What Jim Bob Duggar Said About Incest in 2002: Should Josh Duggar Be Punished For Molestation Scandal?

Jim Bob Duggar issued a statement after his oldest son, Josh, all but admitted he molested his sisters when he was a teenager. After that message, where he called the sexual assaults “very bad mistakes,” Jim Bob has remained quiet. He also failed to mention what he said about incest in 2002.

More than a decade ago, the Duggar family patriarch proposed that incestuous people and racists should be subjected to the death penalty during a Q&A section of his campaign website, dating to the time when he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in Arkansas, Gawker first noted. He lost the Republican bid to Senator Tim Hutchinson, according to Us Weekly.

When he was asked about his position on "abortion ... specifically, where do you stand on rape, incest, and threat to the mother's health,” he answered: "If a woman is raped, the rapist should be executed instead of the innocent unborn baby," he said. "Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and, as such, should be treated as capital crimes." Despite Jim Bob’s plea for incestuous people to face capital punishment, Josh apparently molested several of his sisters the same year Jim Bob made that statement, Gawker noted.

In a May 21 statement on the family’s official Facebook page, Jim Bob and Michelle said “God’s kindness and goodness are extended to us -- even though we are so undeserving. The couple added: “We hope somehow the story of our journey -- the good times and the difficult times -- cause you to see the kindness of God and learn that He can bring you through anything.” The message has a much different tone than that of Jim Bob's 2002 campaign statement.

Though Josh received support from presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, he was also condemned by celebrities like Montel Williams and Bette Midler.

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