The Duke
JohnD.Ford
Junior Chimp
Posts: 9,270
Political Matrix
E: 0.13, S: -1.23
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« on: March 10, 2005, 01:10:12 AM » |
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I am conflicted by this ruling, though I oppose it in the end.
On the one hand, I do not support the death penalty for civilian crimes, regardless of the age of the offender. I think the risk of executing the wrong person is not worth it when you get the same effect for society at lower cost by giving them life in prison.
The fact that juveniles will not be executed makes me happy, but I still oppose this ruling.
There is a growing national consensus in favor of ending this practice, and an established international consensus for ending this practice. Neither is relevant, because:
1. Traditionally, international and national consensus tests (as well as history and tradition tests) are only applied to substantive due process rights, not to the interpretation of enumerated rights (ie. the 8th Amendment). Enumerated rights are assumed to stand on their own, without consensus justifications.
2. The whole purpose of having a Bill of Rights is to protect citizens rights, not subject those rights to the whims of majorities no matter how large. Therefore, I believe the consensus tests are illegitimate prima facie, even if there was a precedent for using them in these kinds of cases.
3. Since most founders were supporters of capital punishment, one cannot claim with any credibility that the death penalty was intended to be barred by the 8th Amendment. The authors of that Amendment intended no such thing.
When you twist and mangle the Constitution to suit ideological ends, you will reap unforseen dangers down the road. This ruling, while the immediate outcome is pleasing on a base level, is very worrisome to the future of American jurisprudence.
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