The Supreme Court has decided to take on the case that will decide whether the death penalty may be imposed on someone who rapes a child.
Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to death for the rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 1998. Until December 2007, Kennedy was the only person on death row for a crime other than murder.
NASW, along with other victims’ rights organizations, have come out against the higher penalty, asking the court to not allow those convicted of child rape be placed on death row. Read the story that covers this from The Washington Post. NASW maintains that the statute will have a negative effect, making the perpetrator more inclined to kill the victim and the healing process more difficult for the victim.
To read the entire brief, visit the NASW Legal Defense Fund and search the Amicus Brief Database.
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