Alabama’s House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow death sentences for child rapists.
HB49, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Matt Simpson, calls for the death penalty for adults who are convicted of rape or sodomy in the first degree against a child under the age of 12.
The bill also states that a person aged under 18 who is convicted of the offense could face “life imprisonment without parole or life.”
The proposed legislation was passed with an 86–5 vote and will now advance to the Alabama Senate.
The state’s current law classifies rape and sodomy in the first degree as Class A felonies, which are punishable by life in prison, according to the proposed bill….