The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the issue in the appeal of Patrick Kennedy, 43, on Louisiana's death row for the 2003 rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Kennedy is the only person on death row for a rape that didn't result in murder, and argues it's unconstitutional for him to receive the death penalty.

The high court banned capital punishment for rape of adult victims in 1977. Five states - Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Georgia - still allow for the death penalty if the rape victim is younger than 12.

It was Christmas Eve of 2005 when the 6-year-old worked up the courage to tell her mom she had been repeatedly raped by her mother's boyfriend.

James "Jim" Scott - a 39-year-old man her mother had met on the Internet and allowed to move into the family's home - told the child he'd "go to the electric chair" if she told anyone how he had conditioned her to perform the worst of sexual activities with him, said the girl's grandmother. "He told her he loved her and he loved her body," the grandmother said. "You feel so angry, and you just want to go and do away with him."

Scott is serving three consecutive 10-to-life terms in prison - not nearly enough, say his victim's relatives.

As of May 5, committing rape, sodomy or object rape on Utah children is punishable by a minimum sentence of 25 years. The 34th state to pass so-called Jessica's Law legislation, Utah is the only state with minimum sentences for offenders who plead guilty to a lesser attempted charge.

State Rep. Carl Wimmer, who sponsored Jessica's Law, says he'll try to go one step further next session by pushing to make the same crimes punishable by death if the U.S. Supreme Court rules the practice constitutional in a pending Louisiana case.

Two years ago, child rapists in Utah faced a "pathetic" sentence of three years to life in prison, said Wimmer, R-Herriman. While the politically popular Jessica's Law will apply to a small fraction of crimes against children prosecuted in Utah, it is aimed at the most egregious.

Its passage marked a policy shift: The state tried mandatory terms for child sex crimes from 1983 to 1996 before returning sentencing discretion to judges and the state's five-member parole board, who ultimately decide the length of an offender's punishment.

Wimmer won over opponents through a provision that makes sentences for attempted rape, object rape or sodomy of a child punishable by 15 years to life with judges allowed to lower the amount in certain circumstances. Other states have been criticized for letting offenders plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge carrying little jail time.

An automatic 25 years to life in prison in other states meant an offender had little to lose by going to trial, said Paul Boyden, director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors. The traumatic experience of reliving a rape in court was enough to make some victims balk at moving forward with a case.

"You have to have options for plea negotiations, whether you like it or not," Boyden said.

Victims also welcome flexibility in pleading down, particularly because sexual abuse in the vast majority of cases is by a family member or close friend, said Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings.

"I think it's surprising, more often than people would think, that people want leniency for the perpetrator," Rawlings said.

Fred Metos, a Salt Lake City criminal defense attorney and former member of the Utah Sentencing Commission, is among those favoring leaving sentencing decisions up to judges and the parole board.

"[It] gives prisoners some incentive to participate in therapy, to not behave badly in prison, knowing they can earn their way out on parole through good behavior and rehabilitation," he said.

The new law may also be pricey for the Utah Department of Corrections, forced to house an inmate convicted under Jessica's Law for at least 25 years even if the person has been treated and rehabilitated, Metos said.

Utah Department of Corrections Director Tom Patterson said it's difficult to predict the final impact of the law for the state's prison system. It costs about $25,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate, so serving 25 years instead of 15 for child rape offenses could be spendy for Corrections later.

Patterson said he's optimistic the Legislature will appropriately finance the prisons if Corrections starts feeling a pinch down the road because of Jessica's Law offenders.

Young victims may grapple with the effects of sexual abuse for a lifetime, said Doug Goldsmith, executive director of The Children's Center in Salt Lake City. The center provides mental health care services to about 1,500 children each year, many of whom are victims of sexual abuse, he said.

Many children struggle with guilt. "Maybe because I didn't say no, that's why I got abused," Goldsmith said.

Children often worry their abuser will come back for them after leaving jail because offenders threatened to "get them" if they reported their abuse, Goldsmith said.

"Some feel better knowing their abusers are in jail. But there's also worry about 'What happens when he gets out? Am I going to be in trouble?' " Goldsmith said.

The family of the 6-year-old victimized by Scott says the girl still suffers. She tested positive for chlamydia and deals with ongoing health issues, her grandmother said.

While the girl just finished fourth grade and did well in school, her grandmother worries that there's an emotional toll yet to come. Even so, the young victim told her grandmother she'll be ready when Scott goes before the parole board.

"She said, 'I'm going to be there to tell what he did to me,' " the girl's grandmother said.

mrogers@sltrib.com

34th

Utah is the 34th state to pass so-called Jessica's Law legislation, and is the only state with minimum sentences for offenders who plead guilty to a lesser attempted charge.

25 years

As of May 5, committing rape, sodomy or object rape on Utah children is punishable by a minimum sentence of 25 years.

$125,000

It costs about $25,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate, so serving 25 years instead of 15 for child rape offenses could be spendy for Corrections later.

1,500