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.
Huge: Tennessee has passed HB1663 to allow the death penalty for child rapists.
The vote was 77 to 19. The 19 who voted against it are ALL Democrats. You have to see the evil way Democrats opposed it.
Pro-abortion Dem. Rep. @AftynBehn called it "incompatible with the right to… pic.twitter.com/cC601boDfS
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) April 24, 2024
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:
The atrocities they have suffered deserve the severest of punishments.
