A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Supreme Court of the United States erroneously decided Kennedy v. Louisiana, No. 07-343 (2008), and that the eighth amendment to the Constitution of the United States allows the imposition of the death penalty for the rape of a child.
Latest action · Jul 25, 2008 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7481-7482)
Progress
Where this resolution reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried. A simple resolution is the business of one chamber alone: it is not sent to the other chamber or to the President, and does not become law.
- IntroducedJul 25, 2008
- Agreed to in SenateNot reached
Summary
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the eighth amendment to the Constitution allows the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in death of the victim; (2) the Louisiana statute making child rape punishable by death is constitutional; (3) because Kennedy v. Louisiana was decided under a mistaken view of federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court should grant any petition for rehearing of the case and the portions of the decision regarding the national consensus or evolving standards of decency with respect to the imposition of the death penalty for child rape should not be viewed as binding precedent; and (4) the Supreme Court should reverse its decision on rehearing or in a future case because it was supported by neither commonly held beliefs about cruel and unusual punishment nor by the text, structure, or history of the Constitution.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 25, 2008 to Jul 29, 2008, with 8 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NC | Elizabeth Dole | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-AL | Jeff Sessions | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-SC | Jim DeMint | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-AZ | Jon Kyl | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-NC | Richard Burr | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-OK | Tom Coburn | Original | Jul 25, 2008 |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Jul 29, 2008 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 25, 2008Introduced in Senate
- Jul 25, 2008Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7481-7482)
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HJRES 83 | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the Constitution does not preclude a penalty of death, including when it is imposed for the rape of a child under 16 years of age. | Related bill | Jun 3, 2008 |
| HJRES 96 | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to permit the penalty of death for the rape of a child. | Related bill | Jun 26, 2008 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 25, 2008Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this resolution on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.