Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008)

In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008) the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause barred a state from imposing the  death penalty for the crime of rapping a child.   Interpreted more broadly, the ruling limited the crimes for which the death penalty could be sought to those resulting in a person's death or crimes against the state (i.e., espionage, treason).  This case is extremely important in death penalty research in that it greatly limits a state's power to execute individuals.