Speaking in Miami on Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested making convicted child rapists eligible for the death penalty and requiring them to serve a minimum sentence of life in prison.
A Library of Congress report recounted the case of a Louisiana man who had been convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter and sentenced to death. His appeal ultimately reached the Supreme Court.
In 2008, the court ruled that the death penalty as a punishment for child rapists is unconstitutional.
The ruling noted that “Louisiana is the only state since 1964 that has placed anyone on death row for a non-homicide offense.” According to LOC, the court concluded that “the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for child rape, and that capital punishment should be restricted, as to crimes against individuals, to those that take the victim’s life.”
If DeSantis’ proposal were to be enacted, it could force the Supreme Court to take another look at this decision.
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The Republican governor also proposed eliminating the requirement of a unanimous jury to impose a death sentence. He suggested that a supermajority of jurors should be sufficient.
The decision of a Florida jury to spare the life of convicted killer Nikolas Cruz, who gunned down 17 people and wounded even more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, baffled DeSantis.
“Obviously, he was guilty,” he said on Thursday. “And then you have, like, one juror that did not want to do capital punishment. … One juror should not be able to veto that. And I don’t think justice was served in that case. If you’re going to have capital [punishment], you have to administer it to the worst of the worst crimes.”
DeSantis also said he believes in stronger punishment for fentanyl traffickers who distribute the drug disguised as candy for children. He hopes to strengthen the Sunshine State’s current bail laws.
Preserving Law & Order in Florida https://t.co/kT4rbl3NL5
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 26, 2023
Our criminal justice system has grown far too lax. Does anyone really believe Nikolas Cruz deserves to live?
If your child was raped, shouldn’t the perpetrator at a minimum spend the rest of his life in prison?
If your child died of fentanyl poisoning after ingesting what he thought was a piece of candy, would you give those responsible for its distribution a pass or would you hold them responsible for your child’s death.
By relaxing our standards a little bit here and a little bit there, the U.S. has been left with a criminal justice system that’s more concerned with the rights of the criminal than those of the victim. This needs to change.
I applaud DeSantis’ proposals. Liberals, with a big assist from billionaire George Soros, whose financial support has placed far-left district attorneys throughout the U.S., have hijacked our criminal justice system and made America a more dangerous place.
We need bold leaders like DeSantis to turn our country around and bring real change.
