Child Rapist Death Penalty Bill Revived In Tennessee House After Being Placed “Behind Budget”
Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
A bill to allow for the death penalty as punishment for child rapists in Tennessee has been revived in the House of Representatives after being placed “behind the budget” in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee back in February.
House Bill 1663 (HB1663), sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) would allow a jury to prescribe the death penalty as punishment for adults who commit rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, and especially aggravated rape of a child.
These charges are all Class A felonies in Tennessee and current state law outlines that a person convicted of rape of a child must receive a minimum sentence of 35-40 years and if appropriate a 40-60 year sentence.
Also under current state law, a person convicted of aggravated rape of a child must be sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole.
HB1663 would simply add the death penalty as “another option” for punishment for these crimes.
Whenever a bill is placed “behind the budget” like HB1663 was just a couple months ago, it usually means there is a significant fiscal impact associated with the bill and/or the bill is not part of the governor’s proposed budget which takes precedence in the appropriations process.
It is always a possibility that a bill placed “behind the budget” can be brought back into consideration later on in the legislative session, but it is often more likely that the bill will have to be introduced the following legislative session.
“This is probably one of the bravest types of bills that we will deal with this year. If someone commits the offense of rape of a child and that child is under the age of twelve, then the jury would have the option to give that person the death penalty if there are other aggravating factors that are associated with it,” Rep. Lamberth told members of the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday.
“It’s one of the most horrible crimes I think any of us could even imagine. It’s hard to believe that there are adults out there that would commit this type of atrocity towards children, but there are,” he continued, “and right now they live out the rest of their days as serving an A felony and we take care of their food, their lodging, their medical care and everything.”
Without any further discussion HB1663 moved out of the subcommittee with a voice vote recommendation for passage.
The legislation was heard in the House Finance, Ways and Means Full Committee later that day where it also received a voice vote recommendation for passage.
HB1663 was then sent to the House Calendar & Rules Committee where it was scheduled for a vote on the House floor to be held on Thursday, April 18th, 2024.
The corresponding Senate Bill 1834 (SB1834) previously passed in the Senate with a 24-5 vote on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee.
You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
I am a father of two girls and I worry about where certain politicians could take a bill like this. The details of this bill should be explicitly detailed because this is very dangerous territory for some.
Does a child include a 17 year old meth addict who lives on the streets who likely has been turning tricks on the street (wacko) and wishes to entrap her ex boyfriend who is technically an adult but in the same high school? He then gets put to death by the selected jury.
The possibilities are vast these days with the political divide and the incredible number of people who are now “victims” of somebody else.
These kinds of bills make us believe a child is a girl of innocence.
Reread the language of the bill. It applies to those adults who rape children under the age of twelve in especially heinous way. It meant to eliminate the people’s burden of lifetime care for those that commit such crimes that currently receive punishments of life in prison of 40 or 60 years depending on the nature of their conviction. We know pedophiles are unlikely to stop or be rehabilitated.
So true If they’re convicted of crime, we should know that we are not paying for room and board or to be let out on the street for Memphis. It’s exactly what happened.