DeSantis signs death penalty, crime bills as 2024 run looms

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida bill allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions now has the governor’s signature, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning capital punishment in such cases. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the the bill Monday along with two other components of his criminal justice legislative package. The governor is leaning into an aggressive conservative agenda ahead of his expected presidential candidacy as he seeks to bolster support among the Republican base. The death penalty law DeSantis signed, which goes into effect in October, is intended to prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that found it unconstitutional to use capital punishment in child sexual battery cases.