Tennessee Governor Bill Lee Signs Bill Allowing the Death Penalty to be Considered in Child Rape Cases

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill to authorize the death penalty in child rape cases into law last week. The law now goes into effect on July 1.

The bill, SB 1834/HB 1663, authorizes the death penalty as a punishment for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.

State Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston), one of the senators who sponsored the bill, applauded the governor for approving the bill, writing on X, “Child rape is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable.”

Child rape is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Our bill gives the DAG another tool to fight this horrible crime. I wont rest in my effort to protect our children Thank you ⁦@GovBillLee⁩ ⁦@SenJohnson⁩ ⁦@TNFaithFreedom⁩ https://t.co/TkLvuP3lM0

— Ken Yager (@YagerTweets) May 15, 2024

“Our bill gives the DAG [district attorney general] another tool to fight this horrible crime. I won’t rest in my effort to protect our children,” Yager added.

Yager further championed the bill’s passage during a recent episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, saying the bill was about “protecting our children, our future.”

“I can’t think of a worse crime than to abuse a child, to rape a child. That’s what it’s all about. The Bible says you’d be better off if you had a millstone about your neck if you mess with children, and I agree. It is a horrendous crime that leaves lasting scars. So I decided to make it a little tougher…I think that there are some of these cases that deserve the death penalty and that the court ought to have the discretion and the jury to make that decision,” Yager said.

“It’s all about protecting our children, our future. We don’t need to scar them for life as we try to prepare them to lead. I’m just really pretty passionate about protecting our children and I really think that putting the death penalty on the table may offer a deterrent,” Yager added.

After the bill was passed last month by the Tennessee General Assembly, the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition – which helped craft the bill as part of the organization’s work to end human trafficking – applauded lawmakers’ efforts in working to pass the bill.

“Child rapists are not welcome in Tennessee,” the organization said.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee.