A bill to expand South Carolina’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment statute so that those who are con­vict­ed a sec­ond time of rap­ing chil­dren under 11 are eli­gi­ble for the death penal­ty has drawn crit­i­cism from those who wor­ry the bill may result in unin­tend­ed con­se­quences. Fears that the leg­is­la­tion will lead to fam­i­ly mem­bers refus­ing to come for­ward regard­ing intra-fam­i­ly offens­es and that it may also result in more rape vic­tims being killed are among the chief con­cerns regard­ing the pro­posed leg­is­la­tion. The bill has been approved by the South Carolina Senate and will soon be con­sid­ered by leg­is­la­tors in the House. Kent Scheidegger, legal direc­tor of the pro-death penal­ty Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in California, said that a state should­n’t impose the death penal­ty for twice con­vict­ed sex offend­ers ​“sim­ply to give the rapist an incen­tive not to kill the vic­tim.” DPIC Executive Director Richard Dieter agreed, adding, ​“It may actu­al­ly cre­ate more death because the per­son fac­ing the death pen­laty for this kind of offense might be inclined to say, ​‘No greater pun­ish­ment incurred if I kill the victim’.” 

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the death penal­ty can’t be used in cas­es involv­ing adult rapes, but it has not weighed in the issue of impos­ing the death penal­ty on those who com­mit child rapes. South Carolina Representative Fletcher Smith said that he believes the pro­posed bill won’t meet con­sti­tu­tion­al stan­dards regard­ing the death penal­ty because a death is not involved.

(Associated Press, April 4, 2006) See Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty and Recent Legislative Activity.

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