The Jessica Lunsford Act

The Associated Press
May 02. 2005 1:14PM

Spurred by the kidnapping and murder of a Citrus County girl, Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation Monday to get much tougher on sex offenders.

The Jessica Lunsford Act requires those who prey on the youngest children to be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison and if they get out to be tracked for life.

The bill was quickly drafted after the 9-year-old Homosassa girl's death was discovered in March, and sped through the legislative process, pushed by outraged lawmakers -

many of whom said it was hard to temper their anger and not go for something even harsher.

Bush hugged Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, after signing the bill, and told Lunsford he was proud of his leadership in pushing for the measure so soon after his daughter's death.

Lunsford, wearing a tie with pictures of his daughter in her now-familiar pink hat that was splashed across national television, said he has been working so furiously to channel his anger into the legislation he hasn't yet really grieved.

"I'm still lost, I haven't really dealt with it yet," Lunsford said after Bush signed the bill. He called the tie his "hug" from Jessica. "I'm still minus my kiss, but that's my hug."

Lunsford has been at the Capitol often in the last month urging legislators to crack down on predators.

It passed both the Senate and House unanimously and was sent to Bush on April 22, just over a month after the girl's body was found March 19.

John E. Couey, a convicted sex offender who was living near Jessica, is charged with her kidnapping her from her bedroom and murdering her. Detectives say he confessed.

Already moving quickly, the bill's momentum increased in April when 13-year-old Sarah Lunde of Ruskin was found dead and a registered sex offender, David Lee Onstott, was charged with her murder.

Lunde's mother and sister were also at the governor's side as he signed the bill into law.

"I'm just glad something's being done," said Sarah's sister, Rebekah Lunde. "Maybe no one else will have to go through this."

Sarah's mother, Kelly May, said the measure would make sure that neither Jessica nor her daughter died in vain.

"Something good has to come of it," May said.

Bush said Florida's sex offender laws are already tough.

"This bill will make our laws even tougher," the governor said. "It think it is right and just."

The bill would require 25-year minimum prison terms for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children and lifetime tracking by global positioning satellite once they're outside of prison.

The bill also requires more monitoring of people convicted of molesting older children. Anyone convicted of a molesting a child aged 12 to 15 who is released from prison on probation, would have to be monitored electronically while they're on probation.

The new requirement only affects people convicted in the future, but it also has a provision that aims to provide for additional tracking of some sex offenders currently on the street.

To do that, it says sex offenders who violate their probation would be ordered back to jail or be placed under GPS monitoring under the bill.

Advocates for the satellite monitoring say that in addition to warning authorities when a sex offender is someplace he shouldn't be -

such as near a school -

it also will allow for quick pinpointing of suspects if a child is abducted. The system allows officials to overlay the whereabouts of tracked sex offenders with electronic maps showing where crimes are committed.

The new law will also tighten the process for how and when sex offenders report to authorities, saying they have to show up in person twice a year to be accounted for.

It also could open the door to the death penalty for more murderers, saying that in cases where someone is convicted of a capital felony, the fact that they are a sexual predator can be considered as an aggravating factor that the judge or jury can consider when deciding whether to sentence them to execution.

The new law requires the Legislature to budget $3.1 million this year for new prison beds and just under $4 million to buy 1,200 new GPS monitoring units. The bill also requires money for additional staff.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Crystal River, in whose district Jessica lived, and two state representatives who are former sheriffs, former Citrus Sheriff Charlie Dean, R-Inverness and former Pinellas Sheriff Everett Rice, R-Treasure Island.

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