Jeb Bush signs bill setting harsher penalties for child sex offenders News
Jeb Bush signs bill setting harsher penalties for child sex offenders

[JURIST] Florida Gov. Jeb Bush [official website] signed the Jessica Lunsford Act [PDF text] on Monday, a bill designed to impose tougher punishment on child sex abusers. The bill was drafted in March after the body of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford [support website] was discovered and it passed unanimously in both Florida's House of Representatives and State Senate. The bill stated that all sex offenders who prey on children aged 12 or under will be sentenced to a mandatory 25 years in prison, and after release, the offenders will be tracked for life. The bill will also monitor offenders who target children over 12 more closely. Read a press release on the bill from the Governor's office. AP has more.