Okla-homey
3/28/2006, 06:36 AM
SC is beating them to the punch.
Lawmakers debate death penalty for child molesters
By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
COLUMBIA - South Carolina could lead the nation by putting twice-convicted child molesters on death row, said state Sen. David Thomas.
Senators who support seeking the death penalty for repeat sex offenders know The sentence could be challenged in court, the Greenville Republican said.
The hope is that a challenge could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the death penalty can apply to cases that don't involve murder, said Thomas, R-Fountain Inn.
'We see this as a historic moment,' he said. 'This is the perfect opportunity for South Carolina to be on the forefront. ... Let's force the Supreme Court to take a look at this.'
The high court's new makeup, under new Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, means it 'may rule other than life for life,' Thomas said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 1977 Georgia case that sentencing someone to death for rape was unconstitutional. But South Carolina would not be the first state to pass a law challenging that.
In 1995, Louisiana approved seeking the death penalty for sex offenders convicted of raping children under 12 years old. Someone is on death row under that law. The Louisiana state Supreme Court declared it constitutional in 1999 on the grounds that the 1977 ruling addressed the rape of an adult, not a child, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
Senators adjourned Thursday without voting on a proposal that prosecutors seek the death penalty for sex offenders who are convicted of raping a child younger than 11, released from prison, then convicted again.
The vote was postponed until Tuesday, when a Senate panel will meet with someone from Attorney General Henry McMaster's office and at least one prosecutor and law professor on the proposal's legality.
'Constitutional law is under continual reinterpretation by the Supreme court,' said McMaster spokesman Trey Walker. 'Attorney General McMaster supports the most stringent penalties allowable for these heinous crimes and will defend any law the General Assembly passes which seeks to stop these monsters.'
Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, made the proposal Wednesday as an amendment to a bill that would require lifetime electronic monitoring for some sex offenders and set minimum sentences.
The idea sparked a heated debate on whether a law allowing the death penalty for someone who isn't convicted of murder would be unconstitutional and put the state's death penalty law in jeopardy.
'We cannot give the death penalty in non-capital cases,' Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, reiterated Thursday.
A sex offender sentenced to death will appeal, and that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, said Hutto, who is an attorney.
'In the end, it's going to come back in the poor victim's lap to try the case all over again,' Hutto said. 'The witnesses will all have to come back again, if you can find them.'
Sen. Jake Knotts, chief sponsor of the bill dubbed the Sex Offender Accountability and Protection of Minors Act, said he supported the idea of putting child molesters to death but did not want to risk an overturn of the state's death penalty law.
'I definitely would have put the death penalty in the bill if I thought it was in any way possible constitutional,' said Knotts, R-West Columbia. The retired law enforcement officer said he remembers when the death penalty was overturned nationwide and doesn't want to repeat the experience.
Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said a 10-page amendment crafted Wednesday night is meant to insert the death penalty provision for child molesters without affecting the rest of the law.
If the sentence for child molesters is eventually found unconstitutional, the rest of the law will remain intact, Martin said.
The Senate panel will scrutinize Tuesday whether the amendment's wording accomplishes that goal.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma are considering similar legislation, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Lawmakers debate death penalty for child molesters
By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
COLUMBIA - South Carolina could lead the nation by putting twice-convicted child molesters on death row, said state Sen. David Thomas.
Senators who support seeking the death penalty for repeat sex offenders know The sentence could be challenged in court, the Greenville Republican said.
The hope is that a challenge could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the death penalty can apply to cases that don't involve murder, said Thomas, R-Fountain Inn.
'We see this as a historic moment,' he said. 'This is the perfect opportunity for South Carolina to be on the forefront. ... Let's force the Supreme Court to take a look at this.'
The high court's new makeup, under new Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, means it 'may rule other than life for life,' Thomas said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 1977 Georgia case that sentencing someone to death for rape was unconstitutional. But South Carolina would not be the first state to pass a law challenging that.
In 1995, Louisiana approved seeking the death penalty for sex offenders convicted of raping children under 12 years old. Someone is on death row under that law. The Louisiana state Supreme Court declared it constitutional in 1999 on the grounds that the 1977 ruling addressed the rape of an adult, not a child, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
Senators adjourned Thursday without voting on a proposal that prosecutors seek the death penalty for sex offenders who are convicted of raping a child younger than 11, released from prison, then convicted again.
The vote was postponed until Tuesday, when a Senate panel will meet with someone from Attorney General Henry McMaster's office and at least one prosecutor and law professor on the proposal's legality.
'Constitutional law is under continual reinterpretation by the Supreme court,' said McMaster spokesman Trey Walker. 'Attorney General McMaster supports the most stringent penalties allowable for these heinous crimes and will defend any law the General Assembly passes which seeks to stop these monsters.'
Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, made the proposal Wednesday as an amendment to a bill that would require lifetime electronic monitoring for some sex offenders and set minimum sentences.
The idea sparked a heated debate on whether a law allowing the death penalty for someone who isn't convicted of murder would be unconstitutional and put the state's death penalty law in jeopardy.
'We cannot give the death penalty in non-capital cases,' Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, reiterated Thursday.
A sex offender sentenced to death will appeal, and that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, said Hutto, who is an attorney.
'In the end, it's going to come back in the poor victim's lap to try the case all over again,' Hutto said. 'The witnesses will all have to come back again, if you can find them.'
Sen. Jake Knotts, chief sponsor of the bill dubbed the Sex Offender Accountability and Protection of Minors Act, said he supported the idea of putting child molesters to death but did not want to risk an overturn of the state's death penalty law.
'I definitely would have put the death penalty in the bill if I thought it was in any way possible constitutional,' said Knotts, R-West Columbia. The retired law enforcement officer said he remembers when the death penalty was overturned nationwide and doesn't want to repeat the experience.
Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said a 10-page amendment crafted Wednesday night is meant to insert the death penalty provision for child molesters without affecting the rest of the law.
If the sentence for child molesters is eventually found unconstitutional, the rest of the law will remain intact, Martin said.
The Senate panel will scrutinize Tuesday whether the amendment's wording accomplishes that goal.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma are considering similar legislation, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.