ABC 33/40 published July 31, 2025: Alabama legislators propose expanding death penalty to cover child sex abuse cases.
WHNT News 19 published July 31, 2025: Alabama Lawmakers Want the Death Penalty For Child Sex Crimes.
Lawmakers announced a proposed bill Thursday that would allow the death penalty to be given to criminals who commit rape or sodomy of children under the age of twelve.
WVTM13 NBC News, Alabama local
written by Taylor Lang and Ryan Lovell
Thursday July 31, 2025
Montgomery, Alabama - Alabama lawmakers held a news conference to propose extending the death penalty to individuals convicted of sexually assaulting children on Thursday.
This comes after a child sex trafficking ring was found in a storm shelter in Bibb County, Alabama.
"The time is now for Alabama to act," Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, said.
What we know
- It involved at least ten victims and has been happening for at least two years in an underground storm shelter.
- The investigation, which was announced on July 19, 2025, but began months earlier in February, has led to the arrest of seven suspects, with more arrests and charges expected.
- The Department of Homeland Security is assisting in the investigation, including looking into possible gang ties and the immigration status of the suspects.
Simpson and Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, spoke about their legislation, along with Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
The proposed bill grants prosecutors the authority to seek the death penalty for individuals convicted of raping or sodomizing children under the age of 12, according to the news release.
"I defy anyone, anywhere, with any conscious or any sense of morals to look at this case and others like it to argue the death penalty is not appropriate," Weaver said. Stealing the innocence of a child, destroying their future before they have a chance to live it and subjecting them to the kind of pain and torture that few of among us can even comprehend should put you on the express line to the death chamber and get you fitted for a nitrogen hypoxia gas mask before the judge has finished banging their gavel."
These changes would not be able to work retroactively if passed, which means none of the Bibb County suspects would face the death penalty.
Changing the death penalty
Currently, under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2008, the death penalty is reserved for cases involving the loss of life, such as murder. Legislators are advocating for this action despite existing precedents, aiming to push the Supreme Court for reconsideration.
Similar laws have recently been enacted or are in the legislation process in Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Authorities believe there may be additional suspects and victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bibb County Sheriff's Office at 205-926-4683.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Sexual Abuse Hotline by calling 1-800-656-4673.
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