The House passed a bill Tuesday (Jan. 27) to make the rape, sodomy or sexual torture of children younger than 12 a capital crime punishable by death. House Bill 41 — called the Child Predator Death Penalty Act — passed the House last year, but it never made it out of the Senate. Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, whose district includes Bibb County, is sponsoring the companion bill, Senate Bill 17. Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer, proposed an amendment that would change the punishment from the death penalty to a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The bill passed by a vote of 73-6, with 17 abstentions.