Topic: Crime and Punishment
The Sex Offender Registry Why are we targeting the very people we are charged to protect?by RS Davis
(libertarian)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Our world is going absolutely insane. We've lost all sense of scope or perspective, and we've abandoned common sense and reason, seemingly content to just stay the course and push forward, oblivious to the absolute stupidity of our actions.
No, I'm not talking about the Iraq War - I'm talking about our war against sex offenders. It's gone off the deep end - it's being taken to absurd ends - and no one seems to care. We're targeting the very innocence these laws are designed to protect.
Case in point - police in Newark, Ohio picked up a fifteen year old girl last week and held her over the weekend on felony charges of child pornography and possession of criminal tools. Her crime? She took nude pictures of herself with her cell phone and sent them to friends.
They're now debating on whether to charge the children to whom she sent the photos, as well.
Not surprising in Ohio, who went fully nuts in 2006, when they passed a bill that made it so you didn't have to be even charged with a sex crime to be put on their "civil" sex offender list.
Or there's Alex Phillips, the seventeen year-old boy who, after being dumped by his sixteen year-old girlfriend, uploaded to MySpace the nude photos she had sent him. Now he's facing charges of sexual exploitation of a child. I'm surprised she wasn't also arrested for producing child pornography.
There's also the case of "Amber" and "Jeremy," a couple of Florida teens who took photos and videos of themselves engaged in sexual acts at Amber's house and then emailed them to Jeremy's computer. They have been convicted of "producing, directing or promoting a photograph featuring the sexual conduct of a child." Because they were sent to his computer, Jeremy was also convicted of possession of child pornography.
The conviction was upheld on appeal, the majority opinion stating that the "Appellant was simply too young to make an intelligent decision about engaging in sexual conduct and memorializing it."
If they were too young to make an intelligent decision, how can they then be held legally responsible for it? It's a bizarre paradox where they are too innocent to choose sex, but mature enough to choose be sex offenders. I mean, the courts didn't even release their real names, to protect them!
The dissenting judge in the case rightly pointed out the obvious, that these laws were "designed to protect children from abuse by others, but it was used in this case to punish a child for her own mistake."
This is what I'm on about. These kids are all going to be put on the sex offender registries, and their lives are never going to be the same. They will be ostracized and villified. They run the risk of having their future homes vandalized by angry neighbors. In many states, they will not be able to be within 2,500 feet of children, including their friends and siblings, not to mention the problems if they marry and have children. They may even be targets for murderers.
The definition of sex offender has been expanded to the point of being so broad, its meaningless. When you look at your local registry, you don't know if your neighbor is a child-molesting pervert, or the eighteen year-old senior that got busted for consensual sex with his highschool sweetheart.
This does nothing to promote justice or make our children any safer, and in fact, has the opposite effect. With so much bad information out there on these lists, its near impossible to find the real threats to your children.
And in many cases, it is the State who is the real threat - branding our kids with their very own scarlet letters, sending innocent children out into the world with a metaphorical pervert tattoo on their foreheads.
In the case of Amber and Jeremy, the court said that "if these pictures are ultimately released, future damage may be done to these minors' careers or personal lives."
Yeah? And what's being on the sex offender registry going to do for their careers and personal lives?
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First, let me get this out. I am totally against ANY form of abuse to any human being. And I believe anyone who murders another human being should be in prison for the rest of their life (until they die). I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone. Also, I believe that once a person has been in and out of prison and has served their probation and parole, done everything required of them, and what was signed on the "contract" when they took the plea, none of this should be required of them, none of it. The state cannot tear up a contract like this, which they are basically doing, it's unconstitutional. Many people, if they had known they would be faced with all this, they would have NOT taken a plea deal. And the courts are very aware of this and this is why they made it retroactive; thus violating ex-post facto laws! They should be allowed to get on with their life as if nothing happened. I'm not saying for it to be removed from their record, but, the crime should be removed from public view and background checks, they should not have any more restrictions, shaming, etc. If they commit another crime, then they face a lot more punishment, like everything else is treated.
When are we going to move away from being "TOUGH ON CRIME" and move to being "SMART ON CRIME?" If you locked every single sex offender up, at this moment, or killed every one of them, do you think the problem is over? No, more will follow.
I've heard many people say "If these laws protect one child, then they are worth it!" And at the same time, if millions are tortured, it's ok. Offenders are losing their homes, jobs, families, and children and cannot find new jobs or homes due to the insanity of these laws. The families are also made into outcasts for associating with or being related to an ex-offender and their own children are harassed and bullied at schools due to a family member being an ex-offender.
I know these laws are a sensitive issue, but as all issues, they must be discussed and we must come up with a valid solution that will work. The laws, as they exist now, DO NOT WORK! People are always saying they cause unintended consequences. These laws have been on the books for years now, so nothing is unintended anymore. When are we going to set aside fear, hate, rage and anger and come up with a real solution? History has proven that these feelings NEVER get good laws passed but only create bad ones that punish and torture many people. These knee-jerk reactions to a slim number of high-profile crimes, like Adam Walsh and Jessica Lunsford, MUST STOP!
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!
Have we learned nothing???? Discrimination against any group of people is wrong! We did it to adulterers with the Scarlett Letter, Jews in WW2, Indians, Blacks, over weight people and now Sex Offenders. Will we ever learn? The Registry is useless and does not prevent crime.
You hit the nail right on the head with this article.
I would like to mention one other aspect of this situation.
The united states constitution and every state constitution as well strictly forbids ANYONE from passing Ex Post Facto Law.
U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 9 No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
What does this mean?
Any law, ...which inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime when committed, is an ex post facto law. For example, a law cannot be created tomorrow which will hold a person responsible for something he or she does today. Laws are binding only from the date of their creation or from some future date at which they are specified as taking effect.
In the Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court, Harvard's Professor Laurence H. Tribe has defined a bill of attainder as a legislative act "that inflicts punishment without a trial." The late Edgar Bodenheimer, professor emeritus at the University of California, identified an ex post facto law as a statute "that prescribes a greater punishment for a crime already committed."
The Constitution Guarantees you the lawmakers cannot make laws which add punishment to a crime committed before the law was passed.
Megans Law, and the Adam Walsh Act, (SORNA) laws are being applied Ex Post Facto. Totally Forbidden by the Constitution. The sex offender registry applied Retro Actively violates the Constitution of both the United States and also The Good State of Louisiana in that it adds tons of punishments, PLURAL, upon men who have already served out their time. This hurts these men's CHILDREN by making them outcasts.
This means this law was put into effect in 2006. But if you committed any crime related to this law, no matter if it was 100 years ago, and you have already served your time, you would now begin being PUNISHED AGAIN for that same crime.
How are you punished?
FORMER SEX OFFENDERS WHO HAVE SERVED THEIR TIME, MANY HAVE DONE SO 10, 20, 30 YEARS AGO ARE NOW HAVING MANY NEW PUNISHMENTS ADDED UPON THEM. WHEN THEY WERE SENTENCED, THEY HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH THE GOVERNMENT THAT THEY HAD TO SERVE OUT WHAT EVER SENTENCE THEY WERE GIVEN, A CONTRACT. ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE GOVERNMENT DECIDES THEY CAN ADD NEW PUNISHMENTS TO THOSE SENTENCES. HOW CAN ANYONE ADD MORE PUNISHMENT TO MEN WHO HAVE ALREADY SERVED THEIR TIME?
Children of Former Sex Offenders, Shamed, Ridiculed, Ostracized, Loss of all friends, Outcasts. With your mouths you say protect the children, with your lawmaking you harm THOUSANDS EVERY DAY.
Labeled a SEX OFFENDER, Outcast, No matter the circumstances or threat to society.
Not given access to the courts to plead your case in above said labeling.
Your good name is defamed.
You cannot take family to Parks, swimming, fishing, camping all GONE. Even though you are still required to pay taxes for same event properties which are held on public land.
Cannot attend Your Child's School Events. Even though still required to pay taxes for same event properties which are held on public land.
Cannot take children to school sporting events, football, soccer, baseball Even though still required to pay taxes for same event properties which are held on public land. This means if you are the only driver in your family, Your children cannot participate in Football, Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, Chior, Band, Any event which requires the parent to drive their child to school.
In Louisiana, if your child misses the bus, you cannot take them to school. As you are banned from 1000 feet of any school, unless you have permission 24 hours in advance from the SCHOOL SUPERINTENDANT. This causes truancy because your child has no way to go to school.
Cannot get a job. Due to being labeled by state as SEX OFFENDER.
Cannot get housing, Nobody will rent to sex offender. No place to live.
Your Crime, Name, Photo, Address, Phone number, email address, place of employment if you are able to find one, all listed on the Public World Wide Web. Invasion of Privacy!
Registration Fees are assigned to Former Sex Offenders, Forcing them to either Pay the fees, or be Arrested for Failure to Register. Felony Penalty for Civil Law.
New Driver's License / State ID every year (with Sex Offender designation) Public Shaming
Cost: All other citizens of the state renew their Drivers License every 3 years, Sex Offenders are required to do so Every Year, charging 3 times the amount of other citizens.
Drivers License Label is just like the Jews were labeled, publicly humiliated by the state.
Both the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of Every State in the Union STRICTLY FORBID ANYONE TO MAKE RETRO ACTIVE, EX-POST FACTO LAW, OR LAWS OF ATTAINDER.
How are these states getting away with it. I will tell you. Listen closely, ONLY THE WEALTHY HAVE ACCESS TO THE COURTS IN AMERICA. NOBODY IN THIS COUNTRY WHO IS POOR CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THE COURTS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS, YOU HAVE NO ACCESS TO THE COURTS?
I have been told that the laws are totally unconstitutional by someone who has won in the Supreme Court on this very same law, but I was told it would cost about $45,000.00 to win.
Can you understand that if YOUR constitutional rights are violated, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA, UNLESS YOU CAN RAISE $45,000.00 TO PAY FOR JUSTICE?
Freedom, Justice, Only for the rich or connected in America.
When are we going to move away from being "TOUGH ON CRIME" and move to being "SMART ON CRIME?"
_______________________
That's just rhetorical gold, right there.
On a side note, Adam Walsh's head was found in the lake behind my house. In fairness, though, Lake Okeechobee is in a lot of people's back yards - it's HUGE!
Good stuff, LA Mom! Yeah, I originally started this article much broader, but in the end, I decided to focus on the kids that are being caught up in it.
But there is definitely a laundry list of problems with sex offender laws.
And are those previously convicted of assault, battery, attempted murder or murder (should they escape the death penalty and somehow be granted parole) on any sort of registry? I think not, but the teen/young adult who, either through lack of discretion due to immaturity, the wiles of a vindictive juvenile seeking revenge for some reason, or a Romeo-Juliet-type situation, is exposed to all manner of scrutiny and harassment, and because of the life-long registration they face, will be forever. Who is responsible for this? Is anyone listening?
Sometimes, when I reflect upon stuff like this I get very conspiratorial. It is almost as if our courts understand that our treatment of actual, sleazy, evil sex offenders is problematic, in that the ostracization of them from the community makes it less likely that they be truly rehabilitated.
Our response to this problematic situation is to go a step farther in prosecuting innocent, consensual behavior by minors as sex crimes. By occasionally doing this, the system keeps the discussion and outraged on the fringes, and keeps us from every addressing the truly difficult problem posed by a sex offender being released from jail and being totally unable to productively return to society.
I don't think things are this well co-ordinated, but sometimes I wonder.
Good atricle. You opened my eyes to an injustice that just a few moments ago meant nothing to me. Focusing on the underage 'offenders' (just kids being kids really), brings the injustice and paradoxical nature of this system into sharp relief. Being hounded for the rest of one's life after serving whatever sentence is considered just at trial is indeed cruel and unusual punishment. Once again, I feel the need to refer to the constitution on matters of moral principal and assert that a constitutional government would not be able to foist these horrors on our citizenry. Vote third party!
And check out all the vigilantism spawned from the online registry:
The following is some quick links to various items on my blog regarding Human Rights issues, which can also be accessed by using the labels on the right side of my blog. Also see this item entitled "So How Many Must Die?"
John Stossel of ABC's 20/20 has been talking about this quite a bit and opened my eyes to how unjust some sex crime laws are. I did a presentation using one of his stories about 12 year old boys who were jailed and not allowed to see their parents for slapping girls on the butt. Check out some of Stossels stories. I love Stossel. He isn't always the most fair reporter, but he picks the best stories to make a commentary on society that gets us thinking about freedom as a solution.
Such laws about sex not being consensual if one is under a certain age, regardless of consent, have only existed, from what I can tell, since forced education has existed. Prior to that I don't see any laws regarding this. In fact, even in the Bible i don't see any laws of such nature. A close study of the scriptures will reveal that marriage was fine after the girl begins to have her period. But certainly there was no such law specifying any sort of age requirement for marriage in the Bible.
It seems that after forced education came about, that this is when such misguided laws formed so the education monopoly did not lose any customers. It is interesting that even today in many countries that aren't so strict on forced education, it's still virtually a non-issue.
What's in a word? These laws are being hysterically inacted based on the word, "Regulatory". If they were called by their accurate word, it would be "Punishment". The Supreme Court would have to rule against them ALL! The only part of ALL of them that is truly factual, is The Law of Unintended Consequences. In EVERY case, the common denominator is Pain, Suffering, and Injury to the Ex-offender, and ALL family members. Throw in Landlords and Employers for good measure.
Why is it that when being charged with a Sex Offense, a term within itself that is so overly broad as to be virtually impossible to define, there are NO mitigating circumstances permitted to defend the action with which a person is charged? Even murder is permitted to have mitigating circumstances.
While the word, murder, is in front of me, I'd like to ask a rhetorical question. John Walsh's son, Adam was murdered. He was be-headed. His body has never been found. What evidence is there that a sexual crime was ever committed on this young, innocent child? Yet, John Walsh is up to his eyeballs in Sex Offender Legislation? (More profitable?) Little Adam's murderer has never been found.
Likewise, little Jon Benet Ramsey, whose ransom note threatened be-heading, a term not yet in common use in this country, was sexually tortured. Her murderer has not ever been found.
So, how is it that a lifetime Registry of POSSIBLE sex offenses is supposed to protect our kids, when even the most heinous of crimes against children go unsolved?
What happens when a new sex offense takes place in say, Chicago, or New York, or any major city? Does Law Enforcement have to scrutinize EVERY one of thousands upon thousands of names on the Registry for POSSIBLE suspects, many whose crimes were even 50 years ago? What happens to the real perpetrator while Law Enforcement is boggled down in minutia?
This whole Public Registry is an experiment in futility! Unless, you are the beneficiary of the Billions of dollars being made in Software Tracking Systems.
I was very impressed by the topics on the page. I plead to a fith degree, for a crime I did not commit, because the detective lied and said I visited a place, which was not true. I servered in the us army for 7 years, andas part of a plea bargain, this has turned into a life sentence. I fell I served this country so it can become like Rusia and Germany of the past. They gained there freedom and rights while we are looosing ours. I spent time in a prison for a crime I didn't commit, and they are punishing me my family and friends, with what seems to be a life sentence.
These laws are nothing less than what nazi germany did to the jews and others during the 30's and 40's, with the exception of prison camps. For those who do not believe this, image the world having the technology including the internet back then as we have today. All i can say is that Hitler would have loved the internet! You would have seen every jew, gypsy, homosexual, sex offender,etc. on a registry guaranteed!
The United States today is no different from the Germany of the past and this is coming from the mouth of a conservitive republican.
As a patriot, i can tell you that it is no big secret, that militia's across the US are now recruiting sex offenders. And although some of us do not like the idea of including sex offenders in our ranks, many of us would gladly die alongside one defending this country and it's constitution, that so many have done so before.
No one seems to address the life-long punishment that sexually abused children feel. The shame, the degradation, the destruction of the ability to trust that lives on into adulthood -- aren't these worse than being on a sexual offender registry?
I don't pity those who are registered as pedophiles, and there are millions more who'd qualify were their propensities and activities known. Compare the teen "fun" with the adult predation -- I'm sure the predators outnumber teens goofing around by the hundreds of thousands to one.
So these perverts lose all that's near and dear to them. They should have thought about the consequences before committing the crimes.
I found the original article quite interesting as I just finished a discussion board on the vary subject in my 'criminal law' class. It is surprising how many people [classmates] do not no all the facts about this yet make very forceful comments for putting people put on sex offender registries.
I have never heard anyone ever say that vicims of sex crimes ie children ever grow up. As far as i can tell they stay a child of abuse forever. I feel this is not the trueth. they do grow up they do have a life and yes they do heal. Unless ofcourse no one wants them to. Then they can hold them in the victim mode forever. But this is not something that has to be. Only if you want to justify keeping someone on this for life can you make a statement that the victims are forever victims. One this is not something that happends unless they choise never to heal. Really! Some perfer to hang on to this as it gets them more attention and many buy into this. But i know i will be beat senceless for saying this but someone should. They do grow up they had a bad exspirence and they go on. Unless someone tells them they are permantly messed up I would have to say most would disagree they are. not saying they were not harmed. Not saying they didn't suffer from a trama. but the offender also suffered a trama called jail. An eye for an eye not the whole body.
I will leave a note that there is a bigger complaint now more than ever with sex offenders. I have a friend who is a registred sex offender but guess what? He is only 23 and is still a virgin....How can this be....it was all an internet sting. Cops were on the other side of a chat room and were looking to get their rocks on while "portraying" a minor. Which how gray is the area of a 17 year old being a "minor" anyway, there never was a "victim" but he gets charged with carnal knowledge of a juvinille even when there was no juvinille to begin with? so what is the real problem here? I say Entrapment.
First thing I will say is that there is too much sexual perversion online as it is. As far as teens getting caught, I say that it's better to deal with them now, scare the hell out of them now, have them go thru the motions, that way, they won't grow up to be old experienced sexual deviants. Besides, their innocence went out the window when they pulled their pants down and put their asses online for all to see. It's the little children that are the real victims at the hands of cowards that sit in dark rooms destroying lives. So they have to register, so what ! Small price to pay. Everytime an offender gets busted by an undercover online FBI agent, it's justice for a child victim.
Aside from the victim or the offender being hurt, some citizens of our supposedly free country are missing the BIG PICTURE. This country was built and kept free based on a set of laws in our Constitution that even our soldiers give their lives for. (CONSTITUTION = YOUR FREEDOM).
If new laws are made ignoring our Constitution then our government is violating our constitutional rights (POINT BLANK)!
Regardless if some people do not like it, our constitutional rights (OUR FREEDOM) must be upheld at all costs regardless of situation or offense. That’s the bottom line!
We even have to click on "Do you agree to Honor and Protect the RIGHTS of ALL OTHERS" to register on this site in order to post comments.
Remember that the Constitution is for everyone and is for the protection of all citizens. Our Constitution (Article 1, Section 9) strictly forbids ANYONE from passing Ex Post Facto Law.
This means that even all the new sex offender laws made retroactive are a violation of the Constitutional rights of all citizens. I know some of you hate to admit it but fact is truth and without all our citizens constitutional rights being upheld, we may as well have elected Hitler for president. If you don’t agree with that then maybe you and your family should move to Iraq.
The biggest part of this to me is that I have yet to see a compelling reason why the 18 year old who has consensual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend should be treated exactly the same (as far as the registry is concerned) as a 50 year old who fondles little boys.
I am TOTALLY against pedophilia, but let's face it -- the little boys getting fondled by old men are most likely going to be emotionally scarred for life. Furthermore, the 15 year old who had consensual sex with someone 3 years older than her will probably never feel any real level of emotional pain. But in the process, an 18 year old kid's life is ruined because of a small mistake.
I'm not saying I condone 18 year olds having sex with 15 year olds, because I don't, but the punishment doesn't really fit the "crime". A 50 year old who engages in sexual conduct with children deserves whatever consequences get thrown at him. An 18 year old kid who made a mistake doesn't. Neither does that 18 year old's family, friends, and so on.
Do I think it should be on his record? Absolutely. But only to the same extent that a DUI or a disorderly conduct charge would be on someone's record. There isn't really a registry for that (although in this day and age some states have a court access website where a person can access just about anyone's criminal record). It will most certainly affect that person's ability to obtain employment in many cases, but it won't totally ruin every single aspect of that person's life.
Something needs to be done to distinguish types of sex offenders, and that is the bottom line.
I too think molesters and actual predators need to serve a harsh sentence. I'm not going to lie and say I'm a perfect person, because I'm not. I am 29 years old, still a virgin, and have a degree of mentality and physical problems which keep me from being 100% normal to go out and try to find work, socialize correctly, and so forth. I've been convicted of a internet computer crime this past January 2009, and looking back at it, I'm a whole new person. I know what I did was wrong, detective told me I was talking to him (who was a 16yo) on Undernet IRC Network. Yes, big mistake, sure ain't going back to it, I don't have urges for kids of any kind, and I wish I could kill the real sick people out there who do take advantage of children. The detective and I made a deal of Probation (10yrs) and counseling, which I agreed to. Now coming up is my court date, and now they threw in this 'sex offender' registry addon to the sentence. I didn't touch or offend anyone nore do I want to. I am unable to find a job, I'm $25,000 in debt., my family is all over the east coast of the United States, my only room and board is gone, as I'm being forced to move. I can't even move to Lexington, KY where my dad is! All this over a INTERNET crime. Imagine if I ran a red light! I'm doing my part in agreeing to the TWO sentences but thats all I'm agreeing to! This country has no idea what being labeled a sex offender does to someone. I didn't tell the detective, feds, whatever, yet but if I'm forced to register, I'm planning on exiting this existance. They can't put a dead person away. E-mail me if you wish. Thank you.
To expand on the subject, the problem is that it is the govt that brings charges against people. If it were up to victims (or their representatives in the case of murder) to prosecute none of this judicial child abuse would have happened. Also, no war on drugs, no gun control, you get the idea, there wouldn't be such a thing as a victimless crime. There would be no prosecutorial state:
The Idea of a Private Law Society
http://mises.org/story/2265
Then we need to look at the private provision of security. The introduction of govt police in the mid 19th cntury was one of he worse things to happen to us. Again, without this other leg to stand on the govt couldn't enforce their ridiculous laws:
Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security
Internet is a very dangerous place, and a tool of repressions for US government. I would suggest to most people limit use of the Internet.
Too many police and FBI are over there.
As for you, yes you are in top level trouble. You will never find a job. If you have somebody who are willing to feed you, then you may survive, but this is a big question.
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