Death penalty on the table for first time child sex crime offenders
Oklahoma’s law against child sex predators just got tougher. Governor Stitt signed Senate Bill 599, so now, if anyone’s found guilty of committing lewd acts with a child under 14, they could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
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In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional per se only in cases involving homicide. Perhaps Oklahoma passed that bill just to open the door to a challenge. Unfortunately, in order to do so a person must first be sentenced to death under that law, i.e. suffered harm from the law. This may never happen because the law will most likely be used as a cudgel by prosecutors during plea negotiations in order to obtain a harsher sentence than they could get without it.
Ron DEATHsantis started this death penalty challenge as a Hail Mary move for a failing Presidential run.
Still, I worried years ago when the Kennedy v Louisiana ruling that someone would challenge that ruling someday based on the premise that the people did not want the death penalty because only a few states still had it on the books at that time.
So Oklahoma joins Idaho, FloriDUH, Arkansas, Tennessee in passing the death penalry for non-murder offenses. Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia all had similar legislation this year but it either didn’t advance in time or died in committee.
That’s Mr.Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis, another corrupt politician.
bwj
which one isn’t corrupt?
Lol valid point.
Amber, He would have to be respected to be called Mr.
Ron has yet to earn anyone’s respect.
Derek
Were any of those states you listed considering crimes other than sex offenses? Any noticeable difference between the states in general?
• Alabama HB49: Would require any person age 18 or older convicted of rape in the first degree or sodomy in the first degree of a victim less than age six to be sentenced to death or life without parole. If the person convicted is less than age 18 then they would be sentenced to either life without parole or life. (Was advancing but was not passed before the end of session)
• Arkansas SB 375: Makes offenses against minors age 13 or younger a capital offense, particularly if there is a threat or an effect of serious harm. (Signed into law)
• Idaho HB 380: Makes the charge of “aggravated lewd conduct with children age 12 and younger” a death penalty offense (signed into law)
• Kentucky HB199: Would make rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, and sexual abuse in the first degree capital offenses when the victim is under 12 years old. On a related note, HB 442 would expand aggravating circumstances for determining death penalty eligibility to include sexual abuse of a corpse. (Failed)
• Mississippi HB 1336: Would make rape of a child under 12 years old that damages the child’s sexual organs a death-eligible offense. (Died in committee)
• Missouri SB 196: Would make statutory rape in the first degree and sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree death-eligible crimes. If enacted, it would only apply to offenses committed on or after August 28, 2025. (Clock may have run out, but it was advancing)
• Oklahoma SB 599: Makes offenses against anyone under age 14 a capital offense, even if this is a first time offense or the victim was a willing participant. (Signed into law).
• Virginia HB 2694: Would reinstate the death penalty for capital murder and rape, forcible sodomy, and object sexual penetration when the victim is a child younger than the age of 13 and the offender was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense and is not intellectually disabled. (Failed to pass)
• In general, Connecticut, Illinois (failed) New Jersey, New York, West Virginia all filed legislation to reinstate the death penalty in general, while Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas all have bills proposing abolishing the death penalty in most or all cases.
The website Death Penalty Info has a page on this topic. Link—
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/background/crimes-punishable-by-death/death-penalty-for-child-sexual-abuse-that-does-not-result-in-death
Derek
Thanks. You do good work.
The death penalty was abolished in Virginia in 2021, so if Virginia were to pass such a law, it would first have to reinstate procedures for the death penalty, which (hailing from Virginia) I believe is highly unlikely given the current political climate there.
Kk
There’s hate and vigilantes regardless of crime. Undermines the necessity and function of our legal system, which is why justice is depicted wearing a blindfold.
Anonymous
That is a good point. Law Enforcement and other groups already argue that sex crimes are underreported. I think that the trauma of the execution of a family member would drive reporting incidents down even further.
The next question is how would such a law effect the internet sting. Cops creating capital crimes is a truly dangerous thing.
You’re entirely ignorant of what is going on with this issue and why the net grows every year with new color of law rules made by ignorant hateful humans who are controlled, bought and paid for by corporations with vested interests in making profits. After what they did to our son, I started digging but the obvious was clear…it’s about money and destroying the Constitution. So based on your comment, it appears you are ok with that.
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As the result of the War, corporations have been enthroned. An era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people…until wealth is aggregated in a few hands…and the Republic is destroyed.”
-Abraham Lincoln, 1864
The vast majority on the registry never touched a child. Many were children themselves when they were put on the list. The registry has vastly expanded and it’s net has gotten so wide because of the money that comes from it. States get federal funding for their law enforcement agencies based on the number of people on their list. That’s why, for example, in Florida 63% percent of those on the registry do not live in Florida communities, there are many on the list that are deceased. Each name = federal dollars, it was never about protecting anyone.
Vigilantes are the dumbest people on the planet, thinking committing crimes themselves deters crime.
Derek
It certainly helps.
I was accused (but never charged officially) of led and lascivious conduct with a child. It was total b.s. and I was fortunate enough that the accuser included some impossibilities in their statement. But to the point, the conduct in question was the supposed asking of a person if they’d ever had sex and if they wanted to have sex. So, no alleged contact or anything else. So when I see that l&l with a minor is now a capital crime somewhere, I just shake my head and wonder where the hell this country is headed.
The unfortunate truth is that 95 plus percent of perpetrators of sex crimes on children are family members or those close to the family. This will absolutely create a sharp decline in reporting the crime because of the fact that the victim will not want to feel responsible for their family member’s death. The reality this is just satisfying people’s natural instinct for vengeance but it will only make the problem much worse.