Oklahoma made child rape eligible for the death penalty, shirking a Supreme Court ruling

Yahoo

4 days ago

Oklahoma has opened the door for prosecutors to seek the death penalty against someone convicted of rape involving a child under 14 years old, even though capital punishment in such cases has been ruled unconstitutional.
Senate Bill 599 was signed into law and becomes effective in November.
Current state law allows the death penalty for a second or subsequent conviction of that crime. The bill approved by lawmakers and signed by the governor allows district attorneys to request the convicted be executed after one offense.
"Does there have to be a second child? Or is one enough?" asked state Rep. and former prosecutor Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, during debate on the House floor this year.
Prosecutors seeking the death penalty in these cases, however, face an almost insurmountable obstacle: the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2008, the court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana that the death penalty cannot be imposed for crimes where the victim did not die or where the victim's death was not intended.
The bill's author, state Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, told TV news station KOCO that he is confident that the high court will eventually revisit the ruling.
Despite the renewed political desire to execute child rapists, capital punishment has become an even rarer sentence imposed by courts in Oklahoma and across the nation. It's been three years since someone has been sentenced to death in an Oklahoma court.
Nationwide, there were 26 new death sen­tences imposed in 2024, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In 2010, there were more than 100.
More: Oklahoma death row: Could Stacy Drake be state's first death sentence in three years?
The bill garnered broad support, mostly along party lines, from both the Oklahoma Senate and House of Representatives. Despite acknowledging the heinous nature of the crime, some Democratic lawmakers had pointed questions about unintended effects. They expressed concern that if perpetrators know they are eligible for the death penalty anyway, a rapist might care less about keeping their victim alive. Others warned that children might be discouraged from reporting or testifying against a family member if it could mean their execution.
State Rep. Michelle McCane, a Democrat from Tulsa, revealed during debate against the measure that she was a victim of sexual assault as a child.
"It would have added to my trauma and likely would have made me hesitate to tell on the offender if I had thought the consequence could be they get the death penalty," she said. "Not because I didn't want them to have a severe consequence, not because I was not hurt and upset, but as a small child, that would have been a really big burden to bear and I don't think I would have come forward if that was the case."
McCane also questioned the bill's House co-author whether the death penalty is an effective deterrent.
"I don't know if it reduces crimes," replied state Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, "but it shows that cowards who commit these crimes get the sentence they deserve."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Death penalty for child rape: Oklahoma law challenges SCOTUS ruling