epublican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to sign new legislation authorizing the execution of child rapists, cueing up a potential Supreme Court fight to overturn a previous ruling prohibiting it.
The Florida House and Senate have both passed CS 1297, a bill to permit capital punishment for those who commit sexual battery against children under 12 years old, and DeSantis could sign it in the coming days. The governor said Tuesday he believed the Supreme Court would consider a challenge to recent precedent against the death penalty for child rapists, while experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation were more skeptical.
“I wouldn’t bet on it that the court is willing to take up this decision,” Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Cully Stimson told the DCNF, explaining that four justices would have to “grant certiorari,” or agree to review the case. “The only reason they would grant cert is if they have a minimum of five or more to overrule the case. So I don’t think it’s a fait accompli at all even though the personnel has changed.” Read more…
