Lawmakers debate upping penalty for person convicted of child rape in South Dakota
PIERRE — Stronger penalties for people convicted of raping a child younger than 12 years old could be forthcoming, after a bill was passed out of a House of Representatives committee Friday.
HB 1192 would increase the penalty of raping a child from a maximum sentence of up to life in prison with the chance for parole to a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole. That’s after an amendment by Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, passed. Originally, the bill would’ve allowed for the death penalty to be sought in child rape cases.
Testimony from the Trial Lawyers Association and the Criminal Defense Lawyers Association against the bill before the amendment relied upon a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found it unconstitutional to sentence to someone to death for the rape of a child. That decision cited it was a cruel and unusual punishment.
“If it's a parent-child situation, where it is oftentimes incest, you essentially would have a child putting their father to death,” said Steve Siegel, a lobbyist for the Trial Laywers Association. “I think that would be a really heavy burden for the child to carry for the rest of her life.”
Rep. Ben Krohmer, R-Mitchell, who sponsored the bill, refuted the unconstitutionality of the decision saying that it could be overturned anytime, referencing a number of Supreme Court decisions overturned recently. He also cited a case making its way through a Florida court.
Currently in Florida, the state is pursuing the death penalty for a man accused of raping a child. The Florida statute was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May.
More: Florida prosecutor announces first death penalty case under new child rape law
“I think this bill is an important step to protecting our kids from the most heinous acts imaginable,” Krohmer said. “And as a state, we ought to be able to determine how we're going to punish these people.”
Worried about the constitutionality of the legislation, Reisch put forward the amendment to take the penalty down from a class A felony to a class B felony, requiring a mandatory life in prison sentence.
“I think people like this that go to prison for life sentences, the inmates know what the offense is,” he said. “I think that will be a very, very severe sentence indeed.”
Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, opposed the amendment saying that the 2008 Supreme Court case referenced was a 5-4 vote and that today, “it’s a wholly different court than before.”
HB 1195 passed with a 7-4 vote and now heads to the House floor for debate.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Raping a child could become a mandatory life sentence in South Dakota
