Death Penalty for Child Rapists Goes Into Effect in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — A new Florida law that went into effect this week can make child rapists pay the ultimate price for their crimes. The law makes sexual predators eligible for the death penalty if the victim was under 12 years of age.
The bill in the Florida Legislature – which amended existing Florida law – received bipartisan support during the 2023 session.
“We’re really delivering a big agenda,” DeSantis said when he signed the bill into law in May. “So this is one important – but admittedly very small part – of an overall large agenda and very bold agenda that’s really setting the terms of the debate for the country, quite frankly.”
The new law is considered a direct challenge to existing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, which prohibits the use of the death penalty for sexual predators.
“As it relates to crimes against individuals, though, the death penalty should not be expanded to instances where the victim’s life was not taken,” then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority ruling from 2008 that is being challenged.
Florida’s law allowing the death penalty for child rapists is now in effect.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 3, 2023
The minimum sentence is life in prison without parole. In Florida, anyone who harms children in such a horrific way will never walk free.
“WORST OF THE WORST” IN SOCIETY
DeSantis has noted that one of the reasons for supporting this law is that the acts committed by sexual predators against children are some of the worst in society.
“Unfortunately, in our society, we have very heinous sex crimes that are committed against children under the age of 12 years old,” DeSantis noted. “These are really the worst of the worst. The perpetrators of these crimes are often serial offenders.”
Florida’s governor continued by pointing out that this is not wanton use of power – but of proper justice.
“The perpetrators of these crimes are oftentimes serial offenders,” the governor added. “We really believe that part of a just society is to have appropriate punishment. And so, if you commit a crime that is really, really heinous, you should have the ultimate punishment.”
OTHER DEATH PENALTY EXPANSION IN FLORIDA
On top of Florida extending the death penalty to child rapists, the legislature also passed a bill – signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year – that lowered the unanimous jury requirement for death penalty sentences.
No longer will a Florida jury need to have a unanimous 12-0 ruling in favor of the death penalty, but now they only need a supermajority of eight to approve capital punishment.
The change to the law came after the 2022 trial of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attacker, in which the jury failed to arrive at a unanimous decision in favor of the death penalty.
Instead, the shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole.