For the first time since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis passed a law that would allow convicted child rapists to receive the death penalty, a state prosecutor is pursuing that sentence, in a case that’s set to challenge a decision the Supreme Court has upheld for more than 45 years.
State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson of Florida’s 5th Judicial Circuit announced the grand jury indictment of Joseph Andrew Giampa on Dec. 14 and the intent to seek the death penalty. Mr. Giampa is being held in Lake County Jail in central Florida and has been indicted with six counts of sexual battery upon a person younger than 12 years of age and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child.
“The decision to pursue the highest penalty reflects the gravity of the charges and the State Attorney’s Office’s dedication to holding criminals accountable for their actions,” the court said in a statement. “The State Attorney’s Office acknowledges the sensitivity of this matter and the impact it has on the community. Our commitment to ensuring justice and protecting the vulnerable remains unwavering.”
Florida Statute 794.011 states that “a person 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age commits a capital felony.”
It goes on to state that if a prosecutor intends to seek the death penalty, that prosecutor must notify the court within 45 days of the arraignment and include a list of the “aggravating factors” the state looks to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mr. DeSantis confirmed on the night of the announcement that this would be the first exercise of the new legislation since he signed it on X, formerly known as Twitter.
However, in pursuing this new state law, Mr. DeSantis also confirmed that Mr. Gladson will be challenging a long-standing U.S. Supreme Court decision that protected convicted rapists from facing the death penalty.
Challenging the Supreme Court
In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 to overturn a death penalty sentence in the case Coker v. Georgia. Ehrlich Anthony Coker was convicted of raping an adult woman, armed robbery, and other offenses by a Georgia court, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed both the conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court would overturn the death penalty, however, stating that the ruling violated the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits punishments that are found “excessive” compared to the crime committed.“Although rape deserves serious punishment, the death penalty, which is unique in its severity and irrevocability, is an excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such and as opposed to the murderer, does not unjustifiably take human life,” the court stated.
“The Eighth Amendment bars Louisiana from imposing the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim’s death,” the court stated.
But the ruling went even further to say that “sentencing a defendant to death for any crime other than homicide or crimes against the state is unconstitutional,” violating the Eighth Amendment.
Mr. DeSantis previously spoke out against the Supreme Court’s precedent but is confident that his state’s legislation would be upheld if this case goes that far.
“We believe that precedent was wrong,“ he said. ”We do not believe the Supreme Court in its current iteration would uphold it.”
Mr. Gladson’s office didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’s questions before publication.
The last person in the United States to be executed for any form of rape, according to the Supreme Court, was in 1964.
