For some reason, when I was writing about the Supreme Court ruling outlawing juvenile life without parole for non-homicide offenses, I neglected to mention Andy McCarthy's reaction. What was it? Well naturally, McCarthy asked, did Justice Anthony Kennedy "consult the Sharia?":
The penalty for theft under Islamic law is the amputation of the right hand. That's for a first offense. For a second offense, the left foot is cut off. For additional thefts after that, there are no further amputations — the person is simply imprisoned until he has repented in a manner satisfactory to the Muslim state (meaning for life if he fails to repent). For these penalties to be imposed, the offender must be (a) sane and (b) have reached puberty, meaning these penalties will often be applied to Muslim minors who are considerably younger than 16.
The U.S. is the only country that maintains the practice, so Kennedy didn't have to consult any particular foreign legal system in order to point out that JWOP might fit the description of "unusual" punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. But anything McCarthy dislikes is necessarily connected to a larger secret Islamic conspiracy. This is a man who probably goes to Burger King and demands the non-Sharia ketchup.
Still, I'm sure publications like The New York Times will continue to solicit his opinions on legal matters. There's no such thing as too far right, especially in the "liberal" media.
-- A. Serwer
