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Thanks to lobbying on the part of Mark Lunsford, the Florida legislature passed and Florida governor Jeb Bush signed the Jessica Lunsford Act. Under this act, which went into effect in September 2005, anyone 18 or older convicted of molesting a child under age 12 will face a required 25-years-to-life sentence. If they are ever released, they then face a lifetime of tracking device-monitored supervision.
"I think that the best thing we can do is lock [child sex offenders] up for life. I think the system has really failed its people. We've waited too long to make changes. Every time we lose a child, we lose part of our future, a part that we're never going to know about," says Mark.
"And I think every time we lose a child, we reinforce the lie to ourselves," adds Oprah. "I know that sounds very harsh, but I think we do. How can we say we're a country that cares about children? How can we say in our hearts that we really do care about children and then consistently turn our backs?"
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