Not Ready to Make Tough
March 1st, 2007 at 8:29 am
The House version of Jessica’s Law, the tough-on-child-predators bill that state representatives have been falling over one another to support, saw its first few hours of floor debate yesterday, before the members decided that, come to think of it, they weren’t quite ready for it yet. They’ll pick up H.B. 8 again Monday afternoon.
Though the bill is sponsored by 22 authors and co-authors, only nine Representatives sided with original author Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball), in voting to continue debating it today.
The rest sided with Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo), who said he wasn’t convinced members understood the legislation well enough, after two hours of debate centered on how the bill would apply the death penalty to sex offenders.
“I have a bit of a funny feeling down deep inside when we’re doing something we don’t totally understand,” Smithee told members, suggesting that those with legal expertise volunteer to explain the finer points of the bill. “We’re talking about the death penalty, and at some points we didn’t even have the floor’s full attention.”
During debate, some members worried that extending the death penalty to sex abusers would eliminate any reason for them not to kill their victim as well. The grilling on this part of the bill, primarily from Reps. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) and Terri Hodge (D-Dallas), at one point drove Riddle into an alliterative furor.
“Before they do their dastardly deed, they’re going to have to think about, ‘Am I going to get caught? And if I get caught, am I going to get the death penalty?’” she said. “People who commit this kind of crime don’t go around with the same rational thought as you or I.”
Riddle mentioned she had studies that say so, though in somewhat of a contradiction, Riddle also maintained that the death penalty would be a deterrent to potential child abusers.
Nobody came out against the bill, especially those pushing to put it aside until Monday — to the point that “This is a fine bill,” started to sound like the secret password you had to whisper before getting at the back microphone.
The only amendment that made its way onto the bill was the first one, officially adding the name “Jessica’s Law” to the bill, in honor of the 9-year-old Florida girl whose rape and murder is inspiring a national crackdown on child predators.
Everyone agreed that honoring her memory was most important; they only disagreed on how to get there. “We need to honor this child by making sure we pass a law that’s a good law,” said Rep. Joe Heflin (D-Crosbyton), “and not a law that is riddled with holes.”
