Today I came across a story about how lawmakers in Ohio are planning yet another way to punish people for crimes they’ve already been punished for. Not content with forcing sex offenders to register with the sheriff in the county in which they live or barring them from living near a school, now a new law has been proposed that will force sex offenders to get special colored license plates that would allow the public to identify them. [digg=http://www.digg.com/political_opinion/Sex_offender_hysteria]
Does anyone else think our politicians have gone way overboard on this issue? I personally think that they went overboard the moment they required sex offenders to register, even after serving prison time. Here is just a sampling of some of the feel-good-but-useless-and-life-ruining laws that have been passed around the country:
- In Florida, sex offenders are barred from hurricane shelters and must report to the nearest prison if they have nowhere else to go.
- In Iowa, sex offenders are banned from living within 2,000 feet of schools and day care centers, which essentially bans sex offenders from living in most cities and towns.
- Georgia law prevents sex offenders from living, working, or loitering within 1,000 feet of a school, church, playground, or school bus stop. In some cases, entire counties are off limits.
- California has put out a piece of legislation which would enforce lifetime monitoring of convicted sexual predators and the creation of “predator free zones”.
We’ve all heard the insane cases where seemingly normal activity can ends up getting some poor schmuck on a sex offender registry. Like the 18 year old boy who gets convicted of having sex with his 17 year old girlfriend, or the man who grabbed the a girl’s arm and scolded her for running in front of his car.
It appears that the only real thing these draconian laws accomplish are ruined lives for non-violent and non-repeating sex offenders, and a false sense of security for the community. If these people are such a danger to the community in which they reside, why are they being released from prison? If they disregarded laws against the molesting of children, why would they follow laws preventing them from loitering near schools and playground?
Much of the hysteria surrounding sex offenders can be blamed on the media. From sensationalizing local stories nationwide for weeks, to shows like “To Catch a Predator”, the media has kept American interest in sex offenders on the front burner. After doing a little research, many of society’s preconceived notions about sex offenders (not surprisingly) are wrong:
The vast majority of minors (94%) are victimized among family or friends. 84% of assaults on children under 12 occur within a residence. These statistics make distance laws (e.g. 1000 feet from a school) uncalled for. Another misconception people have is that sex offenders have a high recidivism rate. Actually, the opposite is true. Recidivism rates for sex offenses are relatively low, typically running in the 3-13% range, and among the lowest of all types of crimes.
I’m not trying to suggest that there aren’t real, dangerous criminals out there. But, the 18 year old guy who gets caught getting oral sex from his 17 year old girlfriend isn’t one of them.
You are absolutely right! There’s one story of how a 10 year-old kid was put on a sex offender list. The reason? To discourage him from forcibly kissing girls. If you urinate in public, you can end up on the list. If you have sex in public, you can get on the list. I think this sex offender list has gone too far and should be banned, or narrowed down to a specific crime: molestation. Plain and simple.
Some of those laws make me sick to my stomach. Does anyone else smell 8th amendment violations?
I like your site. How about this fact ?…public officials presented instructed jury to convict on serious major fraudulent false evidence…they knew was false/a fraud. The scales of justice can be rigged for anyone to fail. If you thought public officials support/uphold the Constitution…come to California. If you thought public officials will honor the oath of a fair open jury trial…come to california. Manufacture evidence to manufacture more prisons. These codes/laws that punish/restrict people who are no longer within jail control can be home-runned out of here. Help me to help you. Leadership will show rigged justice happens to one can then happen to anyone. And for you or friend or family member having 3 strike issues there is a good chance false evidence was used against them. You need my experience to know what to look for . Let’s go. donation thank you MOLINA 927 south Bruce- # 5 Anaheim, Ca. 92804
Story of injustice,
I only wish that the legislators who are pushing these obvious illegal laws into effect had to answer for all of their digressions! But I have also noticed in my 26 short years how crooked our local government here in Oklahoma. I know that several of the smaller counties in our bible beating state get away with, police not allowing for counsel after the law states plainly that if a suspect request a lawyer or asks if they need a lawyer you must stop questioning and provide the accused with legal counsel before questioning resumes.
I have seen firsthand how small police departments will say if you aren’t guilty you don’t need a lawyer and keep on questioning the suspect clearly in violation of state and federal laws.
I love and live with a convicted sex offender and I know the daily struggle that being constantly having your sentence adjusted without trial. I know that here in Oklahoma that in the last 6 months the sex offender registration laws have been changed twice and local law enforcement HATES the new tier system that the state put into law. Over 70% of all registered sex offenders in the state of Oklahoma are in the worst tier and now have to register for life.
My partner was not given a fair shake in his case. He was brought to the police station and was being questioned, he asked several times if he needed a lawyer and they kept telling him if he didn’t need a lawyer unless he did something wrong. He answered all the questions the police had after he was told that he would only get a slap on the hand if he was honest about what happened. They then arrested him and he had to bond out. He got a lawyer that was so incompetent that he didn’t even ask for the tape of the interview. My partners’ brother was in the police department for the city then and is now a Oklahoma Highway Patrol Officer, he told my partner when I was present that he heard the tape and they broke the law and if the tape got out the conviction would be thrown out but he did nothing to help his brother because he wanted to be a cop so bad that the injustice his own brother dealt with so how will he not do the same thing to someone else? Well this happened at election time and the DA wanted to make a name for herself.
The thing that gets me is that he did not touch anyone and everyone involved did not want him to get into trouble. The thing is he was prosecuted for a 15 year old boy being in the room. The only reason he got in trouble is the fact that it was considered a “gay” thing. But his wife at the time had started having sex with him when he was 15 and the police would do nothing and DHS would do nothing.
The point here is I know first had how hard it is for myself as well as my partner. He is a great guy and even the Probation Officer that dealt with him said that he should never have been charged with any crime. But the plea deal that the DA put out had in the punishment portion said that he had a suspended sentence and probation with registering for 10 years. Now under the new law he is a life time registrant, this is punishing him again without reason. I do believe that people who force sex or force a child a true child under 13 to have sex should have to register.
I know how awful this is, I have seen him cry several times, this issue causes so much undue stress and pain for him. We need to do something to stop the new “American Witch Hunt”.
Thanks for listening, Matt
Excellent point!
Yes, there are many people on the Sex offender Registry who do not belong there. Yet, these crooked politicians keep up their fraudulent campaigns to “convince” the public sex offenders are all dangerous and re-offend often.
Nope! Factually, the majority of sex offenders have committed non-violent crimes such as mooning or peeking at a few dirty pictures online. Yet, these “dangerous people”, after paying their debts, are continuously being punished by misguided laws disguised as “public safety” measures. But these corrupt laws do absolutely nothing to keep kids safe, especially when there are kids on sex offender registries as young as 5! Plus, many former offenders have kids of their own that suffer collateral damage. For example, public notification of sex offender addresses invites vigilantism which endangers not only the former offender, but also his children and other family members. Where is the law regarding child endangerment by vigilantes?
Zoning restrictions are also useless as there has not been one documented case where a sex offender abducted a child within these areas. Your child has more of a chance to be sexually abused by someone who is not on any registry according to the Department Of Justice. Really, who is more dangerous in you view, a man who urinated in public years ago or a man who collects many guns and drinks often? Well, the latter is not on any registry while the first may be on one for life.
Get the facts before you judge anyone on a registry. Corrupt politicians are more interested in using fear to gain votes than protecting your children. Keep in mind the Governor of Nevada, Jim Gibbons, used these fear tactics in his own campaign. But did you know he was accused of sexually assaulting a cocktail waitress? The evidence against him was very prominent, however Jim likely bought off security personnel to keep their mouths shut. In other words, he is not listed on any registry while teens who had consensual sex are. Now that is plain unjust!
It’s time to overhaul sex offender laws so only true predators are on registries and subject to harsh rules (the original intent of Megan’s Law). It is a waste of state funds and law enforcement resources to keep harassing low-risk offenders while real abusers are granted more freedom.
Are there any lawyers out there who will help individuals in the area?