Last updated on July 8th, 2024 at 07:58 am
In a significant legislative development, Tennessee has become the second state to permit the execution of those convicted of child rape. Tennessee’s Republican Governor, Bill Lee, authorized the law on Monday, which sets out three punishments for the aggravated rape of a child: execution, life imprisonment without parole, and life imprisonment. This move follows a similar law signed by Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, in May 2023.
However, both state laws challenge a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, which deemed the execution of convicted child sexual battery offenders unconstitutional. Tennessee GOP state Sen. Janice Bowling suggests that the current Supreme Court’s conservative majority may be open to revisiting the earlier ruling.
The Kennedy decision was marked by intense debate about the severity of the punishment in relation to sexual crimes against children. Supporters of capital punishment for these crimes maintain that such severe laws could deter potential offenders, while detractors argue that capital punishment should be limited to the most extreme crimes.