Idaho House Approves Death Penalty For Certain Sex Crimes Against Children

Pedophiles in Idaho have more to worry about than getting shanked in prison...

A new bill which just passed the House by a vote of 51-11 would allow for the death penalty for those found guilty of lewd conduct with children under the age of 12 with aggravating circumstances.

According to co-sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), the death penalty would be reserved for heinous cases, such as repeat offenders.

"There is a deep, dark, dark side in our culture. And it’s our job to protect the children. There are times when things are so wicked that retribution is appropriate," said Skaug, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.

Currently, Idaho only allows for the death penalty in the case of first-degree murder.

Unconstitutional?

In 2008, the US Supreme Court blocked the death penalty for a child rapist in Kennedy v. Louisiana, raising concerns that Idaho's bill - should it become law, would be struck down.

"Well there’s constitutional and there’s constitutional. Depends on the court of the day," said Skaug, an attorney, adding "It would be very rare that this case would happen. It’d be very rare that a prosecutor would take this kind of case and ask for the death penalty, but it will happen. And I say to you that when you see that case, you read about it in the newspaper, you’re gonna say, ‘This is the one case that this needs to happen,’"

The only Republican lawmaker to vote against the bill, Rep. Jack Nelson, said of his decision: "My concern is judicious use of taxpayer money. Florida already passed this. It’s obviously in the courts. I see no reason to spend hard-earned Idaho taxpayer’s dollars on a bill that’s a little bit of time and patience, we’ll know what the outcome is."

The ACLU of Idaho called the bill "blatantly and admittedly unconstitutional."

"House Bill 515 and any iterations of (it) have already been litigated in our country’s highest court, and found to be unconstitutional. Our lawmakers should exercise a healthy respect for laws, law enforcement, and judicial review. This bill spits on the checks and balances our country was founded on," said spokesperson Rebecca De León.

Of course the ACLU is against it.