Jul 02, 2008
Governor Bobby Jindal Releases Statement on New Error Identified in Supreme Court Ruling over LA Death Penalty in Child Rape Case

BATON ROUGE – Governor Bobby Jindal released a statement today, regarding the factual error the Supreme Court made in their decision to overturn the death penalty in a Louisiana case of a man convicted of child rape (Patrick Kennedy case). The Supreme Court overlooked the 2006 Act authorizing the death penalty for child rape under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and instead the court said there was no federal precedence in providing this type of sentence.

Governor Jindal said, “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.

“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.”

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