Montgomery, Ala. — Alabama joins a growing number of Republican-led states seeking to revive the death penalty for child rape, which was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008.
Some GOP-led states want to bring back the death penalty for child rape convictionsAlabama approved legislation Thursday to add rape and sexual abuse of children under 12 to a narrow list of crimes that carry the death penalty.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that such sentences were not “proportionate punishment” and would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Republican Rep. Matt Simpson, a former prosecutor who is sponsoring the legislation, said the Supreme Court would need to get a test case to the high court to reconsider the constitutionality issue. He hopes that will happen if enough states pass similar laws.
“This is the worst of the worst crimes. It deserves the worst punishment,” Simpson said.
Five states — Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, Arkansas and Oklahoma — have passed similar bills in the past three years and at least five more have proposed bills, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks the use of the death penalty across the United States.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer announced in November his intention to seek the death penalty for a man charged with multiple counts of capital sexual battery on a child under the age of 12.
Although the Alabama bill passed with broad support, some lawmakers insisted that the death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional and that taxpayers would have to foot the bill for any court challenges.
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said there are concerns that such laws could harm rather than protect children.
For the majority opinion in 2008, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the prospect of the death penalty for the perpetrator could discourage reporting by victims or “remove a strong incentive for the perpetrator not to kill the victim.”
“Courts have recognized that these laws harm children more than they help them. They actually put them in serious danger of being killed,” Maher said.
The Alabama Senate voted 33-1 in favor of the bill on Thursday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said he would sign the legislation because “we have to do whatever it takes to protect our Alabama children.”
The Alabama law comes after a headline-making case in Bibb County alleging child sex trafficking.
“About 10 children were raped and abused, some over many years. One of the victims was as young as 3 years old,” said Republican Sen. April Weaver, who represents Bibb County.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without text modification
