Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7702

Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act

Congress Proposes Death Penalty for Federal Crimes Involving Sexual Abuse of Children

Feb 25·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently sitting in the House Judiciary and Armed Services committees. Nothing has happened with the bill since February 2026, which is a period of four months. It is not moving forward at this time because most bills like this do not receive a committee vote.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill, introduced in Congress, would change federal law to allow the death penalty for people convicted of certain sexual crimes against children. Currently, the maximum federal punishment for these crimes is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The new rules would apply to federal criminal cases and the military justice system. It covers several types of serious offenses, including aggravated sexual abuse and certain types of abusive sexual contact when the victim is a minor.
The goal of the bill is to provide the harshest possible punishment for those who commit serious sexual crimes against children. Supporters believe this will act as a stronger deterrent and provide a different level of justice for victims and their families.
If this bill becomes law, it will likely face major challenges in the court system. In the past, the Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be used for crimes where the victim did not die, so judges would have to decide if this new law is allowed under the Constitution.

Criminal Justice

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works

People convicted of federal sexual abuse crimes against children would face dramatically harsher penalties, up to and including execution. Currently, the maximum sentence for these offenses is life in prison; this bill would add the death penalty as a possible punishment for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, and abusive sexual contact involving children.

-4

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

-4

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Broader Impacts

DomainScoreShort-termLong-termReversibilityConfidence

Score

Scores: -5 (harmful) to +5 (beneficial)Short-term: 0-2 yearsLong-term: 10-30 years

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 25, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Feb 25, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

News

news_articleRight

GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces 'Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act'

news_articleCenter Left

Death penalty would expand under new bill

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act

Bill NumberHR 7702

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Political Response

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.