08 April 2021 :

Bill calling for death for child rape falters----Public-defender cost raised as concern
A bill proposing to make the rape of a child punishable by death in Arkansas was voted down Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee after concerns were raised about the cost. The U.S. Supreme Court declared in 2008 that the death penalty is an unconstitutional punishment for the crime of raping a child. Senate Bill 284, by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, "is directly challenging that decision," the senator told the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Garner said that new appointments of conservative justices to the high court in recent years present the opportunity to reverse the precedent. If enacted and upheld, SB284 would allow prosecutors to charge someone with the offense of capital rape for having sex with someone under the age of 14 along with other aggravating circumstances, such as causing serious injury or engaging in sex trafficking. The offense of capital rape would be punishable by death or life in prison without parole. The committee declined to send SB284 to the House floor on a voice vote. The bill had passed in the Senate on a 27-1 vote last month.

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/apr/07/bill-calling-for-death-for-child-rape-falters/