Jessica's Law

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Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law, as well as laws in several other states, designed to punish sex offenders and reduce their ability to re-offend. A version of Jessica's Law has been introduced on the federal level, known as the Jessica Lunsford Act.

Jessica's Law is also used by the media to designate all legislation and potential legislation in other states modeled after the Florida law. Forty-two states have introduced such legislation since Florida's law was passed.[1]

The law is named after Jessica Lunsford, a young Florida girl who was raped and murdered in February 2005 by John Couey, a previously convicted sex offender. 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[2] and lifetime electronic monitoring[3] of adults convicted of lewd or lascivious acts against a victim less than 12 years old. In Florida, sexual battery or rape of a child less than twelve years old is a capital felony, punishable only by death or life imprisonment with no chance of parole.[4]

Contents

[edit] Jessica Lunsford Act

The Jessica Lunsford Act (H.R. 1505 of the 109th Congress), is a proposed federal law in the United States which would, if adopted, mandate more stringent tracking of released sex offenders. The bill is modeled after the Florida state law known as Jessica's Law.

[edit] Bill objectives

The bill, if passed, would reduce federal grant money under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. § 14071) and Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. § 3765) to any U.S. State that doesn't conform its sex offender registration laws to the following:

  • Require sex offenders to wear Global Positioning System devices on their ankles for five years following their release from prison, or for life for those deemed sexual predators, to better enable law enforcement personnel to track their whereabouts. Costs of tracking and monitoring offenders must be absorbed by each State.
  • States must mail sex offender registration forms at least twice per year, at random times, to verify registrants' addresses. Any registrants who do not respond within 10 days must be considered non-compliant.

The bill was introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Florida).


Despite the positive intentions of making children and families safer from pedophiles, the Jessica Lunsford Act and other Jessica's Law proposals have some potential negative unintended consequences, which will need to be address either before or after the acts become law. For instance, an 18-year-old person and a 17-year-old person engaged in a consensual relationship, could see, under the provisions of said legislation, the 18-year-old with a lifetime conviction, a GPS tracking device, and an inescapable label as a perpetrator of child sex crimes.

[edit] Controversy and criticism

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Much controversy exists regarding how persons become labeled a sex offender. Most Americans believe that the registry lists convicted child molesters when in actuality, many offenders listed on the Registries have been convicted of poor-behavior-choice offenses, which involve no victim and no physical contact. An example of such would include online talk with an undercover police officer posing as an underage minor. Teenagers involved in a consensual sexual relationship, known as "Romeo and Juliet" relationships, with the male or female partner considered underage in the eyes of the law, are also listed as sex offenders on the nation's registries. However, they would not be affected by a Jessica's Law such as the one in Florida, since such laws only apply to paedophiles who have committed offences with victims under the age of 12. Most charged persons lack adequate funding for a legal defense to fight such charges. The result is a plea bargain, which in some states, is followed by automatic sexual-offender registration regardless of judicial discretion, such as decreed by Florida Statute 943.0436 [5]. This means the power of a judge to impose a fair and just sentence for first time offenders has been legislatively — and quite effectively— removed from legal due process. Registration is for life or 20 years, whatever comes first, and permeates every aspect of the registrant's life. Advocates believe politicians have run unchecked with this issue, due to guaranteed press coverage, easy votes and the guarantee of federal funding for law enforcement with the passage of one new sex offender law annually. An overhaul of the nation's registries through the incorporation of a tier level system is advocated as a method which would allow the public to more accurately determine the true risk of a registered offender living in their neighborhood while allowing law enforcement to better quality supervise those persons considered truly dangerous not only to children but also to women and the elderly.

[edit] Constitutionality

The Constitutionality of the various versions of Jessica's Law are now coming under heavy fire and criticisim by the courts. While some would automatically think that these challenges are nothing more than sex offenders circling the wagons, some of these challenges are attracting support from law enforcement agencies, parole boards and mental health professionals who are tasked with not only the treatment of sexual offenders, but also serve as victims advocates.

[edit] Impact on offender's family members

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Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
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Advocates indicate that the civil rights of convicted persons and their non-offending family members is forever affected, long after the punishment has ended. Internet publication of sex offenders home addresses continues to be upheld by the court in the name of public safety, although April 2006 vigilante type murders in Maine[6] have brought new concerns of misuse of the registry and for the safety of nonoffending family members. Missouri civil rights attorney Arthur Benson currently waits decision from the Missouri Supreme Court regarding the Sex Offenders Registration Act SORA Litigation, Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et al. [7] which "contends the act violates substantive due process rights and equal protection rights because it infringes on fundamental liberty rights, imposes a lifetime stigma, has no express purpose and, even if it serves a compelling interest, is not narrowly tailored or rationally related to that interest. They assert that, if the act is deemed to be criminal in nature, it violates the prohibition against ex post facto laws because it imposes an additional punishment, thereby altering the consequences for a crime for which they already have been sentenced."

[edit] In the media

John Walsh of America's Most Wanted and Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor have been vocal proponents of Jessica's Law, arguing that children have to be protected and that child sex offenders have to be held to a much higher standard. O'Reilly points out that the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont have shown reluctance and refused to pass a Jessica's Law in their respective state legislatures.[8] He claims that Utah, North Carolina and New Mexico are inconclusive while all other states are either moving in the direction of passing a Jessica's Law or have already passed some form of it.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly's official website keeps track of states either moving towards or against the passage of a Jessica's law. See BillOReilly.com: Jessica's Law
  2. ^ Florida Statute 800.04
  3. ^ Florida Statute 947.1405
  4. ^ Florida Statute 794.011
  5. ^ Welcome : Online Sunshine
  6. ^ Benson & Associates
  7. ^ Supreme Court Home Page
  8. ^ "http://www.billoreilly.com/outragefunnels" BillOReilly.com: Jessica's Law
  • Arthur A. Benson II. Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et al. (Case No. SC86573). May 2006.
  • Carl Jones. "Porn Law Goes Too Far". Daily Business Review. April 10, 2006.
  • Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. "Groups Propose Tier System For Sex Registry". May 2006.
  • Rebecca Van Drunen. Confederation College. "Outcast Society: A Closer Look at North American Sexual Offenders in the Twenty-First Century". May 5th, 2006.
  • Sharon Wilson. "Sex Offenders: The Other Side". Orlando Sentinel. 10/23/2005.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links