MONTGOMERY — Alabama lawmakers will try again to pass legislation in the 2026 legislative session that would make child rapists eligible for the death penalty in the wake of horrific child sex abuse cases in Bibb County.
Legislation filed by State Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) overwhelmingly passed the House in the 2025 session but died in the Senate without a vote.
The bill would’ve required that a person 18 or older convicted of rape in the first degree or sodomy in the first degree, when the victim is under 12, be given a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. If the offender is under 18, the sentence is life imprisonment without parole or life.
Simpson and State Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield) said at a press conference on Thursday in Montgomery that the bill would be re-filed again in the 2026 session.
“In my opinion, this is the worst of the worst of offenses, taking advantage and taking the innocence of children under the age of 12 is one of the worst things, if not the worst, someone can do. Because it is one of the worst offenses, it deserves the worst of the worst punishments,” Simpson said. “I feel confident that the time is now for Alabama to act. In 2023, Florida passed similar legislation. In 2024, Tennessee did the same. Already in 2025, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Arkansas have passed similar legislation. Alabama needs to be on this list.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said his office would defend the law in court if passed next session.
“Let's acknowledge this up front: this is not the first time that Alabama has considered the question of capital punishment for these types of cases. In fact, that at one point in time was the law. We know the Supreme Court acted back in 2008 to invalidate the efforts of states to be able to engage in capital punishment per a case in which there was no death, but there's a time to reevaluate the analysis that the Supreme Court used, as well as the importance that states have placed upon this issue moving forward,” Marshall said. “Let's be clear that if, in fact, this is passed, there'll be work done legally to be able to allow this to be enforceable. I can tell you that if it occurs during my tenure as attorney general, we will make sure that we are defending this law as we have done many others that the legislature has passed to be able to send a clear message about not only the intent of the legislature and protecting kids, but the public policy in our state as how we hold those who hurt our children accountable.”
Weaver said the bill would “move quickly” at the beginning of the next legislative session.
“And the difference from last year, until this year, is last year, the bill didn't have as much steam behind it early on,” Weaver said. “It got caught up in some filibusters and some things that really got off track late in the legislative session. As I said before, I have had discussions with Senate leadership. Representative Simpson has had discussions with House leadership. The amount of support that I have received from my Republican colleagues has been amazing. And as a matter of fact, one of the reasons that we are not filing the bill today is because we want to give our colleagues the opportunity to co-sponsor this bill. We’ve just had a lot of support. I can tell you from the conversations that we've both had, we believe that this bill will move quickly, will move fast and will be moving in both chambers at the beginning of the legislative session early.”
Gov. Kay Ivey also signaled her support for the bill.
Ivey said on X, “We have to do everything in our power to protect Alabama’s children.”
“I look forward to fully supporting the bill by Rep. Matt Simpson & Sen. April Weaver to allow the death penalty for those who rape or sodomize a child,” she added.
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