Supreme Court strikes down death penalty for child rape

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court in a major capital punishment decision struck down on Wednesday the death penalty for child rape, its first ruling in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.

The nation's highest court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for the crime of raping a child violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Constitution barred a state from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child when the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim's death.

He said a national consensus exists against capital punishment for the crime of child rape and that the death penalty, based on current evolving standards, should be reserved for the worst crimes that take the victim's life.

"When the law punishes by death, it risks its own sudden descent into brutality, transgressing the constitutional commitment to decency and restraint," he wrote.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said the "ruling is an assault on law enforcement's efforts to punish these heinous felons for the most despicable crime."

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said he disagreed with the ruling.

"Had the Supreme Court said, 'We want to constrain the abilities of states to do this to make sure that it's done in a careful and appropriate way,' that would have been one thing. But it basically had a blanket prohibition and I disagree with that decision," Obama told a news conference in Chicago.