HB 1289: Crimes and offenses; offense of rape; modify provisions

Georgia's current rape law defines the crime narrowly: a man having forced sexual intercourse with a female, or with a female under age ten. This bill rewrites that definition so it no longer refers to specific genders. Instead, rape would be defined as forceful, nonconsensual contact between a person's vagina, penis, or anus and another person's vagina, penis, anus, or mouth, including forced oral sex. The bill also updates the spousal exception, changing language that referred only to a 'wife' so that having a spousal relationship with the defendant is not a defense to a rape charge regardless of the genders involved. On sentencing, the bill removes the death penalty as an available punishment for rape, leaving life without parole, life imprisonment, or a split sentence of 25 years to life followed by lifetime probation. The bill repeals conflicting laws and does not state a separate effective date.

• Replaces the current gender-specific definition of rape with a gender-neutral one covering forceful nonconsensual contact involving the vagina, penis, anus, or mouth.
• Adds forced oral sex to the legal definition of rape, expanding what conduct the crime covers.
• Removes the death penalty as a punishment for rape, leaving life without parole, life imprisonment, or a 25-years-to-life split sentence with lifetime probation.
• Changes the marital defense rule so that being the defendant's spouse (not just 'wife') cannot be used as a defense to a rape charge.
• Removes the separate provision that treated a female under age ten as automatically a rape victim under a distinct legal theory.

The bill affects anyone in Georgia who could be charged with or be a victim of rape, regardless of gender, since it removes gender-specific language from the law. It also affects prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who apply the rape statute and its sentencing rules.

By removing gender-specific wording, the bill would let the rape statute apply regardless of the victim's or perpetrator's sex, potentially covering conduct the current law does not clearly reach. Removing the death penalty also changes the maximum punishment a convicted person could face.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-6-1(a) to define rape as forceful nonconsensual contact with another's vagina, penis, or anus, including forced oral sex, removing the prior wording limited to a male-female act.
• Section 1 removes the separate clause treating carnal knowledge of a female under ten as rape under a distinct provision.
• Section 1 changes the marital defense language from 'wife' to 'spouse,' keeping the rule that a spousal relationship is not a defense to a rape charge.
• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-6-1(b) to eliminate the death penalty as a punishment, leaving life without parole, life imprisonment, or a split sentence of 25 years to life plus lifetime probation.
• Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with these changes.

1. 2026-02-17House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-12House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)Primary sponsor
• Lisa Campbell (D, HD-035)
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-065)
• Robert Flournoy (D, HD-074)
• Arlene Beckles (D, HD-096)
• Segun Adeyina (D, HD-110)

• rape law
• sexual offenses
• criminal sentencing
• death penalty
• Georgia criminal code