Posted on Fri, Jun. 09, 2006

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Sexual predator law gets tougher

Governor signs measure allowing death penalty in some cases

The Associated Press

Gov. Mark Sanford signed a bill Thursday that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for repeat child molesters in certain cases.

The new law toughening penalties for sexual predators is named after 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl kidnapped, raped and suffocated last year by a registered sex offender. South Carolina’s measure is similar to others approved in states across the country after her death, with the added provision of letting prosecutors send to Death Row offenders convicted twice of raping a child younger than 11.

“Jessie’s Law is about sending a very clear message that there are some lines you do not cross, and that if those lines are crossed the penalties will be severe,” Sanford said. “This new law will not only help make sure sexual predators serve longer sentences, but also will be an incredibly powerful deterrent to offenders that have already been released.”

Sanford called the bill an “enormous step” toward protecting the state’s children.

Opponents questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty for a crime not involving murder. Attorney General Henry McMaster has pledged to defend the measure if an offender’s sentence is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The new law sets a 25-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for some sex offenders, mandates that people convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree wear an electronic monitoring device, and requires registered sex offenders to update their address every six months, rather than annually.