BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules No Death Penalty for Rape

by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas

Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 10:03 AM CDT

Read the Supreme Court Ruling 

The United States Supreme Court just ruled that the death penalty may not be issued for rape.

For Texas, this means that the Jessica's Law bill shephered through the Texas Legislature -- which allowed the death penalty to be issued for child rape -- is now unconstitutional.

In a 5-4 decision today (PDF) authored by Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court has held that a Louisiana statute authorizing the death penalty for those who rape children is unconstitutional if the defendant's acts were not intended to cause death.  In so doing, the Court determined that there was "a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape," and that expanding the death penalty to such crimes would be cruel and unusual.

More as it develops and/or with any reactions. I just saw this on CNN right now...