Joseph Giampa was indicted for 6 counts of sexual battery in Lake County
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A man who was facing the death penalty in a child rape case will instead serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Joseph Giampa was sentenced in a Lake County courtroom Friday.
Giampa was the first person in Florida to face the death penalty in a child rape case under a law passed by the Florida Legislature last year.
Giampa was indicted by a grand jury in December for six counts of sexual battery on a person under 12 years of age and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child.
According to the state attorney’s office, Giampa’s attorneys offered to take life in prison without parole, and prosecutors accepted the offer at the request of the victim’s family.
“Resolution in less than 100 days is proof that Florida’s capital punishment statute for sexual battery of children is effective,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson in a news release. “By passing this law, the Florida Legislature and the Governor have sent a message that Florida has zero tolerance for those who prey upon our most vulnerable and that the punishment will be certain, swift and severe.”
When he signed the bill into law back in May, DeSantis said the law sets up a potential challenge to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said using capital punishment in child sexual battery cases was unconstitutional. DeSantis wants the court to rethink that decision.
Source:
clickorlando.com, Christie Zizo, February 2, 2024
_____________________________________________________________________
SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY NEWS