A bill to impose the death penalty in child sex abuse cases passed the Alabama State Senate by a resounding bi-partisan vote of 33-1, and Gov. Kay Ivey has indicated she will sign it. Like a law passed in Florida in 2023, this directly seeks to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2008 prohibition of the death penalty in such cases in Kennedy v. Louisiana. In that case, the Court’s ruling specifically cited the harm done to children by forcing them to testify repeatedly as is necessary in capital trials. But apparently the public passion for vengeance is more important than the welfare of an already traumatized child.
In a tweet on X (@IlhanMN), progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) praised her native Somalia for executing pedophiles.
The same goal is also being pursued in a different way in a bill introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), HR 11, named the CLEAN Act (Criminals’ Loss of Eligibility and Assistance Networks Act). Despite its title, it targets only this one class of criminals. Rob a bank with an unregistered firearm? You get healthcare. Urinate in the alleyway next to the bank? You won’t. It would bar these individuals, most of whom are poor and unemployable due to the public sex offender registry, from receiving either Medicaid or ACA subsidies. The intent is clearly punitive. By effectively denying health care, the message is clear: “These people are better off dying so we can have a CLEAN society.” When politicians whip up dehumanizing attitudes to curry public favor, is it any wonder that vigilantes feel socially validated in hastening the same end result?
