The 2008 case that ruled the death penalty “unusual” for child rape, because only 2 inmates were on death row for that crime is one of the many erroneous decisions of the Roberts court. It can be argued that the prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” should be interpreted according to what was considered cruel and unusual at the time the article was ratified (1791, I believe). There is a tradition of executing rapists, for certain. It is good that this ruling is being challenged. Execution by the state also has the potential to be more merciful to the heinous criminal than life in prison.