Before I give the wrong impression with this post, I want to point out that I think yesterday’s ruling striking down Louisiana’s law which allowed for the death penalty in cases of child rape, was a bad decision. This was clearly a state issue and the Supremes should have just butted out. That said, from an economist’s perspective, I think the La. law itself was probably not a good idea. A law like this could actually lead to the murder of child rape victims, when they otherwise would only have been raped. This is because it makes the penalty for the rape equal to the penalty for rape plus murder. In economics lingo, the law eliminates the opportunity cost to the rapist of committing the additional crime. In fact, it actually creates a net  benefit to the rapist, that is, an incentive for the rapist to murder his victim. That’s because by murdering the child the rapist eliminates the most important witness, again, with no fear of additional penalty if caught and convicted. My fear is that laws like this, while satisfying my sense of vengeance for such a terrible act, could create more harm than good.