Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson) today unveiled two pieces of legislation that will crack down on sex offenders. One bill will expand the online sex offender registry and the other will make aggravated rape of a child punishable by the death penalty.
“The rape of a child is one of the most heinous acts one can commit,” Sen. Jackson said. “We need to be sure the punishment fits the crime.”
Currently, aggravated child rape is only punishable by life in prison or life without parole. Sen. Jackson’s bill would add the death penalty as an option for juries.
“In the most horrendous cases, the death penalty is appropriate,” Sen. Jackson said. “Juries need that option. We should be doing all we can to protect our children.”
Sen. Jackson is also sponsoring legislation that will close gaps in current sex offender laws.
“We have gaps in our current law and we need to close those gaps,” Sen. Jackson said. “Sex offenders from other states may be able to hide in Tennessee under current law. We need to stop that. This legislation will close the gaps and ensure that sex offenders who move to Tennessee are on our registry.”
Tennessee’s sex offender registry was started in 1994 and put online in 1998. Those offenders put on the registry between 1994 and 1998 are not part of the online database. Sen. Jackson’s bill would put all those on Tennessee’s registry online and say that anyone who was part of an online registry in another state would have to be a part of Tennessee’s online registry.
“This information is already public through court records,” Sen. Jackson said. “But the public needs to have easy access – that’s why we put it online. We certainly don’t want people from other states hiding in Tennessee because of a gap in our law. This bill clears that up.”