Emotion, not Logic, drives Sex Offense Law Naming
Weekly Update 2017-02-14
Dear Members and Advocates,
Megan, Jessica, Adam… all child victims of sexual abuse and murder whose names have now been turned into legacy through laws designed to punish sex offenders. The actual killers of these children are now dead or serving a life sentence. The irony is they will never be subjected to the punitive laws created in the wake of their heinous acts. However, those who are being punished for those crimes are the hundreds of thousands of individuals who are unfortunate enough to find themselves on the sex offender registry.
The reality is that the tragedy that befell Megan, Jessica, Adam, Jacob, Amber, Jaycee, Cherish and other victims of senseless crimes are extremely rare occurrences. Over 95% of victims know their abusers. Child abductions are very rare. Although many on the registry committed bad crimes, there are many on the registry who are listed for relatively benign crimes or have no direct victim. So, is it fair to subject them ALL to laws bearing names that associate them with heinous murderers?
After decades in effect we know very definitively that registries don’t work, but we know something else… name a law after a child and nobody will have the political will to vote against it. In Ohio, lawmakers are looking to pass “Sierah’s Law” and in New York, “Brittany’s Law” to create a registry of violent offenders. Last month, in Marion County, Florida, “Molly’s Law” went into effect; which created an animal abuse registry. The more “registries” we create to define people by the one worst thing they ever did, the more difficult it will eventually become to find people who are not “a registered something”.
At the end of the documentary “Untouchable”, Ron Book admits that the “Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance” (which established a residency restriction in Miami-Dade) would have done nothing to prevent her victimization. Knowing Sex Offender Residency Restrictions do not work, wouldn’t it be a more fitting legacy for a victim to have a law that does? Rather than being an Act that ignores the 93% of victims, how about a law that benefits 100% of children, such as a mandated educational program in schools? If the true intent of these laws are to protect children, we should be concerning ourselves with whether they are effective. After all; we owe that much to the victims.
Please pay attention to www.floridaactioncommittee.org<http://www.floridaactioncommittee.org> this coming week for an important call to action.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
NBC2 Investigation: Convicted killers living in Southwest Florida<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/nbc2-investigation-convicted-killers-living-southwest-florida/>
Here’s a story that asks the question we’ve been asking for a while. Why is there a registry of sex offenders but no registry of murderers? If someone, 20 years ago, had consensual sex with an underage partner when they were 18, you’d know they were living next door…
Illinois appellate court rules park ban unconstitutional<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/illinois-appellate-court-rules-park-ban-unconstitutional/>
An Illinois appellate court has ruled a public park ban unconstitutional on its face when applied to all sex offenders in all parks, at all times, in all circumstances. The opinion, which can be read here:…
International Megan’s Law: One Year Later [WITH FAC COMMENT]<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/international-megans-law-one-year-later-fac-comment/>
One year to the date of its enactment, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) reports that the International Megan’s Law is already having the intended effect of reducing the threat of child sex tourism. [HOW IS THAT QUANTIFIED? WHAT ABOUT THE EFFECT OF IMPEDING LEGITIMATE TRAVEL…
Local group wants to make changes to sex offender registry<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/local-group-wants-make-changes-sex-offender-registry/>
There are more than 65,000 sex offenders registered in Florida. There is a movement in the state and across the nation to change the reporting requirement. If the changes go through, you wouldn’t know if a sex offender was living next door. It would be a radical…
SCAM: ClearMyCase.com<https://floridaactioncommittee.org/warning-clearmycase-com/>
We have been informed that a company out of Texas called “CLEARMYCASE.COM” has been soliciting individuals on the Florida Registry claiming they might be able to help them “deregister” and charging a $100 “consultation fee”. Please do not fall for this scam. …