A recent debate on Capital Hill is whether or not child rapists can be given the death penalty. The house just voted and decided that they were not going to pass the law that would have made that possible. I completely disagree with this decision, not just because rape is illegal and a hideous act, but because of the immorality of someone who would commit such a crime.
Most recently in the house "Jessica's Law" was passed, which made a minimum sentence of fifteen years in prison for aggrivated rape of a child sixteen years old or less. I even disagree that this is too small of a minimum sentence. I feel that something like rape, especially that of an innocent child, should be a sentence of life in prison or death. There is no justification for commiting a crime like rape, and there should not be a "minimal" penalty. Every person that breaks that law should suffer the worst penalty possible, death.
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It is agreed upon amongst almost everyone that the worst possible crime is raping a child. Not only is it immoral no matter what the victim’s age, but when you think of a helpless, defenseless child it is nothing less than sickening. I agree that "Jessica's Law" is not harsh enough for these rapists, after 15 years they could still be able to continue their crimes when they get out. It is hard to draw the line between what is a suitable punishment and what is not, because normally I would say the death penalty is too extensive but then again keeping these offenders in jail is only wasting our tax dollars. I certainly do not feel as though any money I contribute to the wellness of our state and country should in any way benefit child rapists. So in that respect, I should opt for the death penalty, but it is not that easy. How should they be punished? While I think that 15 years is too little, I think that regardless of how much time they spend in jail, they should to be constantly reminded of the hideous crime(s) they have committed and never be free of it. That child will never be able to be free of it, they will have to live with it all of their lives, so why should the person that did that to them be able to start over? I am not sure what the right sentence would be, or even the most effective, but I do think that they should have a harsher punishment for ruining the life of a child.
Should we be expected to live amongst rapists and child molesters? Absolutely not. We should fully expect for them to be properly punished by our justice system. Now, do they deserve the death penalty? In my opinion, no.
Let me begin by saying that I am not against the death penalty for certain crimes. I believe Ted Bundy and Timothy McVeigh rightfully deserved to be executed. They both committed absolutely heinous crimes, and they both proved that they could not function properly in society. They could not be reformed, and they would kill again, no doubt about it.
The author of this blog brings up the bill known as Jessica's Law, and the author contends that it is not sufficient. I disagree, and there certain issues here that need to be cleared up.
First of all, according to my research, Jessica's Law provides a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. We should keep in mind that this is only the minimum sentence, and offenders will most likely be sentenced for a longer amount of time depending on the crime.
Jessica's Law also provides provisions such as all offenders are required to be monitored for life with a GPS tracking device. The law also creates a 2,000 foot “predator-free” zone around schools and parks to prevent sex offenders from living near where our children learn and play. Offenders are required to serve their entire sentence and can not be released on good behavior.
Jessica's Law provides adequate punishment, and it is also a huge improvement from previous laws. For example, In Rhode Island, Josh Maciorski was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but was only sentenced to probation. Two years later he molested a 14-year-old girl and served only one year in prison. When he was released, Maciorski raped a 16-year-old girl. Incredibly, he was only sentenced for 3 years in prison after that crime. In Missouri, Darrell Jackson pleaded guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a little girl, beginning when she was only eight years old. But when Jackson came up for sentencing, a soft judge gave him four months in prison and five years probation.
In my opinion, the death penalty is not the right call for these kinds of crimes. Many people are not aware that financial costs to taxpayers for the death penalty is actually several times greater than that of keeping someone in prison for life. The death penalty would also not give these people a chance to reform themselves. People need to remember that prison is not enjoyable. Some argue that prison is a worse punishment than death because the pain is dragged out for many years, especially those serving life. Imagine living in a cage in an environment of hell for 25 years. That can definitely affect someone and encourage them to change their ways. They have a chance to reform themselves, and if they are released it will be almost impossible for them to offend again because of all of the provisions that come with Jessica's Law. In summation, I believe that Jessica's Law is sufficient, and the agony and humiliation of a prison sentence for a crime of this nature is more severe than the death penalty.
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