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Obama backs death for child rapists
Democrats still remember the moment that dogged Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race. Asked whether he would support the death penalty for someone who raped and killed his wife, the former Massachusetts governor gave a dispassionate, almost clinical, recitation of his opposition to capital punishment, arguing there was no evidence of a deterrent effect.If there were any doubt, Barack Obama made clear at a news conference today that he won't fall into that trap. Asked about today's US Supreme Court ruling that sentencing someone to death for raping a child is unconstitutional, Obama said he disagreed with such a broad ban. 'I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for the most egregious of crimes. I think that the rape of a small child, 6 or 8 years old, is a heinous crime,' he said, adding that if a state determines the death penalty should apply in such cases, they should be allowed to impose it. The high court's ruling invalidates laws in six states that allow the death penalty if child rape cases when the child is not killed. Posted by: Fred 2008-06-26 |
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