Louisiana seeks rehearing in child rape case
Louisiana has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case in which a five-justice majority held that the constitution prevents child rapists from being put to death.
Though the court rarely grants a petition for rehearing, it should do so here. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the court concluded that a national consensus had formed against the execution of child rapists. But in reaching that conclusion, the court mischaracterized federal law. Specifically, the court said that Congress had not made child rape a death-eligible offense (slip op at 12). But as Louisiana notes, the court was wrong. Section 552 of the National Defense Authorization Act provides that service members convicted of child rape may be sentenced to death.