TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Spurred by the killing of a 9-year-old girl, Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday signed a law imposing tougher penalties on child molesters and requiring many of those released from prison to wear satellite tracking devices for the rest of their lives.The measure gives Florida one of the toughest child-sex laws in the nation.
The Jessica Lunsford Act was quickly drafted after Jessica's death was discovered in March and was pushed through by lawmakers outraged that the man accused of killing her was a registered sex offender. It passed both the Senate and House unanimously.
It establishes a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life behind bars for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children 11 and younger, with lifetime tracking by global positioning satellite after they are freed. (continue...)
It's such a shame that it takes a terrible tragedy to spurn our legislators and communities to action--but better late than never.
This piece of legislation is a model act for other states in the Union to hopefully follow suit. I do believe they forgot castration with a blunt metal object er... I mean, chemical castration. But it's a start.
Posted by Kyer at May 2, 2005 03:14 PM