What is the Jimmy Ryce Act?
The Jimmy Ryce Involuntary Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators’ Treatment and Care Act (Jimmy Ryce Act) was signed into law on May 19, 1998 by Governor Lawton Chiles. The act, which became effective January 1, 1999, seeks to have “sexually violent predators” indefinitely and involuntarily committed to a “secure facility for treatment.” It applies only to those persons who have already been convicted of a sexually violent crime and only after the offenders have already served their criminal sentences in jail and/or prison.
