Florida Bill Extending Death Penalty to Child Rapists Goes Into Effect

The new law is meant to challenge an earlier SCOTUS ruling barring the use of capital punishment in cases without death or intent to kill.

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's fall banquet in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 16, 2023. Bryon Houlgrave/AP Photo

A bill recently signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extending the death penalty to certain child rapists went into effect on Oct. 1.

The law (HB 1297) will make pedophiles convicted of sexual battery of a child under the age of 12 eligible for capital punishment or life imprisonment.