Death Penalty for Rape
The Death Penalty for Rape in the United States
Since our country was formed the use of the Death Penalty has always been a controversial subject mainly because, the government is taking an individual’s life. This has been a form of punishment for thousands of years and for hundreds of years in the United States. It has been debated for years that the death penalty is unconstitutional and many people have thought that it violates the 8th amendment because it is possibly a “cruel and unusual punishment”. It has since been left up to the states to decide if they will allow the death penalty or eradicate it. As we go deeper into the subject of capital punishment we are met with even more controversy as we approach the subject of using the death penalty against non-homicide crimes namely rape. Rape in our country is considered a very serious crime the penalties for rape are also very severe, they include prison time and indefinite registration as a sexual offender, yet some people are at times infuriated because rapists do not receive the death penalty.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary rape is “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent”. Rape is a horrible act that can ruin a victim’s life permanently, by causing severe mental trauma and also the risk of trading STD’s between the perpetrator and the victim. Although our country views rape a very malicious crime we have decided that rapists cannot be executed (Coker v. Georgia, 1977), because it is according to the Supreme Court “in a split decision on June 29, 1977, ruled that capital punishment is grossly disproportionate to the crime of rape and is therefore prohibited by the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment.”
In my opinion some crimes are just too outrageous and evil to allow
Since our country was formed the use of the Death Penalty has always been a controversial subject mainly because, the government is taking an individual’s life. This has been a form of punishment for thousands of years and for hundreds of years in the United States. It has been debated for years that the death penalty is unconstitutional and many people have thought that it violates the 8th amendment because it is possibly a “cruel and unusual punishment”. It has since been left up to the states to decide if they will allow the death penalty or eradicate it. As we go deeper into the subject of capital punishment we are met with even more controversy as we approach the subject of using the death penalty against non-homicide crimes namely rape. Rape in our country is considered a very serious crime the penalties for rape are also very severe, they include prison time and indefinite registration as a sexual offender, yet some people are at times infuriated because rapists do not receive the death penalty.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary rape is “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent”. Rape is a horrible act that can ruin a victim’s life permanently, by causing severe mental trauma and also the risk of trading STD’s between the perpetrator and the victim. Although our country views rape a very malicious crime we have decided that rapists cannot be executed (Coker v. Georgia, 1977), because it is according to the Supreme Court “in a split decision on June 29, 1977, ruled that capital punishment is grossly disproportionate to the crime of rape and is therefore prohibited by the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment.”
In my opinion some crimes are just too outrageous and evil to allow