MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama House Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, is proposing the death penalty as a possible punishment for those convicted of raping children younger than age 6.
Simpson’s newly filed bill is an effort to overturn a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the practice.
Simpson, acting assistant district attorney in Mobile County, told Alabama Daily News Monday that the current maximum sentence for adults convicted of rape against a child victim is life imprisonment, something he argued did not go far enough.
“I’ve prosecuted cases like this, I’ve prosecuted cases where children less than 6 were the victim,” Simpson said.
“My personal belief is I think it’s cruel punishment to keep someone in prison for 50, 60 years, we’re overcrowded as it is. I don’t think we use the death penalty enough, and I just think that these types of cases, in my opinion, are worse than some murder cases.”
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana that the death penalty for crimes involving the rape of a child where the victim did not die constituted cruel and unusual punishment, given that at the time, only five states had such laws on their books.
However, with Florida lawmakers adopting a bill instituting the death penalty for child rapists, and Tennessee following suit earlier this year, Simpson believes that were Alabama to adopt its own similar law, the 2008 ruling could be overturned.
“The argument is if more states get on board, then it’s no longer unusual, and the Supreme Court’s rationale no longer holds water,” Simpson explained.
That effort came in the form of House Bill 49, which Simpson filed last week, which would allow for the death penalty for anyone 18 or older convicted of rape where the victim is 6 years or younger. If the offender is under 18, the bill stipulates that the sentence would be life imprisonment.
Were the bill to ultimately become law, Simpson said he anticipates some federal pushback. However, with the addition of three more states with such laws on their books, and with at least three other states considering similar bills, he said he believed there to be a strong case for the precedent set in the 2008 ruling to be overturned.
“I’m sure there would be a federal court injunction, but when Florida gets a federal injunction for theirs, and when Florida can use Tennessee and Alabama, it helps unite the states in that argument and in their brief,” he said.
“I think Florida is the leader on this charge, but I do think that other states are willing to come to the help of Florida and make this case.”
Ahead of filing the bill, Simpson shared it with members of the Republican House Caucus to gauge interest in co-sponsors, to which it saw 11 additional lawmakers sign onto the bill, including Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, the House Majority Leader.
“I think this is (among) the worst things that you could possibly do to a child,” Simpson said.
“I don’t think there’s any rehabilitation for it, I don’t think you can come back from performing these acts on a 4, 5 year old. The death penalty is not used enough, and this would open the door to allow it to be used more.”
As of October, there has been just one instance of either Florida’s or Tennessee’s death penalty law being used, with a Florida prosecutor seeking the death penalty last December for a man charged with child sexual battery and promoting a sexual performance of a child.
While the case is expected to draw legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his full support for the prosecutor’s efforts.
Today, @flsao5 announced that they will seek the death penalty in a case of sexual battery against a child under age 12.
It will be the first case to challenge SCOTUS since I signed legislation to make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty.
@flsao5 has my full support.— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 14, 2023