Knights Law Passes State House: In Honor Of Victims In Henryetta Murder Victims

A bill has passed the state house, that would require people convicted of certain child sex crimes to serve 100 percent of their sentence.

The bill is named Knights Law, in honor of the victims murdered in Henryetta almost a year ago.

Representative Scott Fetgatter says children are among the most vulnerable in the state, and everything should be done to protect them.

Jesse McFadden served time in prison for rape.

He was released even though he faced a new charge of sexting a teenager and that case was working its way through the courts.

Representative Scott Fetgatter says McFadden should never have been released. "There were some things that didn't happen the way they should have happened, and his hearings were way far extended, and it just opened up an opportunity for this type of crime," he said.

McFadden was out of prison when he murdered his wife and her three children and two of their friends, Ivy Webster and Brittany Brewer.

He then killed himself.

Representative Fetgatter says the goal of the bill is to make stricter penalties for people convicted of sex crimes. "Raise the minimum penalties for the top most heinous sexual crimes against children, and it would also give a maximum of life without parole," he said.

He says in a way this is a type of criminal justice reform. "People want to look at criminal justice reform and say hey it's all about lowering sentencing and getting more people out of jail, but it also could mean increasing penalties for people who do the most heinous acts," he said.

Fetgatter says he's worked closely with the families of the victims on this bill, and he's doing what he can to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. "While I can't go back and change anything for these families, and while I can't bring their family members back, what I can do is help them with closure, by stopping these things from happening in the future," he said.

The bill will now move on to the Senate.