TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills into law on Monday, one of which allows the death penalty for people who commit sexual batteries on children under 12.
The governor signed the legislation during a “Law & Order” news conference in Titusville, flanked by Brevard County deputies and Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
One of the bills addresses cash bail in Florida. While the governor said it would never be eliminated, he said changes needed to be made.
“We also need to do more to fortify because what happens is, you can have cash bail, like we do, you can have some judges who were more soft on crime, they can release people unnecessarily. And even though our rate’s at a 50-year low when you do see criminals, a lot of times they’ll have a rap sheet, a lot of times they do get released, and so there’s still work to be done. So we believe there should be a uniform bond schedule for the whole state,” he said.
Today, I signed legislation that will:
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 1, 2023
- Makes child rapists eligible for the death penalty with the minimum sentence of life in prison without parole
- Impose additional penalties on fentanyl and drug-related crimes targeted at children
- Protect Floridians from disastrous… pic.twitter.com/sO1mkcfm0a
The governor said the bill would categorize bail by offenses and “standardize things in a way that’s going to protect the public.”
“Now, you can’t do that under Florida’s constitution directly with legislation. So what this legislation is doing, is it’s having the Florida Supreme Court, establish a uniform statewide bond schedule by the end of this year. So that is gonna, I think, prevent some very pro criminal judges from releasing people back on the street who should not be released without having to post a bond,” he said.
Another bill signed by the governor offers the death penalty for people who commit sex batteries against children under 12.
“We think that in the worst of the worst cases, the only appropriate punishment is the ultimate punishment. And so this bill sets up a procedure to be able to challenge that precedent to be able to say that in Florida, we think that the worst of the worst crimes deserve the worst of the worst punishment and I think that that’s the only thing that’s appropriate.”
The final bill authorizes life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence for fentanyl traffickers.
DeSantis said the bills build upon previous legislation contributing to Florida’s safety, including 2021′s “anti-rioting” bill and bonuses for law enforcement.
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