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steveonet · 01-17-2005, 03:52 PM

Legislator suggests making child sodomy a crime punishable by death.

ATLANTA - People convicted of sodomizing children in Georgia could face the death penalty under a bill introduced Wednesday by a freshman Republican legislator.

If approved, the measure by Rep. Timothy Bearden of Villa Rica would make Georgia the second state to consider child sodomy a crime punishable by death. Louisiana is the only state where child sodomizers can be put to death now, although it's never been carried out there.

A Georgia law banning sodomy among consenting adults was overturned by the state Supreme Court in 1998. It is still a crime to commit sodomy with a child under age 10; Bearden's bill would raise that to age 12.

The lawmaker said he was inspired to write the bill because he once worked in law enforcement and wanted to increase penalties for crimes against children.

"Seeing the victims and seeing the predators that commit this crime, that's what I was thinking about on this," he said.

Current law calls for people convicted of aggravated sodomy - forcible sodomy - to serve 10 years to 30 years in prison. Bearden's bill would add a caveat to that sentence, calling for sodomizers to receive life in prison or the death penalty if the victim is less than 12 years old.

Georgia currently has only four capital crimes: murder, kidnapping with bodily injury or ransom where the victim dies, aircraft hijacking and treason.

In Louisiana, state legislators voted in 1995 to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the rape of a child under 12. That law is controversial, and no child rapists have been put to death, said law professor Stuart Green of Louisiana State University.

First, Green said, making child rape or sodomy a capital crime could create an incentive for child rapists to kill their victims, the best witnesses against them. Also, he said, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled (in a Georgia case) that rape cannot be a capital crime, although that ruling applies only to the rape of adults.

Louisiana's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for child rape, but questions over the law's validity have lingered, Green said.

"It's been controversial since the beginning," he said. "The controversy probably explains why it's never been applied."

The Louisiana law was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

The Georgia sodomy bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Bearden is a member.

There were no co-signers on his measure, and the odds are traditionally long for substantive bills proposed by freshmen lawmakers. In a sign Bearden isn't afraid of throwing out long-shot proposals, he also introduced a bill allowing the revival of the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag, something leaders from both parties say won't be considered.

ON THE NET

Read House Bill 13: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2...ltext/hb13.htm

I for one, am all for this...I'm not a parent....and I'm not particularly an advocate of the death penalty in so many words...but I DO believe that anyone that would harm a child should get what they got coming to them...

01-17-2005, 03:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
steveonet Upright	Child Sodomy Punishable By Death? Legislator suggests making child sodomy a crime punishable by death. ATLANTA - People convicted of sodomizing children in Georgia could face the death penalty under a bill introduced Wednesday by a freshman Republican legislator. If approved, the measure by Rep. Timothy Bearden of Villa Rica would make Georgia the second state to consider child sodomy a crime punishable by death. Louisiana is the only state where child sodomizers can be put to death now, although it's never been carried out there. A Georgia law banning sodomy among consenting adults was overturned by the state Supreme Court in 1998. It is still a crime to commit sodomy with a child under age 10; Bearden's bill would raise that to age 12. The lawmaker said he was inspired to write the bill because he once worked in law enforcement and wanted to increase penalties for crimes against children. "Seeing the victims and seeing the predators that commit this crime, that's what I was thinking about on this," he said. Current law calls for people convicted of aggravated sodomy - forcible sodomy - to serve 10 years to 30 years in prison. Bearden's bill would add a caveat to that sentence, calling for sodomizers to receive life in prison or the death penalty if the victim is less than 12 years old. Georgia currently has only four capital crimes: murder, kidnapping with bodily injury or ransom where the victim dies, aircraft hijacking and treason. In Louisiana, state legislators voted in 1995 to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the rape of a child under 12. That law is controversial, and no child rapists have been put to death, said law professor Stuart Green of Louisiana State University. First, Green said, making child rape or sodomy a capital crime could create an incentive for child rapists to kill their victims, the best witnesses against them. Also, he said, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled (in a Georgia case) that rape cannot be a capital crime, although that ruling applies only to the rape of adults. Louisiana's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for child rape, but questions over the law's validity have lingered, Green said. "It's been controversial since the beginning," he said. "The controversy probably explains why it's never been applied." The Louisiana law was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. The Georgia sodomy bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Bearden is a member. There were no co-signers on his measure, and the odds are traditionally long for substantive bills proposed by freshmen lawmakers. In a sign Bearden isn't afraid of throwing out long-shot proposals, he also introduced a bill allowing the revival of the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag, something leaders from both parties say won't be considered. ON THE NET Read House Bill 13: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2...ltext/hb13.htm I for one, am all for this...I'm not a parent....and I'm not particularly an advocate of the death penalty in so many words...but I DO believe that anyone that would harm a child should get what they got coming to them... __________________ "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei CAT FOOD DUDE! Steve-O-Wabo's Home Page