Alabama seeks to join states that allow the death penalty for child rape

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By Safiyah Riddle and Kim Chandler

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would allow child rapists to be sentenced to death as some Republicans hope to entice the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the decision banning capital punishment for such crimes.

The Alabama House of Representatives voted 86-5 for the bill that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty when an adult is convicted of rape or sodomy of a child under 12. The legislation now moves to the Alabama Senate.

Florida and Tennessee passed similar bills in the last two years and at least six other state legislatures have introduced similar measures over that same period, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The death penalty for child rape or sexual assault is unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that the death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional. Justices in the 5-4 decision in the case arising from Louisiana stated that the death penalty is not a “proportional punishment” for the crime and would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Republican Rep. Matt Simpson, a former prosecutor who is sponsoring the legislation, said the goal is to get the Supreme Court to revisit the decision.

“This is the worst of the worst offenses you can do,” Simpson said after the vote, adding that the worst crimes deserve the harshest punishment. “That’s something that the child has to live with for the rest of their life.”

Alabama lawmakers who spoke out against the bill said they had moral opposition to the death penalty. Another questioned the wisdom of passing something unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent and that would likely prompt litigation.

“It seems fiscally irresponsible to pass something that we’re going to have to ask taxpayers to have to defend yet again when people are having a hard time, at least in my district, paying for gas, paying for milk,” said Rep. Phillip Ensler, a Democrat from the state capital of Montgomery.

The strategy is similar to the one successfully employed by conservative states to get the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade, the court decision that once guaranteed national access to abortion.

Simpson said that if more states allow capital punishment for child rape then the justices are less likely to view it as an outlier.

The 2008 Supreme Court majority opinion notes only six states had laws authorizing the death penalty for rape of a child, and that the majority of death penalty states did not allow the punishment for that crime. Justices said the standard for what constituted “excessive” punishment should be evolving based on a national consensus.

However, the move to add another death penalty offense comes amid declining use of the death penalty.

The number of executions in the U.S. remained near historic lows in 2024 and was mostly carried out in a small group of states, according to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center. Those included Alabama, which became the first state to use nitrogen gas as an execution method.

Florida prosecutors pursued the death penalty in 2023 for a man accused of committing sexual battery of a minor under the age of 12, but the man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the case is considered the first to be pursued under the new law.

“I’d love Florida to be able to say, ‘Look at what Alabama has done as well,’ to help them strengthen their case,” Simpson said.