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A comment on Privatizing Poverty. Parent comment

Re:Privatizing Poverty by dmm on Friday August 24, 2018 @09:44AM (#17834876)
SCOTUS has ruled that the death penalty _is_ cruel and unusual punishment in many circumstances.

For example, in 1980 they ruled that it could only be applied only if it involves a precise and aggravating factor[0].

Louisiana had a law that made the rape of a child punishable by death and SCOTUS overturned that law in 2008[1].

SCOTUS has consistent narrowed the crimes punishable by death in the past 50 years using the Eighth Amendment as a justification.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Unit...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_v._Louisiana

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Re:Privatizing Poverty by deusofnull on Friday August 24, 2018 @03:00PM (#17837069)
Just look at the number of executions of people with mental handicaps and tell me the current justice system is capable of acting in a just fashion. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/list-defendants-mental-retardat...
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Re:Privatizing Poverty by bobwaycott on Friday August 24, 2018 @05:19PM (#17837946)
The parent has not made such a claim.
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Re:Privatizing Poverty by pc86 on Friday August 24, 2018 @12:44PM (#17836040)
s/"in many"/"in certain, very specific"

That does not change the fact that SCOTUS has upheld the death penalty generally as being a Constitutional punishment.

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Re:Privatizing Poverty by TheCoelacanth on Friday August 24, 2018 @01:31PM (#17836365)
Your substitution is inaccurate. The rulings effectively mean that the death penalty is cruel and unusual except in certain, very specific circumstances. Only the most extreme crimes qualify. Even the rape of a child is not extreme enough unless done multiple times. It might seem applicable to only a few cases, but that is only because few states attempt to apply the death penalty except in the most extreme circumstances.
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