Canha, N.2015-11-192015-11-192015Canha, N. (2015). Recidivism Recourse: Cracking Down on Florida's Sexually Violent Predators. Barry Law Review, 20(2), 297-319.http://lawpublications.barry.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=barrylrevhttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/2649In 1999, the Florida Legislature passed a statute in response to the brutal rape and murder of a nine-year-old boy, Jimmy Ryce. The statute was intended to protect citizens from a relatively small but nonetheless, extremely dangerous group of individuals—sexual predators— many of whom are released from prison only to commit similar, if not worse, crimes. When Governor Lawton Chiles signed the bill into law he said “[n]o child should endure what Jimmy Ryce did.” This statement now raises the question—why then, do so many children and adults continue to suffer? It has been over a decade since the statute was passed, and the Legislature is once again addressing the issue of violent sexual predators who are hastily released from confinement. According to an investigation led by the Sun Sentinel, since the enactment of the statute there have been at least 594 sex offenders who were evaluated for civil commitment and decidedly let go, who have now been convicted of a new sex offense in Florida. Amongst those who reoffended, nearly a quarter did so within six months of being released. Currently the State has a team of psychologists who evaluate each high-risk sex offender on a case-by-case basis. The psychologists consider all direct and circumstantial evidence and use different tools in assessing the offender’s risk to society. This paper will first briefly discuss the constitutional limitations arising from the statute. It will then provide psychological and neurological research, which explores possible deficits and abnormalities in the brain functioning of sexual predators. The paper will then shift to a discussion on the procedures currently utilized by the State to detect sex offenders who are considered extremely dangerous and the treatment process implemented to rehabilitate those offenders. It will conclude with possible statutory alterations that the Florida Legislature seeks to implement and an analysis of the proposed bills, which were enacted this year. (Author Introduction)en-USchild abusesexual abusesex offendersrisklegislationArticle