Louisiana had it right, SCOTUS had it wrong, NC getting there

I served on a jury for a trial of a prisoner accused of beating a chomo. Chomos are scum. He got what he deserved, in my opinion, but the assault was also illegal and we had to judge the case as such.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States recently struck down a Louisiana law that allows capital punishment for people convicted of raping children. First of all, capital punishment is neither cruel nor unusual, but that was the court's ruling as it is applied to rape cases. They said that the punishment was unfit for the crime. Personally, I find it entirely appropriate.

Here in North Carolina, the governor just signed a bill into law making child rape and molestation offenses carry stiffer punishment. Personally, I think like Louisiana did and believe in the swift, efficient use of the death penalty for chomos. I wish we could do so.

From the WTSB news page:

Governor Signs Jessica Lunsford Act Into Law
On Monday, Gov. Mike Easley signed into law The Jessica Lunsford Act. The law means sexual predators convicted in North Carolina will face stiffer punishment for rape or sexual offenses against children. In certain criminal offenses the minimum sentence will be 25 years in prison followed by lifetime satellite-based monitoring, or the possibility of life imprisonment without parole. The law also increases the criminal penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor and promoting prostitution of a minor, and makes the sex offender registration requirements more stringent. The Act creates a new criminal offense making it unlawful for a sex offender to be on certain premises such as schools, playgrounds and child care centers. Sex offender registries must now be checked, by local school districts, of all school contractual personnel before allowing them to have direct interaction with students. "Today we send a message that North Carolina will protect our children from vicious predators," Easley said. "We will make sure they spend more time in prison and we will track them 24-7 to make sure they never abuse children again." Easley signed the bill in Gaston County, where Jessica Lunsford, the 9-year-old for whom the bill is named, was born and lived until she moved to Florida in 2004. In February 2005 she was raped and murdered by a sex offender. The offender, John Couey, was convicted of her murder and has been sentenced to death. Police had lost track of Couey, who was staying with his sister in the same neighborhood as Jessica. Appearing with the governor at the bill signing was Mark Lunsford, father of Jessica, who has lobbied legislatures around the nation, including North Carolina, for tougher child predator laws. The bill passed the House by a vote of 109-1, and the Senate by a vote of 46-0. The new law goes into effect December 1.

SCOTUS tells us what we already knew...the 2nd Amendment is a personal right...DUH!

In another 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to keep and bear arms, including handguns, is a personal Constitutional right. That was obvious to me, but what shocks me is that it is not obvious to four of nine Supreme Court Justices. Basically, four justices attempted to amend the Constitution by fiat and failed. The vote NEVER should have even been close. It just goes to show that liberals (and it was the liberal justices who dissented) are out to control your lives and are willing to do so via the court system since they can not successfully do it via legislation or the amendment process as prescribed by the Constitution itself.

After reading about the court's decision, I was driving down the road and listened to Rush Limbaugh opining about the same thing, that four justices had tried to subvert our rights. I had already had that conversation with my buddy this morning, and here the same discussion was on the radio. I am glad that there are some people that are not so blind and can easily see things for what they are.

Here is the news story on the decision, and here is the decision itself. I have been reading and loving the logic of Justice Scalia's opinion. He uses strong language against the dissenting opinions, even calling them absurdity and grotesque. I love this guy. Finally, it is in an opinion for the nation to follow.

+1 for Obama, in my book

Occasionally I find myself in agreement with Barack Obama. Overall, we are at odds in our world view, but on this issue we are mostly in agreement. I read about how the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision found that the use of capital punishment for child rapists is "cruel and unusual punishment" and therefore unconstitutional. Well, capital punishment is neither cruel or unusual. It was the application in saying that the punishment did not fit the crime, which does not meet the criteria for deciding upon "cruel and unusual punishment", especially since the 10th Amendment guarantees that the states have such rights to decide these punishments. Personally, anyone guilty of such a crime does indeed deserve death. It is not exactly unscriptural for such a thing, nor is it an outrage to see some perverted child rapist taken out of society so that it will never happen again.

Barack Obama came out against the Supreme Court decision. Though he probably believes in a more narrow use of such a punishment than I do, I do applaud Obama for having the gonads to make such a statement and taking a stand in the arena of ideas.

Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday he disagrees with the Supreme Court's decision outlawing executions of people who rape children, a crime he said states have the right to consider for capital punishment.

"I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for the most egregious of crimes," Obama said at a news conference. "I think that the rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that that does not violate our Constitution."

See, I can give credit where credit is due. And Obama deserves my support for his stance on this issue. That is not to say that I support him for President...no frickin' way! But on this issue, yes.

Several parts of this story concern me

I understand the "cruel and unusual punishment" aspect of administering the death penalty. The 8th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." However, the taking of life is neither cruel nor unusual. The argument of whether lethal injection is cruel is fallacious. If we can put thousands of cats and dogs to death in the same manner, we can execute a few murderers in the same way. The end result is death no matter the method. We do not torture to death, draw and quarter, burn at the stake, stone people, cut off heads with a Ginsu, etc. A simple needle in the arm with an overdose of barbiturates is hardly cruel. None the less, spineless liberals will find any way they can to protect murderers while at the same time slaughter innocent, unborn life. The issue of whether or not lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment is going to be decided by a court of nine justices rather than by the supreme judge. Go figure.

What really bothers me is the idea that the 10th Amendment is once again becoming null and void. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The rights of the states to try, convict, and execute properly tried criminals is a violation of their rights as states. No execution will go forth unless the 5th Amendment was followed, anyway. "...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;" Here is the story upon which I comment.