U.S. Supreme Court Rules No Death Penalty For Rape of a Child
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S Supreme has ruled that state laws allowing the death penalty when a person is convicted of rape of a child is unconstitutional and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. South Carolina is one of the states that will be affected by this ruling. Currently, if a person is convicted of raping a child in in South Carolina, including but not limited to Horry County, Lexington County, Chester County, Charleston County, Georgetown County, Florence County and Beaufort County, and has a previous conviction of rape of a minor, the defendant could face the death penalty.
The Supreme Court of South Carolina will most like invalidate this state law with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. Most death penalty cases involve the death of a victim. Additionally, the death penalty is addressed in a separate sentencing hearing once a defendant has been convicted. During the sentencing hearing, a jury does not decide guilt or innocence, but decides whether the person charged should receive life in prison, life in prison without the possibility of parole, or a death sentence.
Once a person is sentenced to death, they have an automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The State Supreme Court reviews the case to make sure that all of the state laws were followed, that a defendant received a fair trial, was constitutional, and that the punishment fits the crime. A PCR hearing, or post-conviction relief hearing, is usually held on various post conviction issues. One of the major issues addressed on a post conviction relief hearing is ineffective assistance of counsel. A defendant receives ineffective assistance if a defense attorney’s performance at trial was deficient, below the standard of conduct and that the defendant most likely would not have been convicted but for the defense attorney’s errors.
However, a post conviction hearing is not held until the initial appeal has been denied al all other remedies have been exhausted. Another scenario in which a defendant may have a death sentence overturned is through newly discovered evidence. This includes DNA testing. DNA evidence can be a very important aspect of a criminal case or trial and not just for death penalty cases. Only time will tell the impact of this recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and whether it will effect other state criminal laws.
