Donald Trump wants no mercy for convicted child rapists and traffickers.
The former president is expected to announce at a campaign stop Tuesday night that he’d like to see the death penalty be applied to criminals who fit that bill, the New York Post reported.
The paper acquired an advanced copy of his prepared remarks, which begin, “I am announcing today that I will be asking for the DEATH PENALTY for child rapists and child traffickers.”
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Trump is also reportedly set to announce in Michigan that, if elected, he’ll push for legislation that would make it a felony for any medical professional to “perform surgery on a minor without parental consent.”
The Post reported he’ll also urge law enforcement agencies to return to “stop and frisk” policing.
Stricter sentencing of those who sexually abuse children—or are complicit in that abuse—has grown in popularity among conservatives in recent years, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leading the charge.
Ron DeSantis bowed out of the presidential race in January. He’s since stumped for Donald Trump’s campaign, including a speech at last month’s RNC.
Jeenah Moon/ReutersDeSantis signed a bill last spring that makes sexual battery of a person under 12 a capital crime eligible for the death penalty.
A capital sentence for anything other than murder would likely land in front of the Supreme Court, legal experts have said.
Joseph Andrew Giampa, 36, may be the first person to face such a sentence should he be convicted. The Florida man was indicted in December on six counts of sexual battery upon a person under 12 years old and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child.
Prosecutors said Giampa filmed himself sexually abusing a boy.
State Attorney William Gladson said his office will pursue the death penalty given the “severity of the crime and its impact on the community.”
