OPINION:
Kayleigh Kozak was 12 when she was molested by her teacher. Although the harm done to her as a child can never be undone, her story has become a catalyst for a broader conversation about how the justice system protects victims after an offender has been convicted and sentenced.
Kayleigh’s experience highlights a painful gap that many victims and their families face in the wake of violent crime. After sentencing, victims often have limited transparency or notification when an offender becomes eligible for release or parole, and few safeguards to ensure they are not re-traumatized.
Kayleigh’s Law in Arizona was a response to that gap, grounded in a simple idea: A victim’s pain and trauma do not end at sentencing. True justice includes their ongoing protection, dignity and ability to rebuild their lives in peace.
Federal law should reflect a uniform standard that ensures victims are not left vulnerable or re-traumatized once an offender’s sentence is complete.
A crime is not a single moment in time. For a victim, it can be a lifelong disruption of peace, normalcy and safety. Survivors often experience long-term psychological trauma, persistent fear of re-offense or retaliation, and lasting disruptions to daily life, including employment and family relationships.
Although the justice system often treats conviction and sentencing as closure, for victims, it is often just the beginning. The law must reflect victims’ lived reality, not only procedural milestones.
Incarceration is only one piece of a much larger justice framework. Even after a sentence ends, victims can be re-exposed to offenders through attempted contact, gaps in enforceable protections and inconsistent state-by-state standards.
These inconsistencies undermine trust in the justice system and create unequal outcomes for survivors. A sentence without lasting protections for victims is incomplete accountability.
Because protections vary widely across states, victims experience unequal outcomes depending on where they live. Their safety and peace of mind should not depend on location.
A federal standard is necessary to ensure consistency, fairness and clear enforcement mechanisms that protect survivors nationwide.
The Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026 would establish a uniform federal framework that strengthens protections for victims, ensures consistency across jurisdictions and provides clear guidance for courts to uphold a victim’s safety, dignity and peace.
Justice should be consistent nationwide, not a patchwork of unequal protections.
This legislation is not about extending punishment beyond a sentence. It is about protecting survivors of violent and sexual crimes and ensuring safeguards against revictimization. While the justice system must balance rights for all individuals, victims should never be excluded from that balance and must be a nonnegotiable consideration.
Existing systems are intended to protect victims, but in practice, those protections are often inconsistently applied, unevenly enforced and reactive rather than preventive. A federal standard would not replace judicial discretion; it would strengthen it by ensuring a consistent baseline of protection.
A system that fails to safeguard every victim equally is a system that does not work.
The true measure of justice is not only convictions and sentences served but also whether victims are made safe, stable and supported in rebuilding their lives without fear. This is not a partisan issue; it is foundational to trust in the system designed to protect us all.
The Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026 represents an opportunity to address the reality that for survivors, suffering does not end at sentencing. It is a chance to ensure that when the system says, “Justice has been served,” victims can finally believe that it includes them.
• Brett Tolman is the executive director for Right on Crime and a former U.S. attorney.
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