An California initiative cracking down on sex offenders won a resounding victory Tuesday, the Sacramento Bee reports. Proposition 83, which imposes harsher penalties on sex criminals, was leading 70 percent to 30 percent. Voters backed the measure by big margins “because the current law has not done everything it can to protect our citizens and children from violent predators,” said Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully.
Known as “Jessica’s Law” for Florida victim Jessica Lunsford, the measure will require more prison time, lifetime satellite monitoring, and new limitations on how close sex offenders can live to schools or parks. It includes sentences of 15 years to life for crimes such as rape and child molestation. Opponents said much of what’s in Proposition 83 is covered by recent legislation, and that the costs of monitoring offenders’ tracking devices and building and maintaining institutions would be too high.