26 July 2025 :
July 23, 2025 - Arkansas. Imposition of death penalty for child rapists law goes in to effect in August
Act 662 is set to go into effect August 5, allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty against child rapists.
Senate Bill 375 passed the Senate on March 12, the House on April 9, and was signed by the governor (Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R.) on April 19, becoming Act 622
The statute stems from Arkansas Senate Bill 375 from the 2025 Regular Session, with state Sen. Matt Stone, a Republican from Camden.
The offense is called ‘capital rape’ and it applies to children aged 13 years or younger.
The last time an Arkansan was put on death row for the crime of rape was in 1956. Since then, a United States Supreme Court bench ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in the case of rape, saying it was a violation of Eighth Amendment rights in Kennedy vs. Louisiana.
Carter believes pre-existing court proceedings like Kennedy vs. Louisiana could present challenges with the law.
“Anybody that’s convicted of capital rape is certainly going to challenge the constitutionality of the statute and their conviction… That presents a challenge to prosecutors, because if the law’s overturned, you’re dealing with a situation where you’re going to have to try a case twice,” Carter said.
