Death Penalty Narrowed to Murder

Today by a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty can only apply in cases of murder, invalidating a Louisiana statute that handed down the ultimate punishment to those who rape children.  

I've always had mixed feelings on the death penalty.  While there are many cases, including the rape of a child, in which a community's outrage may be best served by killing the perpetrator, the main reason proponents back it is that it helps prevent crime.  Most studies conclude that the death penalty does little or nothing to deter crime.

Furthermore, the appeals process for death penalties is lengthy, and it usually costs more to execute someone than to feed them for life in prison due to lawyer fees.  So more of your taxpayer money is wasted to kill someone.  There is also the question of whether the State has the right to end a life; a question that many libertarians will answer with a resounding "no."  

Ron Paul is very much opposed to the death penalty, Bob Barr supports it.

I think that within 20-30 years, there will be no death penalty in America.  All other democratic, developed countries have abolished it except for the US and Japan.  Time will tell, but rulings such as this mean that old sparky's days are numbered.