Utah legislators are trying to pass a bill in Utah based on Jessica’s Law, which has already been passed in numerous states throughout the country. The bill proposes stiff mandatory minimum sentences for sex predators: “a minimum of 25 years to life for a first time conviction of rape of a child, object rape of a child, or sodomy upon a child.”
While the law obviously has nothing but good intentions to protect the children of Utah from predators, some legislators warn against overreacting based on on empathetic emotions evoked by such a heartbreaking situation. They warn that there are potentially logistical and costly fiscal ramifications to consider.
Utah Gossip is in full support of Jessica’s Law and would encourage you to contact members of the Utah Legislative Branch if you are too.
Contact Ross Romero (rromero@utahsenate.org) or John Valentine (jvalentine@utahsenate.org) of the Utah Senate or Carl Wimmer (cwimmer@utah.gov) from the House of Representatives (who is a staunch supporter of the bill) if you would like to support a Utah Jessica’s Law.
1 response so far ↓
1 Mandy // Feb 13, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I think Jessica’s Law is important, but I worry about mandatory minimums…as long as there are provisions for extenuating circumstances, it’s a good thing. (My friend’s father is on the sex offender registry for sleeping with his 17 year old girlfriend when he was 18, and her parents got mad. Doesn’t seem fair…)
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