Jessica's Law

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Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law designed to punish child sex predators and reduce their ability to re-offend. A version of Jessica's Law has been introduced on the federal level, it is referred to as the Jessica Lunsford Act.

The law is named after Jessica Lunsford, a young Florida girl raped and murdered by John Couey, a previously convicted sex offender, in February 2005. Public outrage over this case spurred Florida officials to introduce this legislation. Among the key provisions of the law are a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison^[1] and lifetime electronic monitoring^[2] of adults convicted of lewd or lascivious acts against a victim less than twelve years of age. In Florida, sexual battery or rape of a child less than twelve years of age is a capital felony, punishable only by death or life imprisonment with no chance of parole.^[3]

Contents 1 As national precedent 2 In the media 3 Arguments for and against 4 References 5 External links

[edit] As national precedent

Jessica's Law is also used to designate all legislation and potential legislation in other states modeled after the Florida law. 42 out of the 50 states have introduced such legislation since Florida's law was passed.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] In the media

John Walsh of America's Most Wanted and Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor have been the most vocal proponents of Jessica's Law.

[edit] Arguments for and against

Critics of these laws have argued that they are based on skewed statistics and several have been challenged in the court system.

In California, Jessica Law was on the ballot in the November 2006 election as Proposition 83 and it passed with over 70% of the vote. It was sponsored by husband and wife legislators California State Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) and State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley). It has been opposed by State Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) who explained that his opposition was due largely because of concerns that the 2000-foot "no-live" zone around schools and parks would be unenforceable or push sex offenders from urban to rural areas. State senate president pro tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) has said that the proposition was "thrown together without sufficient care." Proponents counter that the text of the law was drafted by skilled attorneys at the California District Attorney's Association. The initiative was supported by a majority in every county with the exception of San Francisco.

Despite the public controversy around the residency restriction, the majority of the initiative deals with increased penalties for sex offenders, elimination of good time credits for early release, making simple possession of child pornography a felony, and establishing a lifelong GPS monitoring of High Risk Sex Offenders.

Another criticism is that the unprecedented restrictions would cause problems with securing employment and finding a place of residence, making it harder for convicted sex offenders to remain law-abiding and leading some such individuals not to register. Because this law would be difficult to enforce, some officials fear the high costs of tracking those not complying with the law and question whether it can be enforced at all.

California Attorneys for Criminal Justice [4] (criminal defense attorneys association) opposed Proposition 83 and wrote the opposing argument for the ballot and voter pamphlet.

Despite some lawsuits, California's Attorney General has pledged to uphold the new law.

[edit] References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]

[edit] External links

• Florida House Bill 1877 The text of the enrolled version of Jessica's Law passed in Florida.
• Jessica's Law 2006 An organization supporting passage of this law.
• Controlling Sex Offender Reentry Article by Jason Peckenpaugh and Professor Joan Petersilia of California Prison Reform.
• CA Capitol Weekly: Jessica's law no-live zone is a bone of political contention
• California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Opposition Statement to Proposition 83 [5]
• Don't sign Jessica's law American Chronicle article critical of Jessica's law.
• information website An information website explaining problems with proposition 83 (California's Jessica's Law)
• [6] Sexual abuse treatment group
• [7] Restricted Areas for Sex Offenders in California