US Congresswoman Nancy Mace has put forward a new bill seeking to make the death penalty an applicable sentence for individuals convicted of r@ping or s%xually abusing children at the federal level.
The proposed legislation, dubbed the Death Penalty for Child R@pists Act, aims to extend capital punishment eligibility across several federal statutes related to child sexual offences, as well as to child rape cases prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In a statement accompanying the bill, Mace declared that those who exploit children deserve the most severe punishment the law can provide, expressing an unequivocal stance against leniency for such offenders.
Specifically, the proposal seeks to amend Title 18 of the US Code to make capital punishment available for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse of a minor, and abusive sexual contact involving a child — with the military justice system also falling within its scope.
Mace framed the bill as part of her continued push for greater accountability around s%xual abuse, tying it to her earlier calls for transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case and for consequences to be imposed on anyone found to have aided or worked alongside the convicted trafficker.
The legislation is, however, expected to face substantial legal and political challenges. In a 2008 ruling, the Supreme Court determined that executing someone for the r@pe of a child where the victim survives constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment — a precedent that could directly obstruct the bill’s path forward. Mace made no reference to this ruling in her announcement.
Whether the measure enjoys backing from House Republican leadership, or whether a companion bill will emerge in the Senate, remains unclear.