Tennessee General Assembly passes legislation seeking death penalty for child rapists

The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill (77 votes in favor, 19 against, one abstention) that would allow the state to seek the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child.

The bill, which was previously approved by the Senate with 24 votes in favor and 5 against, was sponsored by Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth and was universally opposed by Democratic legislators, who argued that the General Assembly was passing an unconstitutional law.

The bill was sent to Governor Bill Lee to be either signed into law or vetoed.

Democrats oppose the bill

Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn declared that accepting the death penalty is "not compatible with the right to life." Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson supported the comments of her party colleague and declared that the rape of a child is a crime that requires the maximum sentence to be served. Therefore, in his opinion, the death penalty will not deter crimes regarding child sexual abuse.

However, Lamberth responded to his opponents by stating that he understood the questions about the death penalty in general, but that the law is about enforcing justice for victims: