PHOENIX, Fla. – In defiance of a longstanding U.S. Supreme Court ruling that bars the death penalty for child rapists, Florida is leading a coalition of 15 state attorneys general urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to support executions for pedophiles.
The dispute stems from the 2008 Kennedy v. Louisiana decision, in which Patrick O’Neal Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. Although Louisiana law at the time allowed the death penalty for those who raped children under 13, Kennedy argued before the Supreme Court that executing child rapists violated the Constitution. In a 5-4 decision, the Court sided with Kennedy, holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits capital punishment for crimes where the victim does not die.
In a Sept. 2 letter, James Uthmeier, one of the most recent signatories, wrote, “We have every confidence that, with President Trump’s strong leadership and with principles, rule-of-law Justices on the Supreme Court, Kennedy’s days are numbered, and child rapists can be appropriately punished for their unspeakable crimes.”
On Sept. 25, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill joined President Trump in announcing plans to expand the use of the death penalty. Trump also signed a presidential memorandum reinstating the death penalty in Washington, D.C., while Bondi declared that the Department of Justice would pursue capital punishment nationwide, CNN reported.
Despite the Court’s ruling, Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order called for protection of the death penalty and directed Bondi to challenge precedents that “limit the authority of state and federal governments to impose capital punishment.” Her office has declined to comment on whether she plans to move forward with efforts to overturn Kennedy v. Louisiana.
Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida enacted a first-in-the-nation law allowing execution for those convicted of raping children younger than 12—marking the first non-homicide death penalty statute since Kennedy. DeSantis also signed legislation making it easier to secure death sentences following the case of Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
This year, DeSantis has scheduled 15 executions, 13 of which have been carried out.
Numerous anti-death penalty groups have condemned Florida’s actions. In a statement to the Florida Phoenix, Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said lawmakers had “knowingly and purposely passed an unconstitutional law” and “still have to wait to be able to even bring it to the U.S. Supreme Court (who also would have to agree to hear it) to try to overturn that long established precedent.”
