NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has approved legislation allowing the death penalty for child rape convictions, a change that the Republican-controlled Statehouse defended over concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned the death penalty in such cases.
Lee, a Republican, quietly signed the legislation last week without making a statement.
Tennessee’s new law, which takes effect July 1, authorizes 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. A few months after the law took effect, Florida prosecutors in Lake County announced in December that they were pursuing the death penalty for a man accused of sexually assaulting a minor under the age of 12. The case is believed to be the first to be prosecuted under the new law, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s GOP-controlled House passed similar legislation earlier this year, but the proposal ultimately stalled in the also Republican-dominated Senate.
Although many supporters of Tennessee’s version have admitted that even though the Volunteer State allowed previously convicted child molesters to face the death penalty, the Supreme Court ultimately overturned that law with its 2008 decision, which found it unconstitutional to use the death penalty in cases of sexual abuse of children.
However, they hope the conservative-controlled U.S. Supreme Court will reverse this ruling — pointing 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,” Republican Sen. Janice Bowling said last month as he debated the bill. “We are simply contesting a ruling.”
Democratic lawmakers and child rights advocates worry the law could further instill fear in child rape victims that their views could result in an execution, warning that many children are abused by family members and close friends. Others have argued that predators may 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.