Put Minor Attracted Rapists Out of Their Misery

This week Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that would make the rape of children under the age of 12 a capital offense, thus making offenders subject to the ultimate penalty — death.

"In Florida, we stand for the protection of children," DeSantis said at a Monday signing ceremony.

And he set into motion a future Supreme Court challenge to a 2008 case that struck down a similar provision.

"We think that decision was wrong," DeSantis added. "This bill sets up a procedure to be able to challenge that precedent."

And how the court eventually rules in that future case will set the course for America's moral direction.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill, 34-5, after Lauren Book, the Democratic Senate minority leader, threw her support behind it. She made what attorney, businessman, and Republican strategist Ford O'Connell observed was a unique argument.

Book is a survivor of a sexual assault when she was a child. She gave an impassioned speech during a committee hearing describing her daily struggle with the trauma she faced from her decades-old attack.

"There is no statute of limitations that a victim suffers. This is a life sentence that is handed down to young children. We're talking about the youngest of the young in this bill. I was one of those kids," said Book.

And the time for this new law is ripe, according to O'Connell, who is also a regular Newsmax TV contributor.

"I do think that DeSantis and the legislature are right to push this, particularly at a time when prosecutors and judges are in effect taking over the role of the jurors," he said.

The Florida law contradicts Kennedy v. Louisiana, a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishments clause prohibits imposing the death penalty for any crime where the victim didn't die, or the perpetrator did not intend that the victim die.

However, that landmark decision was narrowly decided (5-4), and every justice in the majority is no longer sitting there. They include Justice Anthony Kennedy (who wrote the majority opinion), plus Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.

Most have been replaced by conservatives, giving the court what is arguably a 6-3 conservative majority.

For that reason, Ohio State University Law Professor Joshua Dressler told the Daily Caller that the current court will likely strike down the Kennedy decision.

"Child rape is a crime so heinous that I doubt they would worry about public condemnation of such a ruling," he said. "They did not worry about overruling Roe v. Wade even though the majority of Americans favor the right to abortion."

Of the four dissenting justices, only Justice Antonin Scalia is missing. The others are Justice Samuel Alito (who drafted the dissenting opinion), joined by Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts.

O'Connell believes that win, lose or draw, it's right for Florida to at least try.

"Again, I think it's smart to push the envelope. I think what's disheartening to a lot of people is the application of the law right now, at a time when the law's not being equally applied. And you have rogue DAs and judges who don't seem to be following the laws that they swore to follow."

It's important to set the moral direction of the country as well.

Although it's a safe bet that the current court would reverse the Kennedy decision and approve the new Florida law, it could be years away and a different court.

Before the appeal process can even begin, someone has to be found guilty and sentenced to death under the new law.

But assuming the future court gives the law its blessing, it will cast in stark contrast "us versus them." And if Florida represents "us," Minnesota might very well be what "them" looks like.

Last week a transgender state lawmaker in the North Star State introduced the "Take Pride Act," a bill that would make pedophiles a protected class under the state's Human Rights Act on the basis of "sexual orientation," similar to being straight or gay.

But that's nothing new. Seven years ago a British criminal psychologist also argued that pedophilia should be considered a "sexual orientation."

And in September a Texas high school teacher was captured on video instructing her students that using the term "pedophile" is pejorative.

"We're gonna call them MAPs, minor attracted persons," she said. "So don't judge people just because they wanna have sex with a 5-year-old."

When the Supreme Court eventually takes up the case, its decision will determine who we are: Do we severely punish pedophiles, or do we treat them as equals?

All things considered, Florida has the better idea: Put them out of their misery.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here