Tennessee now joins Florida, becoming the second state in the country to pass a new law, giving prosecutors the option to seek the death penalty for convicted child rapists.
The death penalty has been on hold in Tennessee since 2022 after scrutiny over botched executions. It called into question how drug manufacturers and compound pharmacies were producing, shipping and storing lethal injection drugs. There are fundamental political differences on the issue. Some democratic critics say the new law will only further traumatize child victims and leave them with unintended suffering and consequences by obligating them to participate in the lengthy appeals process if the convicted rapist is sentenced to death. They believe a life-in-prison sentence is a more suitable option for everyone.