Coker v. Georgia: Banning the Death Penalty for Rape

[Debater Slayer]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

 

[Milton Platt]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

I think life without parole.
The death penalty is wrong on two counts. First, we cannot undo it when a mistake is made. Second, it ends punishment.

 

[Brickjectivity]

How do you personally feel about this?

Anger is always out of proportion. I'd want someone to die for even small offenses, so the anger is not a true measure of the appropriate punishment. The whole problem with a crime like this is figuring out how bad it is. What I would want is to slowly torture such a person in public, but that would be evil.

Generally our death penalty is too cruel. Execution should be quick if people are to be executed, and our constitution forbids cruel punishment. Therefore the judge has to take into consideration whether the punishment in the law is cruel or not.

What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

Well...I think a quick execution is appropriate, but a lot of people feel that such a punishment encourages rapists to kill their victims. If that is the case then I am uncertain what a better alternative is. Prison is cruel if you ask me.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I struggle with the death penalty because we make mistakes. Morally, I'm okay with it in the most extreme cases, but I think ultimately true life imprisonment is better.

 

[Milton Platt]

Anger is always out of proportion. I'd want someone to die for even small offenses, so the anger is not a true measure of the appropriate punishment. The whole problem with a crime like this is figuring out how bad it is. What I would want is to slowly torture such a person in public, but that would be evil.

Generally our death penalty is too cruel. Execution should be quick if people are to be executed, and our constitution forbids cruel punishment. Therefore the judge has to take into consideration whether the punishment in the law is cruel or not.


Well...I think a quick execution is appropriate, but a lot of people feel that such a punishment encourages rapists to kill their victims. If that is the case then I am uncertain what a better alternative is. Prison is cruel if you ask me.

In the end, what must be the deciding factor is the objective. Is rehabilitation the objective? Or punishment (retribution)?

 

[columbus]

Pro-life here.
Except under the rare circumstances where a convicted criminal can continue causing death and destruction while in prison(gang leaders, terrorist leaders) I oppose people choosing death for other people, including capital punishment.
Tom

 

[Brickjectivity]

In the end, what must be the deciding factor is the objective. Is rehabilitation the objective? Or punishment (retribution)?

It is limited retribution. Rehabilitation is not the goal of our penal system. Some efforts are underway to effect rehabilitation, but it is an afterthought. The main two things are fear of breaking the law and satisfying victims. The constitution also stipulates that punishment may not be cruel or unusual which further limits any retribution.

 

[Cooky]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

15 to 20 years in prison fits.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

Im ok with castration.

 

[74x12]

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

They should die.

 

[74x12]

First, we cannot undo it when a mistake is made. Second, it ends punishment.

That's a good point on the first one; but for the second one I wouldn't know for sure if they end up in hell. Still, I don't think it's our duty to punish so much as stop criminals. And for me that means death penalty is good because it's a deterrent.

But since your first point is valid also I am not sure I can support the death penalty unless there was overwhelming evidence.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

As a survivor of rape (child rape, no less) I can still confidently say I'm against the death penalty. Tying up my own healing in what happens to the assailant isn't useful or healthy, and can even delay the start of healing while you're busy externalizing pain.

Also, as previously noted, death penalty for rape makes it more likely for rapists to kill their victims, since the determent is the same.

Death penalty also allows the possibility of state execution of the innocent, as even a minority of cases where the accusations are false or other problems with the judicial process is one time too many to me.

Finally, I think a better rape deterrent is mental health first aid accessibility as a ton of rape perpetrators were themselves victims, as well as early teaching the importance of consent and curbing notions of 'manhood' as exercising controlling power over people and getting laid.

 

[Heyo]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

1. A payment that covers all costs of therapy for the victim.
2. Imprisonment at least until rehabilitation of the perpetrator is deemed successful.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I think life without parole.
The death penalty is wrong on two counts. First, we cannot undo it when a mistake is made. Second, it ends punishment.

As a survivor of rape (child rape, no less) I can still confidently say I'm against the death penalty. Tying up my own healing in what happens to the assailant isn't useful or healthy, and can even delay the start of healing while you're busy externalizing pain.

Also, as previously noted, death penalty for rape makes it more likely for rapists to kill their victims, since the determent is the same.

Death penalty also allows the possibility of state execution of the innocent, as even a minority of cases where the accusations are false or other problems with the judicial process is one time too many to me.

Finally, I think a better rape deterrent is mental health first aid accessibility as a ton of rape perpetrators were themselves victims, as well as early teaching the importance of consent and curbing notions of 'manhood' as exercising controlling power over people and getting laid.

While I agree with these arguments, the reasoning given by the SCOTUS--that the death penalty would be "cruel and unusual" in this case--seems to me grossly focused on the rapist and his condition rather than what the punishment would entail for the victims, their healing, and deterrence of future crimes. The fact that the death penalty also remains an option for other crimes seems to indicate the SCOTUS didn't have an issue with it per se but rather with meting it out for rape, which I find quite ill-focused and morally dubious at best.

Personally, I'm against the death penalty as well, but not because I believe it would be cruel to someone like Coker. I'm against it because I believe one innocent person's execution is one too many and because it opens the door to abuse, misuse, and exploitation by the state. We can especially see the latter in third-world and politically regressive countries (e.g., Iran and China).

To further underline the corrupt reasoning or at least phrasing of the SCOTUS ruling, I think it is also worth noting that death remained the penalty for "crimes against the state." Who is to say those are deserving of death rather than, say, life imprisonment while an act like Coker's doesn't? I can only imagine what kind of message that sends to potential rapists--"your crime would be less severe than a crime against our state." It's more disturbing the more I think about its possible implications.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I recently learned of Coker v. Georgia, a case that led to a Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman as a "cruel and unusual punishment":

Coker v. Georgia - Wikipedia

This was later extended to include child rape in which the victim "did not die and death was not intended":

Kennedy v. Louisiana - Wikipedia

How do you personally feel about this? What should the punishment be for a rapist like Coker who invaded a home and violated a completely unsuspecting woman?

I always supported the death penalty for rapists. Rape is such a traumatic and life-altering experience, it's often on the same level of being murdered but you're still alive. At least when you're actually murdered, you're dead and (hopefully) don't have to deal with it anymore.

 

[Rival]

I always supported the death penalty for rapists. Rape is such a traumatic and life-altering experience, it's often on the same level of being murdered but you're still alive. At least when you're actually murdered, you're dead and (hopefully) don't have to deal with it anymore.

This.

To hell with these people. I don't even want to punish them; that's not what the DP is for - I want them out of my society, or any society, and I don't want to pay for their upkeep either.

 

[Revoltingest]

Im ok with castration.

What is it with people who want sexual mutilation as punishment?
And only for males?
(Castration harkens back to southern anti-black vigilantism.)
As stated earlier, mistakes happen in an often corrupt &
incompetent justice system, so punishment should be reversible.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What is it with people who want sexual mutilation as punishment?
And only for males?
(Castration harkens back to southern anti-black vigilantism.)
As stated earlier, mistakes happen in an often corrupt &
incompetent justice system, so punishment should be reversible.

Castration goes back way further than that.
It's not an obsession. They showed they are capable of using their body as a weapon to assault and to do harm.
Chemical castration is considered reversible. Some people can't handle their liquor, some men can handle their dick and testosterone.

 

[Revoltingest]

Castration goes back way further than that.
It's not an obsession. They showed they are capable of using their body as a weapon to assault and to do harm.
Chemical castration is considered reversible. Some people can't handle their liquor, some men can handle their dick and testosterone.

Feminists regularly lecture me that rape is not about sex.
It's about power. So attacking sex drive shouldn't work.
But on a serious note, punishment for rape should not
be gender based. The 14th Amendment could pose a
problem. And would you be willing to castrate a black
man? How well would that go over with BLM?
If a woman commits assault with a weapon, should her
hands be cut off? Or be chemically disabled?

 

[Tambourine]

I always supported the death penalty for rapists. Rape is such a traumatic and life-altering experience, it's often on the same level of being murdered but you're still alive. At least when you're actually murdered, you're dead and (hopefully) don't have to deal with it anymore.

Rapists are aided and abetted by a patriarchial society that will frequently blind itself to the suffering of women, to the point of refusing to believe accusers until there is literally no other option.

Very often, whether a man is actually convicted of rape depends less on whether they actually raped somebody, but how well connected to other men they are, with outsiders and people from marginalized backgrounds most likely to be the fall guys for a patriarchial rape culture.