Conservative Politics Today

BY VIRGINIA H. SHANAHAN

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who is still outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to overturn the death penalty in the case of child rape, released a statement citing a factual error made in the death penalty case of 300lb Patrick Kennedy, who was convicted of brutally raping his 8 year old step-daughter. The trauma from the rape was so severe the little girl required surgery.

Jindal says the Supreme Court overlooked a 2006 Act found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice authorizing the death penalty for child rape. In the ruling handed down, the Supreme Court claimed there was no federal precedence for this type of sentence.

Jindal went on to say “We have spoken to Attorney General Buddy Caldwell and the attorney who presided over this case, District Attorney Paul Connick in Jefferson Parish, and have encouraged them both to seriously review these new facts and consider petitioning the court for a rehearing. As both the governor of this great state and as a parent of three children, I continue to be outraged over the Supreme Court’s absurd decision to overturn a death penalty sentence for the brutal rape of a child while citing that ‘the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child;’ and I will do everything I can to see that this decision does not stand.”
He adds, “The Supreme Court got this case wrong, plain and simple. The most brutal and appalling crimes deserve the harshest penalties, and the horrible rape of an eight-year-old child most certainly is one of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. We are continuing to work on reviewing the ruling so we can amend our statute to maintain death as a penalty for this horrific crime.”