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Criminal Law Keyed to Ohlin
Kennedy v. Louisiana
Citation:
554 U.S. 407 (2008)
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
On March 2nd, 1998, Kennedy called police to report that his stepdaughter (“L.H.”) had been raped by two neighborhood boys. He told them that he ran outside after hearing loud screaming, and one of the boys riding away on a bike. L.H. was transported to a children’s hospital and had severe injuries.
Eight days after the crime, Kennedy was arrested for the rape. An inspection of the yard immediately after the assault was inconsistent with a rape having occurred there, and the bicycle Kennedy claimed to have witnessed one of the boys ride off on was broken. Additionally, Kennedy had made several calls the morning that the rape occurred, including to his employer that he would be unable to work, to a colleague asking how to get blood out of a white carpet, a cleaning service, and finally the police an hour and a half later.
After a trial by jury, Kennedy was found guilty and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed.
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