(WDNews) — The Alabama House on Tuesday passed legislation that would make the rape, sodomy or sexual torture of a child younger than 12 a capital offense punishable by death.
House Bill 41, known as the Child Predator Death Penalty Act, previously cleared the House last year but stalled in the Senate. Lawmakers moved the bill forward quickly this session following the discovery of a child sex trafficking investigation in Bibb County that involved multiple victims and adult suspects.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, said crimes against young children represent the most serious offenses under the law and warrant the harshest penalties available.
Democrats raised concerns during floor debate about whether the legislation would withstand constitutional scrutiny. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said he believes the bill would ultimately be struck down, leaving current law unchanged.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana that imposing the death penalty for child rape where the victim did not die violated the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. At the time, only a handful of states had similar laws. Since then, several states, including Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma, have enacted comparable measures.
Simpson argued that additional states adopting such laws could prompt the high court to reconsider its ruling. Daniels disputed that comparison, saying the legal circumstances were not the same.
Other Democrats objected over the potential cost of defending the law in court. Rep. Patrice McClammy, D-Montgomery, warned that previous unconstitutional laws have cost the state tens of millions of dollars in legal expenses. Simpson responded that protecting children justified any potential cost.
Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer, offered an amendment to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without parole. The amendment failed on a 75-26 vote.
The House approved the bill 73-6, with 17 members abstaining. The measure now moves to the Senate, where Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, is sponsoring a companion bill.
