Brickbats for rape

Cheers for a South King County woman who beat a convicted child molester with a baseball bat, underscoring the revulsion society feels toward those who hurt children.

But emotions take a back seat to the laws upholding a civil society. The woman faces assault charges. This is appropriate.

Another case on a much larger scale is not so cut-and-dried but brings this page to the same conclusion: The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling against the death penalty for child rapists was the right call.

The death penalty ought to remain an option for the most heinous crimes, those involving loss of life.

However devastating to victims, "the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion.

Other persuasive arguments came from social workers who argued that children and their families might not cooperate with authorities if a death sentence is at stake. In many child-rape cases, including the one before the court, the victim and rapist are related.

The court's ruling struck down a Louisiana law allowing execution of those convicted of raping children under 12. Five other states had similar laws; the high court's ruling invalidates those.