Idaho House Republicans have just backed a bill pushing for the death penalty for convicted sex offenders who target kids under 12.
The bill, known as House Bill 515, got the thumbs up on Tuesday with 57 votes for and 11 against!
Two lawmakers didn't show up for the vote.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, an attorney and a co-sponsor from R-Nampa, emphasized to House lawmakers that the death penalty would be reserved for extreme cases, such as repeat offenders.
There is a deep, dark, dark side in our culture. And it's our job to protect the children. There are times when things are so wicked that retribution is appropriate.
According to Idaho Reports, the death penalty in Idaho is restricted to first-degree murder cases. The U.S. Supreme Court put a stop to death penalties for child rape back in 2008 with Kennedy v. Louisiana. Last year, Florida enacted a law allowing the death penalty for child rape.
When concerns were raised over the Idaho bill's constitutionality, Skaug shrugged it off, telling lawmakers, "Well, there's constitutional, and there's constitutional. Depends on the court of the day."
According to the Idaho Department of Correction, there are only eight prisoners on death row in Idaho. Skaug anticipates a decrease in cases under the new bill.
It would be very rare that this case would happen. It'd be very rare that a prosecutor would take this kind of case and ask for the death penalty, but it will happen. And I say to you that when you see that case, you read about it in the newspaper, you're gonna say, 'This is the one case that this needs to happen.'
Some of those who were against the bill were concerned about the costs it would impose on taxpayers, while others believed it unconstitutional.
Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen of Idaho Falls initially opposed the bill but later changed her vote. Before voting, she expressed concerns about Idaho's spending and preferred waiting for the Supreme Court's decisions on similar cases. However, she didn't explain her change of heart.
Following Mickelsen's reversal, Rep. Jack Nelsen from Jerome was the only Republican to oppose the bill. He cited concerns about taxpayer money and believed waiting for court decisions, like Florida's case, was a wiser choice.
Meanwhile, Rep. John Gannon of Boise refused to support the bill, citing concerns about its constitutionality and doubting any reversal by the Supreme Court. He advocated for using funds to hire more detectives for crime solving.
Rep. Skaug remained unconcerned about the costs.
The victims forever live in fear of the release of their perpetrators, and many of these perpetrators are repeat criminals of this type of crime. I believe this is worth the fight.
Rep. Chris Mathias, representing Boise, told House lawmakers that the bill would make life too easy for inmates who didn't deserve the luxury of a quick death.
Mathias explained that the people who commit these types of heinous crimes are the "least favored inmates" and that they live in "constant fear, constant duress, constant threats, constant intimidation, and that is the life that they should live.
What this bill will do is say, ‘You know what? Let's take you out of gen pop. Let's give you your own cell in your own wing where you don't have to worry about any of that anymore. We're going to extend your life by some years while you go through the million dollar appeals process to get through the Ninth Circuit all the way to the Supreme Court, in hopes that maybe the law will be overturned. And we are going to relieve the worst people in our society of the burden that they should carry for the rest of their life.'
Rebecca De León, spokesperson for the ACLU of Idaho, also labeled the bill as "blatantly and admittedly unconstitutional" in a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun. De León believes that the most effective deterrent for sexual assault crimes is sex education, stating that the death penalty fails to stop violent crimes.
Sex education will stop sick child rapists?
The one group that maybe more upset than the ACLU is, you know, sex offenders themselves.
Them and the normal, run-of-the-mill, LGBT advocate.
The death penalty is a tough one, I understand. I also recognize that pedophiles may endure greater suffering while rotting in jail, facing daily harassment, rather than being on death row.
But I think I will count this as a win for Idaho.
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