Is the Sex Offender Registry Fair?
The 1990s saw a significant rise in horrific sex offenses directed towards children, prompting the federal and state governments to formulate laws to help deter offenders and ensure public safety. One of these laws was the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, requiring convicted offenders to register with their local law enforcement after their release from prison.
In 1996, Congress passed Meghan’s Law (a subsection of the Jacob Wetterling Act), which was then signed into law by President Bill Clinton. This law required law enforcement agencies to publicize the information of convicted sex offenders. This meant that any person needing to look up a person’s name when doing a background check for sex offenses could find their name in the sex offenders register if they had had a sex crimes conviction. Under some jurisdictions, the police must conduct community notification in neighborhoods where convicted sex offenders live.
The intentions of the creators of sex offenders’ registry were considered noble. However, in recent years, sex registry laws have come under much criticism from proponents of criminal justice reform and human rights watch groups as unfair and ineffective in attaining the initial objective. Additionally, sex offenses are the only crimes where offenders suffer double jeopardy for their crimes, which is unfair.
Unfair, illegal, and it just sucks. I’m sure that one thing we can agree on is that the registry is not effective. Not only is it not effective, but it IS infecting our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Time for this Pandemic to end!!
Someone who cares, I liked that comment and the constructive use in this topic. Sure I like Tim in WI’s comments, but is he not thinking more in a computerized era or a data base. Do we all have the answers to why a child gets killed whether by a truck or on a train track.
Do we have the answers to why indenture Servitude is illegal or why they still have kings in many places today when this registry is in many respects a simple catch 22 ordeal or who’s mouth overloads the shopping cart with an Egyptian rule of justice. So is justice today some type of he said she said rags to riches penalty error. Isn’t to error human still weighing in the balance today.
The Registry accomplishes many things:
1) Helps the economy of countries without a registry as registry places viable workers out of workforce.
2) Forces former offenders to live far from schools and the watchful prying eyes of meddling parents and teachers to remote areas where children do not have playground equipment and must play in the yard of the RSO.
3) Allows single moms the opportunity to hook men in and threaten them they will tell police they molested their child unless they: commit to marriage, buy expensive items…(the world is their oyster really!)
4) Allows free stuff for everyone since police will not do anything to protect the assets of the RSO.
5) Subsidize psychologists with 1-star ratings who become “psychosexual experts for court”.
6) Creates profitable porn business for high-school girls in producing explicit files to be planted on unsuspecting men by their step-mothers who plan to frame the men and then take all of their possessions AND buy drugs with the profits.
7) Increase profits by drug dealers. (See above)
8) Allows RSO to have more time with nieces and nephews who sit on the lap of the RSO since he cannot find work and must live with brother since no one will rent to him.
9) Forces RSO to not work and instead hang out at the mall, bar or McDonald’s play place all day.
10) Increases the need for vaccines since RSOs ride the bus all day since they can’t find housing and have no access to clean water.
LOL !! Well and ”nuff” said…..