Kennedy v. Louisiana

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the State of Louisiana’s petition for rehearing after considering that state’s argument that “the military penalty for rape, a congressional amendment of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
in 2006, and a related executive order in 2007 – not considered in its initial June 25th.—in fact warranted consideration & should alter the Court’s analysis whether the death penalty was excessive punishment for the crime of raping a minor under the age of 12. ( Court’s order )

The Court in its initial holding back in June found that “after reviewing the authorities informed by contemporary norms, including the history of the death penalty for this and other non-homicide crimes, current state statutes and new enactments, and the number of executions since 1964 , we conclude there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape.” ( Kennedy v. Louisiana )

Simply put, the Court yesterday just said “authorization of the death penalty in the military sphere does not indicate that the penalty is constitutional in the civilian context.”

As noted by Tony Mauro on Law.com this morning, Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito dissented and would’ve granted a rehrearing; Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, agreed in not granting the petition, but issued their own statement.