On Thursday, Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday signed the Child Predator Death Penalty Act. One of the governor’s top priorities this legislative session, the new law provides the strongest legal protection for Alabama’s children from child predators.

“For too long, the most vulnerable of our society have lacked the most stringent legal protection from child predators,” Ivey said in a press release. “Through the Child Predator Death Penalty Act, Alabama now joins just a handful of states imposing the toughest penalty possible for child predators. Those who target the youngest among us for the vilest crimes will soon be met with the harshest punishment under the law.”