[Premiering 5/8 at 2PM ET] Death Penalty for Child Rapists: New Law Goes into Effect in Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed a new bill into law that will authorize the death penalty for child rapists within his state.

The new bill is called HB 1297, and it overwhelmingly passed the Florida legislature last month. In the Florida House, it passed 95–14, and in the Florida Senate, it passed 34–5.

And now that it’s officially on the books, this new law will allow those individuals who have been found guilty of raping children under the age of 12 to be sentenced to execution.

This death sentence does not require a unanimous jury decision. What this will mean in practice is that in the state of Florida, a prosecutor will only need the approval of 8 out of 12 jurors to be able to go ahead with a sentence of capital punishment.