Kennedy v. Louisiana

Abstract

A. Permitting the death penalty for child rape will worsen the problem of underreporting sexual abuse.1. Child sexual abuse is disturbingly frequent. Estimates on the reported number of yearly victims range from about 83,000 to 217,000 children. 1 The actual number of victims is almost certainly much higher than even these numbers would suggest. In one of the most frequently cited articles on the prevalence of child sexual abuse, the author evaluated data from multiple retrospective surveys of adults and concluded that "there is considerable accumulated evidence that at least 20% of American women and 5% to 10% of American men experienced some form of abuse as children." David Finkelhor, Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Sexual Abuse, 4 The Future Of Children 31, 42 (Summer/Fall 1994). 2 This evidence suggests that a relatively conservative estimate would be that 500,000 children are sexually abused in America each year. See id. at 34.The overwhelming majority of these victims were abused by family members or others close to the family.