For Immediate Release
June 25, 2008
Media Contact: Ray Yonkura
(202) 225-2676
Jordan Blasts Supreme Court Decision On Child Rape
Washington, DC -- Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) today assailed a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively bans states from imposing the death penalty for those convicted of child rape.
“It is outrageous that five liberal Supreme Court justices can strike down a state law because they believe the law is too tough on child rapists,” Jordan stated. “If there is ever an issue that has no business being decided by the federal courts, it is the laws a community passes to protect itself from violent criminals.”
The Court’s Kennedy v. Louisiana decision overturned a state law that allowed capital sentences for individuals convicted of raping a child under age twelve. Jordan said the court’s decision invalidates similar laws in five other states: Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
Jordan pointed out the absurdity of a statement in the majority opinion implying that “evolving standards of decency” should influence the decisions of the courts.
“The Supreme Court was created by our Founders to interpret the law, not to make it,” said Jordan. “The only ‘standard’ it should be using to decide cases is the Constitution of the United States.”
