Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) Monday signed three bills into law that allow prosecutors, juries and judges to get tougher on certain types of criminals.
One bill allows for the death penalty for child rapists. Those convicted of sexual battery against a minor under 12 could be put to death under the bill.
DeSantis said child rapists are incurable and a particularly evil kind of predator.
"If they do that once, chances are they will do it again unless they are stopped, unless they are incapacitated, said DeSantis.
But, that new law will likely be challenged in court. Federal law only allows for the death penalty in capital cases– such as murder, treason, genocide, or the killing or kidnapping of a Congressman, the President, or a Supreme Court justice.
The second bill signed by DeSantis would create a statewide, uniform code for bail and bond amounts. DeSantis rued judges with latitude currently to under-impose bond amounts for serious crimes---sometimes even not requiring bond at all.
"That is, I think, going to prevent some very pro-criminal judges from releasing some people back on the street who should not be released without having to post a bond."
The state supreme court will draw up the new bond amount table by crime by the end of 2023.
One other bill signed by the governor aims to severely punish drug dealers; specifically those who lace candy with the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl and then push the drug to children.
DeSantis said unlike other classes of drugs, one tiny dose of fentanyl can kill, and fentanyl dealers know that. "They need to be treated like murderers, because they are murdering people, and if you are messing with children, you are going to have the book thrown at you 100 percent," warned the governor.
The new provides for harsh mandatory minimum sentences up to and including life in prison.
DeSantis signed the three bills in front of a law enforcement contingency at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville.
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