Georgia’s Supreme Court today ruled the defendant in a rape case can only receive a sentence of life-in-prison without parole if the state first seeks the death penalty in the case.
Rodolfo Lopez Velazquez pleaded guilty in 2005 to the rape of a seven-year-old girl. A judge in south Georgia’s Grady County sentenced the man to life-in-prison without parole, which Velazquez appealed.
Georgia’s Court of Appeals reversed the trial judge’s decision, saying the state had to first declare it was seeking the death penalty. But prosecutors cited a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman when the victim survived.
Georgia’s Supreme Court today voted 4-3 to uphold the state’s Appeals court ruling. Georgia’s high court said neither it nor the U.S. high court has addressed whether the death penalty is "unconstitutionally disproportionate for the crime of raping a child".
Rodolfo Lopez Velazquez pleaded guilty in 2005 to the rape of a seven-year-old girl. A judge in south Georgia’s Grady County sentenced the man to life-in-prison without parole, which Velazquez appealed.
Georgia’s Court of Appeals reversed the trial judge’s decision, saying the state had to first declare it was seeking the death penalty. But prosecutors cited a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman when the victim survived.
Georgia’s Supreme Court today voted 4-3 to uphold the state’s Appeals court ruling. Georgia’s high court said neither it nor the U.S. high court has addressed whether the death penalty is "unconstitutionally disproportionate for the crime of raping a child".
