Although the Supreme Court held in Kennedy v. Louisiana that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the death penalty for commiting the crime of raping a child, one Alabama legislator apparently wants to press the issue (or is oblivious to the Court's holding). State Rep. Steve Hurst has proposed a new law allowing judges to sentence persons older than 21 to death for the rape of a child 6 years old or younger. Sentencing Law & Policy has more. From NBC13.com:
Pedophiles who rape young children could face the death penalty in Alabama…if one state lawmaker gets his way.
State Representative Steve Hurst of Munford in Talladega County is proposing a new law that would allow a judge to use capital punishment if someone older than 21 is convicted of raping a child 6 years old or younger.
The death penalty is a punishment that - so far - has been reserved only for murderers.
Should child molesters now be included?
With the growing number of child sex predators, Hurst says capital punishment is an appropriate sentence for adult rapists older than 21 who violate children 6 years old or younger.
“You take a child who’s completely helpless. They have no way to defend themselves. And someone does something of this nature to them, you have literally destroyed that child for the rest of their life,“ says Hurst.
But sex psychologist Dr. Keith Abrams warns he doesn’t think the strategy will work.
“We’ve had capital punishment for decades, and we still have murder,“ says Abrams.
Abrams says instead of focusing on deterrents, we should focus on prevention, for both potential victims and abusers.
In Abrams opinion, any adult who could rape a young child is past the point of being concerned about the repercussions.
“When people commit those kinds of crimes, they get to a place mentally where they’re not thinking about deterrents,“ explains Abrams.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department says there are now more than 1000 registered sex offenders living in the county…and at least one third will re-offend.
Introducing capital punishment for some might not be a fix all, but Hurst says, it’s at least a start.
“You’ve got to keep knocking at the door, or you can’t never get in.“
Hurst is still waiting to schedule this bill’s first hearing before the Alabama Legislature.
I think the legislators of Alabama just enjoy being outliers when it comes to sex crimes legislation. This is the only state with a ban on sex toy distribution. And it's rape statute is the oddest in the U.S.
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