WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —The narrative that Florida would be led by a governor who is strong on crime was advanced by the passage of three measures that Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law.
In accordance with one of these legislation, some sexual predators against children would be subject to the death sentence.
Nevertheless, it is possible that it will be met with some legal challenges, just like other cases that are analogous to it have been.
On Monday, DeSantis said that another thing that his administration is doing is “making clear that in Florida we stand for the protection of children.”
On Monday, Governor DeSantis gave House Bill 1297 his signature, officially making it a law and elevating the crime of sexual violence against a minor to the level of a capital offense.
According to the language of the law, incidents like this “destroy the innocence of young children.”
According to Governor DeSantis’s statement, “Unfortunately, in our society, you have very heinous sex crimes that are committed against children under the age of 12 years old these are really the worst of the worst.”
Under the terms of this new rule, a death sentence might be handed down with the participation of as few as eight jurors.
And two aggravating elements need to be agreed upon, such as the creation of a danger of death or the use of a handgun to frighten the victim. These are the two factors that need to be agreed upon.
“What this bill does is challenge the U.S. Supreme Court,” DeSantis stated of the legislation.
The authors of this bill made explicit reference to a case from 2008 in which the Supreme Court ruled against applying the death sentence for a crime in which the victim did not pass away.
They said that this practice violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Craig Trocino, a professor of law at the University of Miami, was quoted as saying, “First and foremost, I view it as unconstitutional.”
According to Trocino, who has been practicing law for close to 30 years and is the director of the Innocence Clinic at Miami Law, this measure goes directly against the verdict handed down by the Supreme Court and would bring forth fresh legal issues.
“This is inviting a large amount of litigation, which will result in unnecessary expenses to the taxpayer and to the people of Florida,” said Trocino.
Any adult who is found guilty of sexually assaulting a child younger than 12 years old in the state of Florida is subject to a life sentence in prison.
On October 1st, the bill will become law and be put into action. It is not possible to contest it until then, unless a lawsuit is first initiated against this new statute.
