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A Tennessee bill that might authorize the death penalty as punishment for the rape of a child has moved ahead following a heated debate through the Tennessee Senate Judiciary committee assembly on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 1834 (SB1834), sponsored by Republican Sen. Jack Johnson, would permit the death penalty as a punishment for “rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.”
The bill was offered to the committee by Republican Sen. Ken Yager, However, committee members introduced two amendments ahead on the bill, neither of which handed.
During the assembly, Democratic Sen. London Lamar, who was pushing for an modification, claimed that putting the death penalty on child rapists was “a lot of pressure” to placed on the victims.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has moved a bill ahead that can permit the death penalty in instances of child rape in Tennessee. (Tennessee General Assembly)
“It’s already a sensitive subject for a child to come forth to make it be known that they have been violated and knowing that the person they are accusing is going to die,” Lamar mentioned.
“I would consider this friendly. It doesn’t disrupt the bill or anything. It’s just simply asking to give mental health counseling to the child throughout the process. Simple, shouldn’t be very controversial,” Lamar defined in her reasoning for the modification.
Yager countered Lamar, saying he may “not disagree more” and that he thought-about the modification to be unfriendly and a disruption to the bill.
“The mental health of the child is damaged at the time of the rape, not during the trial. At the time of the horrendous act of being raped, usually by someone they may know, that’s where the problem occurs,” Yager emotionally acknowledged.
Photo reveals the gurney within the execution chamber on the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Lamar goes on to clarify that she feels this might forestall kids from wanting to communicate up.
“That is a lot of pressure we are putting on children. In order for them to speak up about the violations they experienced, they know, in response, that somebody is going to die,” Lamar mentioned.
After prolonged testimony from the District Attorney’s workplace, a number of legal professionals and child advocates, Lamar made a movement to ship the bill to summer season research to permit for extra analysis and better consideration of the knowledge that was offered.
During the testimony, District Attorney General Stephen Crump fired again at Lamar, who nonetheless insisted that passing the bill would hurt the victims.
“It is our position that the child victim would not be the one putting them to death. If anyone put them to death, it would be the rapist who asked for it,” Crump mentioned.
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“I will push back against that. While the perpetrator deserves to be held accountable to the full extent of the law, should probably be sitting in prison for life, I do see a situation where you are going to force children to kill people, who may not come forth now because they know that someone they love was close to them will die,” Lamar mentioned.
Ultimately, the committee voted in opposition to sending the bill to summer season research and went on to vote on the bill itself.
In closing statements, each Republican Sen. Kerry Roberts and Chairman Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga-District 10) famous {that a} vote in opposition to the bill didn’t imply a member was opposed to the death penalty for instances of rape however as a substitute, that they had been opposed to the bill itself as written.
Roberts insisted that he was all in favor of issuing the death penalty as a punishment for these prices, however he couldn’t help it as a result of too many of these instances had been based mostly on circumstantial proof.
The bill handed with 5 in favor and 4 opposed. Voting in opposition to the bill had been Gardenhire, Lamar, Roberts and Senator Sara Kyle (D-Memphis-District 30).
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The bill has now been referred to the Senate Calendar Committee.
Tennessee is one of 27 states that permits capital punishment, and at the moment doesn’t permit capital punishment for non-homicide crimes. Only seven different states permit the death penalty for sure child rape offenses.
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