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Becky Bruce reporting Utah is one of the last states to try to adopt a version of Jessica's Law, inspired by a Florida girl who was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender in 2005. But the bill is now well on its way with a unanimous vote this morning in the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers cheered the bill's success today. It beefs up the mandatory minimum to 25 years for the most heinous sex crimes against children under 12.
But Utah's version has been a long time coming. Rep. Carl Wimmer says a compromise saved the day by establishing hard time for plea bargains. "We're going to make attempted rape, attempted object rape, and attempted sodomy on a child a standardized sentence of 15 years to life in prison," he explained.
Jessica's law would also make it harder to free a repeat offender. The bill now heads to the Utah Senate.
To hear the debate on the bill in the House, click the related audio link. Please keep in mind the discussion begins about 40 seconds into the audio track.
