House OK's 2-Strikes Sex Law
© Associated Press
(7-25-00)
By Janelle Carter

WASHINGTON (AP) - People convicted of a sex crime against a child would get mandatory life sentences after a second such conviction under a measure approved by the House Tuesday.

The bill, dubbed ``Two Strikes, You're Out,'' passed by a voice vote.

The rate of repeat child molesters is ``extraordinarily high,'' said Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., the sponsor. ``I make no bones about this legislation: This bill is not about rehabilitation, I openly admit it. This bill is not even about deterrence. It is about removing bad people from society.''

Green successfully crafted a similar measure in 1997 as a member of Wisconsin's state Assembly.

Under the bill, if an offender convicted of any previous sex crime against a child - whether in state or federal jurisdiction - then commits a second sex crime falling under federal jurisdiction, the new legislation would apply.

The law is based on statistics indicating that pedophiles are four times more likely than other criminals to recommit their crime.

Federal sex crimes include crimes such as transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual purposes, some kidnappings and sexual assault or molestation occurring on federal lands.

Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va., voiced opposition to the bill, citing concerns that a 19-year-old convicted twice of statuatory rape for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old could face the same life sentence as a two-time violent rapist.

The bill has the support of Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped and murdered in 1993 by a repeat sex offender. The case led to California's three-strikes sentencing law for repeat felons.

That law, which targets both violent and nonviolent offenders, mandates sentences of 25 years to life for three-time offenders.

``There is not a documented case of a pedophile or a psychopath ever having been cured,'' Klaas told lawmakers at a May hearing. ``The sad reality is that they re-offend over and over again until they are removed from society once and for all.''

The Senate has not yet taken action on the measure.

The bill, H.R. 4047, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov

AP-NY-07-25-00 2230EDT