U.S. Senator Barack Obama says he’s disappointed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw the death penalty for people convicted of raping a child. The court found such severe punishment violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Obama says the death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous crimes but he says the rape of a child could fit the bill. He says states should be allowed to make the decision.
OBAMA: You know, had the Supreme Court said, ‘We want to constrain the abilities of states to do this to make sure that it’s done in a careful and appropriate way,’ that would have been one thing. But it basically had a blanket prohibition and I disagree with that decision.
Obama made his comments at a hotel in downtown Chicago yesterday afternoon.