Alabama Lawmakers Considering Death Penalty For Child Rape
MONTGOMERY Ala.
By Rick McCann
February 10, 2025
In the past several years, some states have passed laws that would allow the death penalty for child rapists. Tennessee is one such state, passing the law in 2024 and Florida, which passed the death penalty law in 2023 allowing that anyone who is convicted of sexually battering children under the age of 12 to face being put to death for their crime.
Now, a similar bill, sponsored by Daphne Rep. Matt Simpson, is making its way through the Alabama House Judiciary Committee but it’s not without some questions about its legality.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 struck down a similar Louisiana law, while other states approved similar laws without delay.
In question is the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment but legislators in other states have argued successfully against that legal barrier.
Simpson said Florida and Tennessee recently passed laws allowing for the death penalty in child rape cases and if more states follow suit, it will strengthen the constitutional argument.
Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Policy Project, called the proposal “clearly unconstitutional.” He pointed to data from the National Registry of Exonerations suggesting that false claims of child sexual abuse are a leading cause of wrongful convictions. He also pointed to Alabama’s racial history.
Durham points out that almost all of the previous executions in the south for rape were Black defendants, arguing racial bias which could make things worse for minorities should this law pass.
Some child protection advocates have argued that the proposal could be counterproductive. Since most child rape defendants are related to their victims, she said it could discourage people from reporting crimes. And she said it might prompt some people might kill their victims.
Law enforcement nationally has not issued any statements regarding the death penalty as a penalty for child rape.
For now, Florida’s death penalty expansion remains untested in the federal courts. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state’s law in 2023. Joseph Andrew Giampa, in Lake County, became the first person charged under the new statute. But he ultimately accepted a plea bargain and a lesser sentence.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said if the bill becomes law in Alabama, he will treat it the same way he treats other capital cases.
Blackwood said that they look at and analysis the various factors that go into every case before moving forward.
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