Tennessee Law That Allows Death Penalty for Child Rapists Goes Into Effect

Florida was the first state to pass a law authorizing capital punishment in cases of child sexual abuse.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks in the East Room of the White House on April 30, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Tennessee joins Florida to become the second state to authorize the death penalty for child rapists.

In May, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed into law House Bill 1663, which allows the state to consider the death penalty as one of three punishments for those convicted of child rape. The law went into effect on Monday, July 1.