and unusual punishment. I am so sick of these sex offenders being coddled and treated by Doctors who actually think that a rapist can be rehabilitated. A sex offender is just sick, that's the only way to describe it, and I don't think they can ever be rehabilitated. Those people who argue against this law, and those mamby pamby activist that take up their cause and those state senate who oppose this law need to remember, that, once released from prison, these animals, these sex offenders have to have a place to live, and their town and community is not exempt from having one move right down the street from them.
There are far to many sex offenders to just leave in prison, and the fact is, that even teachers, priests and deacons of churches have been convicted of these atrocity, a more drastic law needs to be on the books. Instead of taking up for these criminals by saying that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment lets take up for the children, the victims of these people, and stand together and say, Cruel and unusual punishment? Try living with the memory of being molested as a child. What about the Victims constitutional rights?