Given the severity of the crime and its impact on the community, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office has filed a notice that it intends to seek the death penalty pursuant to Florida Statutes 794.011(2)(a) and 921.1425.

The decision to pursue the highest penalty reflects the gravity of the charges and the State Attorney’s Office’s dedication to holding criminals accountable for their actions. The State Attorney's Office acknowledges the sensitivity of this matter and the impact it has on the community. Our commitment to ensuring justice and protecting the vulnerable remains unwavering.

It' is's also likely to set off constitutional challenges as current Supreme Court precedent does not allow capital punishment for rape.

The court ruled in 1977 that applying the penalty in cases of rape violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The court once again ruled in 2008 that the punishment was unconstitutional in cases of child rape that don’t result in the death of the victim.

Despite this, lawmakers in Florida passed a bill making sexual battery of a child eligible for the death penalty.

The Florida bill stated that prior high court rulings on the matter were “wrongly decided, and that such cases are an egregious infringement of the states’ power to punish the most heinous of crimes.” -The Messenger