Florida Child Sex Abuse Death Penalty Cases Set Up Potential Supreme Court Test
Two criminal prosecutions in Florida could place the state on a collision course with the United States Supreme Court over whether the death penalty may be imposed for child sexual abuse, despite a 2008 ruling that declared such punishment unconstitutional.
Prosecutors in Palm Beach County have filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Josue Mendez-Sales and his roommate, Pablo Cobon-Mendez, who are accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a six-year-old girl. The decision was reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel and republished by the Tampa Bay Times.
In a separate case, prosecutors in Putnam County, Florida, announced in June that they will pursue the death penalty against Dimeco Henderson, who is accused of sexually abusing two children over a three-year period.
These cases arise from a 2023 Florida law authorizing the death penalty for child rape. The law makes Florida the first state to enact such a statute since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana in 2008 that imposing capital punishment for the rape of a child violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment.
The 2008 decision was narrowly decided by a 5–4 vote. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has since retired, wrote the majority opinion. The four justices who joined that opinion are no longer on the Court, while three of the four dissenting justices remain: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Since Florida passed its law, several other states have followed. Tennessee enacted a similar statute in 2024. In 2025, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Arkansas also passed laws authorizing the death penalty for child rape. However, Florida appears to be the only state actively seeking capital punishment in pending child sex abuse trials, according to Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based nonprofit.
Supporters of the Florida law say it was drafted specifically to invite a new Supreme Court review. State Senator Jonathan Martin, a Republican from Fort Myers who sponsored the legislation, told the Sun Sentinel that Florida’s statute differs from the Louisiana law struck down in 2008. Unlike the earlier law, Florida’s statute includes a separate penalty phase that allows juries to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors before imposing a death sentence.
Critics warn that the legislation undermines constitutional limits and risks expanding capital punishment beyond its established boundaries.
Michelle Suskauer, a West Palm Beach defense attorney and former president of the Florida Bar, described the law as a dangerous escalation.
“Where will the line be drawn and what other charges will be included?” Suskauer said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. She questioned whether lawmakers might next seek the death penalty for child pornography offenses, rape, or kidnapping.
“So where does the line get drawn?” she said. “You keep moving the line. That’s a scary situation.”
If Florida courts allow either case to proceed to a capital sentencing phase, the resulting appeals could eventually bring the issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court, setting the stage for a possible reconsideration of its 2008 precedent and the constitutional limits of the death penalty in child sexual abuse cases.
