NC- Senate's version of Jessica's Law denied by House

7-8-2008 North Carolina:

RALEIGH - Working the Jessica Lunsford Act through the North Carolina legislative maze will take a bit longer.

The state House decided not to accept the Senate version of the bill, which would require a minimum of 25 years in prison of adults who rape a child younger than 13 years old.

One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, said supporters are prepared to work out the kinks in the bill.

"We will work through it and hopefully get everything resolved," Howard said.

The House action means that a conference committee made up of senators and representatives will be appointed to work out a final version of the law. If the committee is able to come up with a final bill agreeable to both the Senate and the House, both chambers will then have an opportunity to approve that final version.

For the bill to become law, the committee will need to come up with the final version and have it voted on soon since most legislative leaders have indicated that the 2008 session of the General Assembly is winding down. If the bill does not pass before the session ends, it will die.

In addition to requiring the prison time, the bill would also require that people convicted of such crimes submit to lifetime GPS monitoring once released from prison. It also forbids sex-offender registrants from going on the premises of places where children normally congregate, such as schools, children's museums and playgrounds.

That provision could create problems for people on the registry who are parents and need to pick their children up at school, or for people who need to go to schools and other places that serve as voting precincts.

Howard said that problem can be fixed by having such people on the registry give notice to the school superintendent that they were on the registry and would have a need to be on the school premises for legitimate purposes.

Stricter registration rules would also be in place for when sex offenders change addresses.

The Jessica Lunsford Act is named in memory of Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Gaston County native who after moving to Florida, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a sexual predator in February 2005. John Couey, a registered sex offender, was convicted and sentenced to die for the crimes.

Police lost track of Couey. He was staying with his sister, who lived in the same neighborhood as Jessica. ..News Source.. by Barry Smith, Freedom Raleigh Bureau