14 February 2025 :
February 11, 2025 - Alabama. House passes HB 49
Death penalty for child rapists
Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday 11 advanced legislation (HB 49) that would allow child rapists to be sentenced to death as some Republicans hope to entice the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the decision banning capital punishment for such crimes.
The Alabama House of Representatives voted 86-5 for the bill that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty when an adult is convicted of rape or sodomy of a child under 12. The legislation now moves to the Alabama Senate.
Florida and Tennessee passed similar bills in the last 2 years and at least 6 other state legislatures have introduced similar measures over that same period, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The death penalty for child rape or sexual assault is unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that the death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional. Justices in the 5-4 decision in the case arising from Louisiana stated that the death penalty is not a “proportional punishment” for the crime 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 goal is to get the Supreme Court to revisit the decision.
