Full House nears vote on child rapist execution bill

A House bill that would lead to capital punishment for capital sexual battery on minors is ready for the floor.

HB 1297, a bill from Rep. Jessica Baker allowing for execution of child rapists without jury unanimity, a change clearly unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent, cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 16-7 vote. That was its second and final committee stop.

Baker said the measure sought to address “one of the most heinous and vile acts imaginable, that of sexual battery on a young child. A crime so monstrous and horrific that there can be no tolerance for the perpetrators in civilized society.”

Baker’s bill contravenes cases Buford v. State of Florida and Kennedy v. Louisiana. In those two cases — Buford at the state level and Kennedy at the federal level — judges ruled against execution for sexual assault of children.

Asked if the bill overstepped legislative bounds and threatened separation of powers, Baker said “15 years of improperly decided case law is not persuasive to me.” She dismissed concerns about the measure’s constitutionality, saying SCOTUS “is not bound by previous rulings.”

Aggravating factors would have to be in place to facilitate these executions, including a history of rape or sexual predation, the use of a firearm, financial gain, a “heinous, atrocious, or cruel” act, victim vulnerability, or the assailant holding a custodial position.

Two of these factors would suffice to impose the ultimate penalty, but all jurors would have to agree on the aggravators, per an amendment adopted Friday in Judiciary that lines the bill up with the Senate product.

Mitigating factors include the assailant having acted under duress or extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

Anyone sentenced to death under this proposed measure would have the recourse of federal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and if the High Court holds that the new law is unconstitutional, the sentence would revert to life imprisonment.

This bill comes as the Senate has approved legislation allowing for supermajority verdicts in other death penalty cases, and this House committee approved companion legislation (HB 555) Friday. The Senate version of Baker’s bill (SB 1342), filed by Sen. Jonathan Martin, is still working through committees.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty expressed opposition to the bill expanding capital punishment.

This genre of legislation seems to be a legislative response to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has floated supermajority capital punishment jury verdicts, using the atrocities perpetrated by the Parkland shooter as an illustrative example.

The former student killed 17 people with an AR-15 on Valentine’s Day 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in one of the most infamous school shootings in American history.