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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Ohlin
Kennedy v. Louisiana
Citation:
554 U.S. 407 (2008)
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Louisiana introduced the death penalty for rape of a child in 1995. Under the current statute, any anal, vaginal, or oral intercourse with a child under the age of 13 constitutes aggravated rape and is punishable by death. Mistake of age is not a defense. Five States have since followed Louisiana’s lead: Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By contrast, 44 States have not made child rape a capital offense. As for federal law, Congress expanded the number of federal crimes for which the death penalty is a permissible sentence, including certain non-homicide offenses; but it did not do the same for child rape or abuse.
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