This week, state senators passed a bill that would allow those convicted of child rape to be sentenced to death, in addition to those convicted of first-degree murder, potentially adding to death row.
Tennessee s GOP-controlled Senate advanced legislation on Tuesday allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions as critics raised concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned capital punishment in such cases.
One of the factors cited by Judge K Soman to impose the severe penalties was the alleged involvement of the accused in another child sexual abuse case, where the victim was a 10-year-old child from Delhi.
The Supreme Court has placed great importance on the crime and criminal tests that examine the aggravating and mitigating circumstances surrounding a case.