Most people in Miami probably think of the death penalty as a touchy issue, but one that really only affects murderers. Historically, capital punishment has been imposed for a range of offenses. In fact, it was only in 1977 that the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was no longer acceptable for a state to impose the death penalty on a person convicted of the rape of an adult. In Coker v. Georgia, a 16-year-old was raped and her attacker was sentenced to death. Because the rape of an older teenager is punished similarly or identically to the rape of an adult in most or all states - and typically less severely than a sex offense on a child under the age of 12 - the case has been read as applying to situations in which the victim was an adult.
More recently, there was a movement to re-impose the death penalty on those convicted of child sex offenses. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that this was unconstitutional last year.
Florida led the nation in strict sentencing for child sex offenders and sexual predators. Jessica's Law was enacted by the state legislature four years ago, prompting many other states to consider similar legislation. The law - which was named after Jessica Lunsford, a nine-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Homohassa - requires lifetime electronic monitoring of those convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a victim under the age of 12, along with a 25 year mandatory minimum sentence. Additionally, rape and sexual battery on a child under 12 years of age carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Jessica's killer had previously been convicted of a child sex offense.
