Rejected petition Reintroduce the death penalty for people convicted of raping a child

We call on the Government to reintroduce the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child. Life imprisonment is the current maximum sentence, but we believe the severity of this crime warrants the ultimate penalty to deter offenders and protect children.

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Victims of child rape suffer lifelong trauma, yet offenders often serve only part of their sentence before release. Keeping them in prison long-term also costs taxpayers millions. We believe these funds should go to victim support, child protection, and prevention. The death penalty would deliver justice, deter such crimes, and ensure offenders can never harm another child again.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

Reinstate capital punishment for those convicted of sexually abusing of a child
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/739802

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 10 August 2025
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