Proposal for Death Penalty Expansion in Child Sex Crimes

A new bill presented by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) aims to extend the death penalty to specific sexual offenses against children in federal cases. However, even if it were to be approved and signed into law, its enforcement would depend on a Supreme Court precedent change.

On Thursday, Mace announced the bill, which seeks to amend Title 18 of the Child Rapist Death Penalty Act. It would apply to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of minors, and abusive sexual contact with children.

The proposal also seeks to modify the Uniform Military Justice Act to permit the death penalty for child rape. Yet, multiple reports indicate that even if Congress passes the bill, it won’t automatically be enforceable.

The legislation would pose a challenge to the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana, where the court determined that the death penalty for non-murderous crimes, including child rape, breaches the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Mace’s initiative could provoke legal disputes that might require the Supreme Court to revisit or overturn this precedent.

Mace did not bring up the ruling in her declaration. Instead, she expressed, “There’s no excuse for harming children. We have spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of predators and demanded accountability and transparency. Now we are ensuring child rapists face the ultimate consequences.”

On her website, she further emphasized her stance, declaring, “We have zero tolerance for child rapists. Those who target our most vulnerable deserve the harshest punishment available. No predator should escape justice for such unimaginable crimes against children. This bill is straightforward: If you rape a child, you don’t get a second chance; you receive the death penalty.”

The proposed law would pertain only to federal offenses and military law, reflecting similar state laws in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee that currently allow the death penalty for certain child rape convictions, though these have not yet been enforceable.

Recently, when Florida passed a similar measure in 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) indicated the state would look for ways to challenge the 2008 Supreme Court decision, asserting that “that precedent was wrong, and we don’t believe the current Supreme Court would uphold it.”

If Mace’s bill successfully navigates Congress, it might also challenge existing federal laws regarding rape cases.