Articles of Interest: Op-ed says new Tennessee law that expands the death penal­ty to child rape ​“cre­ates more prob­lems than it solves.”

A July 7, 2024 op-ed in the Tennessean argues that the recent enaction of SB 1834, which makes the rape of a child punishable by death, “does more harm than good.” Sarah McGee (pictured), coordinator for Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, explains that during her work as a victim-witness coordinator for Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, probation officer, and assistant public defender, she  “learned that when child service providers and experts, the people caring for these children every day all over our state, have repeatedly stated that this legislation will not make children safer but will instead keep children from reporting the crime at all, or could even endanger their lives, we should heed their expert advice.” 

Experts warn that SB 1834, which is effective as of July 1, 2024, will lead to drastic under-reporting by the child-victims and might inadvertently encourage perpetrators to kill their victims since the punishment is now the same for both murder and rape. Despite Supreme Court precedent finding that the death penalty for non-homicide crimes is unconstitutional, SB 1834 passed the Senate 24-5 and the House 77-19. Ms. McGee describes issues with the “inherently flawed” capital punishment system, such as the risk of wrongful conviction and the high costs. She points to the failed efforts of two legislators to amend the bill—one seeking to mitigate the risk of wrongful convictions by requiring bodily injury or physical evidence be present to corroborate the charge and another proposing trauma support services for the child victims and their families.