On June 25th the Supreme Court ruled, 5 to 4, that sentencing someone to death for raping a child is unconstitutional. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy stated, "The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child." Clearly, the ruling was controversial, and once again society is torn between agreeing with and being outraged by a legal/political decision that influences society, but does not reflect its attitudes and beliefs. According to one journalist, “The majority determined that capital punishment for child rape was unconstitutional, in part because a national consensus had formed against it.” But my question is, what national consensus? I was never asked my opinion about the proportionality of the death penalty for child rape or any other crimes for that matter. The reality is that legislators and judges do not necessarily care what society thinks about what are the worst of crimes. As a result, our legal system will always be flawed in that it makes decisions that impact society without requesting input from it. What would you do if you had the chance to directly impact the legal system? As the sensitive issue about capital punishment for child rapists becomes popular discussion in both legal and social settings, I encourage you to genuinely examine your beliefs and thoughts about whether or not child rape classifies and one of the worst crimes. Then take moment to expand your thought process to other crimes and simply ask yourself, “WHAT IS THE WORST OF CRIMES?” Take a moment to share what crimes in history rank up there as the worst ever. I wonder how they compare to certain child rape crimes. How do you define evil? http://www.depravityscale.org/