THE KENNEDY DECISION: A COLLISION COURSE BETWEEN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA

Stephan Lopez, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Kennedy v Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Louisiana Supreme Court’s imposition of the death sentence on Patrick Kennedy who was found guilty of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter. In reversing the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Court substituted their independent judgment and their evolving standards of decency for the will of the people of Louisiana; substituting the Court’s independent judgment for the will of the people of Louisiana is a continuing movement by the Court to erode state sovereignty. The paper explores what role judicial activism played in the Kennedy decision, and what role it has played in previous Supreme Court cases dealing with the application of the death penalty. The author explores whether this activism has left America’s children in a vulnerable position and whether this may lead to tragic results. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether child rapists should be sentenced to death and why the people and not the Court should decide who is put to death…