Am I wrong or can a teenage boy jailed for statutory rape still spend life in jail?

[aquart]

According to the Supreme Court?

[Warpy]

1. If he had the bad judgment to bed the 15 year old daugher

of some poobah, yeah, although he'll be paroled when the poobah gets kicked out of office or kicks the bucket.

Of course, if he was 40 years old when he did it, he probably needs to be where he is.

[KamaAina]

2. Or if he had the bad judgment to bed a young woman of another race

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Dixon#Dixon_v._Brown_case

Kristie Brown alleged that on February 10, 2003 Dixon forced her to have sex, taking her virginity. She has stated that contrary to Dixon's supporters' belief she was never Dixon's girlfriend and although they shared classes, they barely knew each other. The jury acquitted Dixon of rape, battery, assault and false imprisonment but because Brown was only 15 3/4 at the time of the incident found him guilty of statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. Because of this Dixon was convicted at the mandatory amount under Georgia law, 10 years imprisonment. Ironically if he would have been found guilty he would have faced a much less severe punishment...

"The case of a black high school student sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a white 15-year-old classmate in Georgia is igniting long-standing racial tensions in the deep south. As protesters gathered outside Georgia supreme court on Wednesday, holding candles and singing We Shall Overcome, Marcus Dixon's lawyers were arguing to appeal judges that his punishment was unusually harsh."

[aikoaiko]

10. Or the same race -- for example Genarlow Wilson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_v._State_of_Georgia

Fortunately, the law has been changed so this doesn't happen anymore -- and Genarlow is free.

[babylonsister]

3. I think so according to this...

Court: Sexually dangerous can be kept in prison

By JESSE J. HOLLAND (AP) – 4 hours ago


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal officials can indefinitely hold inmates considered "sexually dangerous" after their prison terms are complete.

The high court in a 7-2 judgment reversed a lower court decision that said Congress overstepped its authority in allowing indefinite detentions of considered "sexually dangerous."

"The statute is a 'necessary and proper' means of exercising the federal authority that permits Congress to create federal criminal laws, to punish their violation, to imprison violators, to provide appropriately for those imprisoned and to maintain the security of those who are not imprisoned but who may be affected by the federal imprisonment of others," said Justice Stephen Breyer, writing the majority opinion.

more...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joJkR4SmstJ7TROqBbCkSsODRNBQD9FOMT902

[babylonsister]

4. But then there's this...

Justices Bar Life Terms for Youths Who Haven’t Killed
By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: May 17, 2010


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that juveniles who commit crimes in which no one is killed may not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The ruling expanded a principle the court has never endorsed outside the death penalty — that an entire class of offenders may be immune from a given form of punishment.

Five justices, in an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, agreed that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment forbids sentences of life without parole as a categorical matter for juvenile offenders who do not participate in homicides.

“A state need not guarantee the offender eventual release,” Justice Kennedy wrote, “but if it imposes the sentence of life, it must provide him or her with some realistic opportunity to obtain release before the end of that term.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/us/politics/18court.html

[stray cat]

5. statutory rape of a two year old means he comes up for parole regularly

but they can choose not to grant it each year

[gmoney]

6. If both are underage, the age difference is a factor

I'm sure it varies by state, but I think consensual sex between two teens is legal if the age difference between them is less than 2 or 3 years.

[aquart]

8. Romeo 16, Juliet 13. Families disapproved big time.

[customerserviceguy]

7. If he demonstrates a propensity

to continue to want to have sex with underage people, then I'd say the answer is yes.

[aikoaiko]

9. Not for statuatory rape per se, but other factors and complications could lengthen the time in jail.