DeSantis’ support for renewing at least the possibility for a jury to consider capital punishment for child rape also shows support for — ready now? — democracy. Yes, that same democracy the Left ceaselessly wails that conservatives want to cash in.
Like abortion, the death penalty and the circumstances in which it may be just to use it involve the most important and contentious moral questions — the kind of questions that the whole concept of democracy aims to leave to the people rather than the elites. Just as Dobbs returned the abortion question to democratic processes to address, a decision upholding the new Florida statute and overruling Kennedy would return to the people the question whether the death penalty can ever be appropriate for child rape. And as with Dobbs, different states will reach different conclusions.
So be it. That is what federalism, a critical foundation of the Constitution, is all about. A federalized, one-size-fits-all rule, like those adopted from on high in Roe and Kennedy,is actually the opposite of democracy — not that you’ll ever hear those loudly pretending to be concerned about democracy’s survival admit it.
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