Some very bad people live in this world, police, prosecutors, and judges do their best to protect the rest of us from them. It is not however possible to guarantee safety to anyone. We are a nation of laws, a nation based upon individual liberty. As such we must respect and protect the fundamental rights of everyone, even truly evil people, for if we did not no ones rights or liberty would be safe.
I’ve been following the big news about sex offenders lately, it seems that the media does it’s best to whip people into a frenzy, ordinary people want the government to guarantee their safety, and politicians want to create yet more ineffective programs.
Let’s review what has happened recently:
A convicted sex offender was released from prison having served his time. He had nowhere to live, so the Department of Corrections dropped him off under an overpass. His story made the news because he was fitted with a GPS device that he cut off.
People were shocked; politicians were ‘outraged,’ how on earth could the Department of Corrections drop this fellow off under an overpass? How could they have dropped him off within walking distance of a school? How could they have dropped him off so near to his victim?
The shock is misplaced, the ‘outrage’ disingenuous. The fellow had no place to live because citizens pressure local governments into creating ‘zones’ in which no sex offender can live. He had no place to live because landlords are afraid to rent to sex offenders since citizens have burned houses down and even murdered the offenders to keep them out of their neighborhoods. He was dropped off within walking distance of a school simply because that is the nature of a built urban environment. Most every spot is within walking distance of a school. Lastly, he was dropped off so close to his victim because the law forced it. State law says that offenders, having served their time, must be returned to the county where the crime was committed. This law was pushed by Pierce County legislators who were tired of having so many ex-cons living within their county. Of course the ‘outraged’ politicians know all of this, especially the last since they passed that little law just last year.
I am not an apologist for sex offenders. They are the worst kind of criminals and must be punished for their crimes. They must be held accountable.
That said, we as a society must recognize that virtually all of them will get out of prison eventually. They will re-enter society. That is the nature of our judicial system, a system created to protect the rights of us all.
If we are smart, we want them upon re-entry to become law abiding, productive members of society. We want them to lead normal, crime free lives, lives without the horrible deeds they committed in the past.
We are not smart though, for we do not allow them to re-enter society in any normal manner. We virtually force them to turn back to a life of crime; we virtually force them to re-offend.
Upon getting out of prison we force a sex offender to register, and check in with police on an extremely frequent basis. Those check in times make it hard for an offender to maintain employment. Imagine for a moment a registered sex offender trying to live and work in the town of Skykomish within King County. He would have to take off work once a week to register with the Sheriff. The Sheriff located two to three hours away, each way. I doubt if the offender could maintain employment under those conditions. Hence, we, as a society force him to return to a life of crime.
We also take the step of plastering his picture and personal details all over the neighborhood in which he lives. Posters, the internet, public meetings, all to discuss this new menace, all sponsored by the government. We cannot possibly expect anyone to lead a normal, crime free life when we create such an environment around him or her.
We create zones in which sex offenders cannot live, and we intimidate landlords who otherwise could rent to sex offenders into not doing so. As a result we have an extremely large percentage of sex offenders who are homeless. Again, we leave the offender virtually no choice but to return to a life of crime.
All of this is wrong-headed policy. All of this makes society less safe, not more safe. Unfortunately people are clamoring for more of the same, greater restrictions, and politicians will give them what they want. Thus the problem will worsen.
We need new thinking on this subject. We need clear thinking free from panic on this subject. We need to create policies that help sex offenders to lead normal crime free lives instead of policies that make it impossible for them to do so. In such a way we will make society safer. Alas, I don’t think our politicians are up to it. More importantly I don’t think that we are up to it.
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10 comments:
The frenzy, as you say, guarantees that none of this will change. You're absolutely right in everything you say.
The average voter, I think, pushes for this sort of thing because the average voter believes that sex offenders should be executed and not jailed. Since it is unimaginable within the constitution to grant the death penalty for a crime without murder, this sort of nonsense goes on.
I think, however, that if you could grant the death penalty, and you could broadcast it on national television, it would be the number one rated program.
You know, I have that about this subject, but never followed my thinking through on it and never heard anyone else discuss this. Don't get me wrong I think they should be held accountable. But I think the way we release them is idiotic.
Very well put.
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You make some very level headed great points.
Roger Werholz, Kansas Correctional Secretary, says, "Sex offender Laws DON'T WORK and THEY ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS MORE DANGEROUS"
I totally agree with him as I have studied the issues. He also says, "What we want to do is not so much what makes us FEEL safer but ACTUALLY MAKES US SAFER. It's not what the sex offender deserves, IT'S WHAT WE DESERVE. We deserve to live in a community in a state where we are as safe as possible."
My personal opinion is that John Walsh has done so much damage to the Constitution and Bill of rights that WE ARE ALL IN JEAPORDY.
All I can say is BEWARE of the politicians who get elected by being "Tough" on crime. They have all done enough damage.
Every new law passed, Adam Walsh Act, Jessica's Law, residency restrictions, sets a former offender up for failure. I use the word FORMER offender because when one looks at the FACTS, they will find that approximately 95% of ALL first time offenders never commit another sex crime. In fact, California's recently released recidivist rates, put out by the Department of Corrections, states that LESS than 4% Recidivist rate FOR FIRST TIME OFFENDERS.
I don't like the term registered sex offender or sex offender because it implies they are continuing to offend. THE VAST MAJORITY ARE NOT.
From state to state, you will find recidivism for first time offenders to be in the single digits.
What needs to be done?
Do away with residency restrictions for those who have completed their contracts with the courts. They finish parole without another sex crime, paid their fines. Allow them to have STABILITY. To be able to have a home and job is vital not only to them but to society as well. We deserve that. We'll be safer and the families, wives and children of former offenders can live a normal life. I have no problem with a harsher sentence for a repeat offender, or a violent rapist especially those who did not know their victim. They are the few and the rare. 90plus percent of all new sex crimes are committed by individuals NOT on the registry. They are mostly family members or known to the family. We need to focus on PREVENTION and EDUCATION.
The law makers are NOT doing that because it's an easy issue when your low in the polls and to come out against a polititian who IS trying to make us safer is accused of coddling sex offenders Wake up people.
The Adam Walsh Act needs to be declared unconstitutional and some day will be. It was done behind closed doors as (get this), noncontroversial, thanks to Mark Foley and a few others. Congress never got to to debate one word of it. The AWA is another form of punishment under the guise of regulatory legislation. And it most certainly "Does More Harm than Good."
States are threatened under the federal guidelines of the AWA that if they do not comply they will loose a percentage of their Byrne grant money that goes into law enforcement. A HUGE problem here is it is costing states hundreds of millions , if not billions of dollars to impliment this law in order to save a few million. It makes me wonder where the real money trail leads. Computer tracking systems? I wonder if Bill Oreilly, Mark Foley and law makers across the country port folio is heavy in this type of investments. (Just a thought), but follow the money and I think we could come up with something.
It's a huge mess all the way around. Ohio and other states are spending millions in court cases that are challenging the constitutionally of the AWA and other states are saying No to it's implementation.
Let me recommend, "No Easy Answers" here. http://www.media.sosen.us/index.html I think that is the best place to start.
and here CFCOKLAHOMA.COM for articles relevant to the issues
alexis,
You are absolutely correct. The average voter either wants them killed, or wants them castrated.
Neither of which are possible within our nation of laws. Thank god.
anonymous,
Thank you.
I think that we don't discuss the issue very much as a society because no one wants to appear to be 'soft on sex offenders.' We are afraid of what our friends and family will think of us if we seem to be apologists for such crimes. This prevents us, I think, from implementing real solutions that will make our communities safer.
mslgw,
Thank you for providing the quotes, and the statistics. They are interesting and helpful.
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-thoughts-sex-offender-law-issues.html
I want to first start off with saying I am NOT pro-pedophile or pro-sex offender but pro-Constitution. I am totally against any form of abuse to any animal or human being. Anybody who commits any crime should be punished. But, once that person has done the time they were convicted under, via contract, and is off parole and/or probation, they should be able to get on with their lives without all the rules and regulations. No other criminal has to live by such draconian laws, so why sex offenders? If we must do this for sex offenders, then I think, to be fair, all criminals must be under similar rules and regulations.
When an ex-offender is forced to move from his/her home, thus having to sell it, cannot find another home within the law due to the residency "buffer" zones, get fired from their jobs due to being on the registry, cannot find a new job due to being on the registry, their husband/wife lose their jobs due to a significant other being on the registry, their children lose their friends and are harassed and bullied in school due to a family member being on the registry, thus destroying the children's lives, ex-offenders are forced into homelessness and to live under bridges, harassed by police, neighbors and probation/parole officers, have to wear "I'm a sex offender T-shirt" or have a neon green license plate on ALL their cars, have "sex offender" on their drivers license and forced to renew their licenses every year, forced from shelters during tornadoes or hurricanes, cannot give blood at some places due to being discriminated against for being on the sex offender registry, denied housing due to being on the registry, signs placed in their yards inviting harassment and ridicule from the neighbors, forced to move when the neighbors start picketing outside the ex-offenders home, the list is endless.
I THINK THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, BEYOND THE EXTREME!
The blog made is indeed thoughtful and true to where the problems lay, they lay with politicians, the lawmakers making senseless laws, side stepping constitutional rights and liberties.
The thing I found though is neither Milliscent nor anyone else will actively admit that there are thousands of people labeled as sex offender who are not pedophiles, child porn perverts or the like.
Failure is made in recognizing even children; mere children from 4years of age and up are labeled as sex offenders.
Everything said by Milliscent had a large measure of truth, but continues to hold that sex offender equals child molester, pedophile, and violent sexual predator, on and on.
If there is to be progress, real progress of safety in the laws people including everyone who commented on this blog must demand to their political figures to make the separation of peoples so as to not unduly punish those who are innocent of child molestation, having no record, or known sexual activities with children.
I could go on to be more detailed but this is a blog, and will end it here with the hope that many of you will recognize the wrongness of many sex offender laws that make no distinction.
zman,
Thank you for adding your voice and perspective to this discussion.
anonymous,
I agree with one of your points, I disagree with another.
I do not think that the problem is entirely the fault of our elected officials. They simply reflect the desires of the voters who put them into office. We do need better politicians, we need politicians who will fight to protect our liberties, but the fact that we do not have them is our own fault since ultimately we are the ones that place them into office.
That said, I do agree with your second point. There are certainly some people who have been labeled as sex offenders but who have not committed a terrible crime. Young men having consensual sex with young girlfriends certainly come to mind.
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