Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act

Summary

Makes certain federal and military sexual-abuse offenses against children eligible for the death penalty. The bill amends several federal criminal statutes to add "death" as an authorized punishment for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, and certain abusive sexual contact offenses against children, and it adds child rape under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to the list of offenses punishable by death. It also includes a standard severability clause so that if one part is struck down, the rest remains in effect. This change directly affects defendants prosecuted under federal criminal law and the military justice system, and it will affect prosecutors, defense counsel, courts, and victims. It does not specify funding, new procedures, or an effective date in the text provided and will likely raise constitutional and procedural issues (capital-sentencing process, appeals, and federal death-penalty administration).

• Authorizes the death penalty for specified federal sexual-abuse crimes against children by amending key sections of Title 18.
• Adds offenses described in 18 U.S.C. § 2241, § 2243, and § 2244 against a child to the list of capital-eligible crimes under 18 U.S.C. § 3591.
• Authorizes the death penalty for rape of a child under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (10 U.S.C. § 920b(a)).
• Includes a severability provision so remaining provisions survive if one part is invalidated.
• Does not specify funding, an effective date, or changes to federal capital-procedure rules in the provided text.
• Directly affects defendants prosecuted in federal courts and by the military, and impacts prosecutors, defense counsel, judges, and victims.
• Likely to increase the number and complexity of capital prosecutions in federal and military systems if applied.
• Expected to generate constitutional and procedural litigation challenging its application and scope.