Tennessee Senate advances bill to allow death penalty for child rape
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s Republican Party-controlled Senate on Tuesday proposed legislation that would allow the death penalty in child rape convictions, as critics raised concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned the death penalty in such cases.
Republicans approved the bill by a vote of 24 to 5. It still has to clear the also conservative-dominant chamber of the House of Representatives before it can go to Governor Bill Lee’s desk for his signature.
If passed, the Tennessee bill would authorize the state to carry out the death penalty when an adult is convicted of aggravated rape of a child. Those convicted may be sentenced to death, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or life imprisonment.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis passed a similar bill nearly a year ago. Supporters in both states claim the goal is to get the currently conservative-controlled U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a 2008 ruling that found it unconstitutional to use the death penalty in child sexual abuse cases.
Republican Sen. Ken Yager argued during debate Tuesday that his bill is not unconstitutional because it only allows district attorneys to seek the death penalty for those convicted of child rape.
“We protect the children using a constitutional approach,” Yager said. “I wouldn’t be standing here advocating for this bill if I didn’t believe that with all my heart.”
Yager’s argument differs from those in the Tennessee Legislature, where House Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth has admitted that even though Tennessee allowed previously convicted child molesters to face the death penalty, the Supreme Court ultimately struck down that law with its decision from 2008.
Other lawmakers compared their goal to the decades-long effort it took to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide but was ultimately overturned in 2022.
“Maybe the atmosphere at the Supreme Court is different,” said Republican Senator Janice Bowling. “We are simply contesting a ruling.”
Democrats countered that the bill would create more fear among child rape victims about whether or not they should speak out, knowing it could potentially lead to an execution. Others warned that predators could be incentivized to kill their victims to avoid harsher punishment.
US execution law requires that crimes must involve the death of a victim or treason against the government to be eligible for the death penalty. The Supreme Court ruled nearly four decades ago that execution is too harsh a punishment for sexual assault, and judges made a similar decision in 2008 in a case involving the rape of a child.
Currently, all executions in Tennessee are on hold as state officials review changes to the lethal injection process. Governor Lee gave the pause after a blistering 2022 report detailed multiple deficiencies in the way Tennessee prisoners were put to death.
No timeline has been given for when these changes will be completed. And while the Supreme Court is free to issue death sentences for death row inmates, it has so far not done so.