AUSTIN, Texas – Texas sex offenders who are twice convicted of raping children under 14 could get the death penalty under a bill state lawmakers approved Friday.
The state House passed Texas’ version of “Jessica’s Law,” a crackdown on sex offenders who prey on children, a day after the Senate approved it.
The bill is named for Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl who was abducted and killed. More than a dozen states have passed versions of Jessica’s Law.
Gov. Rick Perry has said he was open to the idea of the death penalty in child sex cases and that passage of a child sex offender bill is a legislative emergency. Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the governor will wait to read the final version of the bill before deciding whether to sign it into law.
“The purpose is to make Texas a safer place for children and a more dangerous place for their predators,” said Republican Rep. Debbie Riddle, the bill’s House sponsor.
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