After Another Murder, Another Proposed Law

Megan, Jessica, now Chelsea — each name a legislative expression of public fury.

The rape and murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King outside a San Diego park generated a media firestorm and incensed residents in Southern California after the police charged John Albert Gardner III, a convicted sex offender, with the crimes.

Mr. Gardner has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. He was released from prison in 2006 after serving time for beating and molesting a 13-year-old, and records show that he committed seven parole violations in the time between his release and the rape and murder of Ms. King.

On Monday in Sacramento, Kelly and Brent King announced a bill called Chelsea’s Law, named after their daughter. The bill notably includes a “one strike” provision that would allow prosecutors to pursue a life sentence without parole for forcible sex crimes against a minor when there are aggravating circumstances like torture and kidnapping.

“Life without possibility of parole for a violent sexual predator is needed,” Mr. King told reporters. “These offenders cannot be rehabilitated. They do not deserve a second chance.”

The parents were joined at the capitol by Nathan Fletcher, the Republican assemblyman from San Diego who sponsored the bill.

Still, the proposed legislation is reigniting the debate over the the effectiveness, justness and consequences of laws against sex offenders that have been ushered through in the aftermath of shocking and high-profile crimes.

Chelsea’s Law would increase — to 25 years from 15 years — the minimum sentence for forcible sex crimes that involve minor aggravating circumstances, like drugging the victim. Those convicted of sex crimes against children younger than 14 would also face lifetime of parole that included GPS monitoring. And, instead of a residency restriction like those contained in previous sex offender legislation, Chelsea’s Law forbids sex offenders from visiting public spaces like parks without the permission of their probation officers.

Mr. Fletcher said he drafted and revised the bill after consulting law enforcement officials, judges, community forums in his district and Bonnie M. Dumanis, the district attorney of San Diego County. His office has received a deluge of calls from constituents who support his measure, Mr. Fletcher said, and his district has galvanized around the issue.

“You feel anger, you feel rage, you feel frustration,” Mr. Fletcher said. “Now the community is channeling all those emotions into motivation for change.”



Source