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Kennedy v. Louisiana
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Kennedy v. Louisiana

law case
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Quick Summary

In Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty is an excessive punishment for the crime of child rape. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, found that executing Patrick Kennedy for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter would violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments.12

This ruling extended previous Supreme Court decisions that had limited the application of the death penalty. Notably, in Coker v. Georgia (1977), the Court had already determined that the death penalty was disproportionate for the crime of raping an adult woman. The Kennedy decision affirmed that the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for crimes against children that do not involve murder.31

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5 Britannica Sources
  1. Death Penalty - June 25, 2008: U.S. Supreme Court Finds Death Penalty Excessive for the Crime of Child Rape
  2. Eighth Amendment
  3. Death Penalty - June 29, 1977: U.S. Supreme Court Finds Death Penalty to Be an Excessive Punishment for Rape Crimes
  4. Major Supreme Court Cases from the 2025–26 Term: Top Questions
  5. American civil rights movement: Top Questions

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