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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has signed a bill into law that would allow the death penalty to be carried out on convicted child rapists.
The bill, HB 1297, would allow a jury to vote for capital punishment for those convicted of raping a child under the age of 12.
During a “Law & Order” press conference this week, DeSantis addressed the bill, stating that those who are convicted of child rape are often “serial offenders” and noting that the “only appropriate punishment is the ultimate punishment.”
Axios reported that DeSantis’s bold stance “for the protection of children” may result in a skirmish with the U.S. Supreme Court. According to their report, the Florida legislation conflicts with a Supreme Court ruling that declared the death penalty unconstitutional except in cases of convicted murder.
“We really believe that part of a just society is to have appropriate punishment,” DeSantis continued. “And so, if you commit a crime that is really, really heinous, you should have the ultimate punishment.”
He explained, “And so what this bill does is it challenges the U.S. Supreme Court for recently deciding, probably six or seven years ago…they decided by five to four, after over 200 years of our Constitution being in place, that somehow you could never have capital punishment for crimes like rape – even though some of these are some of the worst of the worst, even though you can have serial offenders…we think that that decision was wrong.”
DeSantis has gained popularity among conservative voters across the U.S. for his hardline stance against “woke” ideologies in the Sunshine State. He recently traveled across the country and the world, meeting with lawmakers and leaders to share his “Florida Blueprint” of success ahead of what many people believe will be a 2024 presidential campaign bid.
Per RSBN, DeSantis told Piers Morgan in March that he believed he could beat Joe Biden in a 2024 election.
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