Kennedy (Defendant) was convicted of raping his eight year-old stepdaughter. He was charged by the respondent, the State of Louisiana, with the aggravated rape of his then-8-year-old stepdaughter. The State Supreme Court affirmed, rejecting petitioner’s reliance on Coker v. KENNEDY v. LOUISIANA (No. Kennedy's case was remanded for resentencing, and he is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which has become the mandatory penalty for this crime. He appealed, challenging the sentence as unconstitutional. The prosecutor sought, and the jury awarded, such a sentence; Kennedy appealed. A Louisiana court found Patrick Kennedy guilty of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter. KENNEDY v. LOUISIANA (No. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the majority specifically ruled that the Eighth Amendment barred the State of Louisiana from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim’s death. Louisiana charged petitioner with the aggravated rape of his then-8-year-old stepdaughter. Louisiana law allows the district attorney to seek the death penalty for defendants found guilty of raping children under the age of twelve. Kennedy argues that crimes that are not person-on-person (i.e., terrorism, espionage, air piracy) are not in the same category as murder.
See Amdts. 8 and 14, §1; Robinson v. California, 370 U. S. 660 (1962) . Although she did not die, Defendant was sentenced to death under Louisiana law. 07-343) 957 So. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child in cases where the victim did not die and death was not intended. 2d 757, reversed and remanded. A Republican Senator introduced a resolution designed to expressly state the Senate's disapproval of Kennedy v. Louisiana and urge overruling it, but it was not passed. Patrick Kennedy, the petitioner here, seeks to set aside his death sentence under the Eighth Amendment. 07-343) 957 So. 2d 757, reversed and remanded. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Additionally, Kennedy and Louisiana differ concerning the implications that treatment of other non-homicide crimes have for the constitutionality of capital child rape laws. He was convicted and sentenced to death under a state statute authorizing capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12.
See Amdts. 8 and 14, §1; Robinson v. California, 370 U. S. 660 (1962) . Although she did not die, Defendant was sentenced to death under Louisiana law. 07-343) 957 So. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child in cases where the victim did not die and death was not intended. 2d 757, reversed and remanded. A Republican Senator introduced a resolution designed to expressly state the Senate's disapproval of Kennedy v. Louisiana and urge overruling it, but it was not passed. Patrick Kennedy, the petitioner here, seeks to set aside his death sentence under the Eighth Amendment. 07-343) 957 So. 2d 757, reversed and remanded. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Additionally, Kennedy and Louisiana differ concerning the implications that treatment of other non-homicide crimes have for the constitutionality of capital child rape laws. He was convicted and sentenced to death under a state statute authorizing capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12.