punishment to fit the crime
I've been reading blogs and their commentary on what should be done with sex offenders.
One I just had to respond to was Now that's Progress.
As far as I'm concerned, if you sexually abuse a child, you deserve to have your rights taken away. You deserve to be labeled. You deserve to be watched indefinitely. You don't "repay your debt to society" in jail and then be let loose to repeat your actions.Is it unconstitutional? Maybe. But I don't think too many people are going to argue about changing the Constitution on this matter. You want a winning political issue across the board? This is it.
This really burned me up. If you really believe that a debt to society does not end after a prison term, then all white collar crimes should be put in a registry and forced to wear GPS locator ankle bracelets. And violent crimes such as murder. And theft. And drug dealing. Why stop there? Not just everyone who goes to prison, add in everyone who goes to jail. Prison and jail are not the same thing. If you are held overnight or a few days until trial, that is in the local jail. Let's register them too. Oh, and some more. Every drunk driver who gets a ticket. Every driver that breaks the speed limit. Anyone at all issued a citation.
The point is, you have to draw the line somewhere. Punishment should fit the severity of the crime. A 20 year old who had consensual sex with a 16 year old should not be lumped in with a 40 year old who raped and tortured and killed a 6 year old.
I don't love sex offenders. Some of my best friends were molested by fathers, step-fathers, or friends of the family. They are in prison, or out and being monitored. But, and this is a big but, I knew many girls in high school who started having sex before they turned 17, the age of consent in IL. I had sex at 16 with a guy 4 years older than me. I was 6 months short of being legal. Some may argue that I was too young to know what I was doing, and that's the problem to be discussed in my next entry. Statutory rape laws are nothing more than "theft of chattel" laws from the middle ages. Go read Harmful to Minors while you wait for that new entry.
Laws need to be brought into line. A conviction for posession of a joint should not carry a longer sentence than murder. The numbers of non-violent offenders in jail should not outnumber the violent ones. Treatment and rehabilitation programs should have enough funding to treat the prison population waiting for it. Consensual sex in high school should not be on the same level as raping a toddler.
Laws restricting an offender from living within 1,000 ft of a school does squat if a kid lives next door. Not being allowed near a park doesn't do any good if the kid and offender are in a chat room online. Harrassing offenders to drive them out of town doesn't protect the kids in the next town they move to, or remove those never-caught molesters who still live in your town. Teach your kids to know what is a bad touch. Be responsible enough to warn them about friends and familty too, not just strangers. Be approachable so that if something is going on, your kids (or someone else's) aren't afraid to come to you or another adult and tell the adult that someone is hurting them.
For more information go to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Their CyberTipline handles leads from individuals reporting the sexual exploitation of children. There are plenty of creepy people online. (not all are after kids, but adults need to know how to protect themselves from stalkers online too)
One I just had to respond to was Now that's Progress.
As far as I'm concerned, if you sexually abuse a child, you deserve to have your rights taken away. You deserve to be labeled. You deserve to be watched indefinitely. You don't "repay your debt to society" in jail and then be let loose to repeat your actions.Is it unconstitutional? Maybe. But I don't think too many people are going to argue about changing the Constitution on this matter. You want a winning political issue across the board? This is it.
This really burned me up. If you really believe that a debt to society does not end after a prison term, then all white collar crimes should be put in a registry and forced to wear GPS locator ankle bracelets. And violent crimes such as murder. And theft. And drug dealing. Why stop there? Not just everyone who goes to prison, add in everyone who goes to jail. Prison and jail are not the same thing. If you are held overnight or a few days until trial, that is in the local jail. Let's register them too. Oh, and some more. Every drunk driver who gets a ticket. Every driver that breaks the speed limit. Anyone at all issued a citation.
The point is, you have to draw the line somewhere. Punishment should fit the severity of the crime. A 20 year old who had consensual sex with a 16 year old should not be lumped in with a 40 year old who raped and tortured and killed a 6 year old.
I don't love sex offenders. Some of my best friends were molested by fathers, step-fathers, or friends of the family. They are in prison, or out and being monitored. But, and this is a big but, I knew many girls in high school who started having sex before they turned 17, the age of consent in IL. I had sex at 16 with a guy 4 years older than me. I was 6 months short of being legal. Some may argue that I was too young to know what I was doing, and that's the problem to be discussed in my next entry. Statutory rape laws are nothing more than "theft of chattel" laws from the middle ages. Go read Harmful to Minors while you wait for that new entry.
Laws need to be brought into line. A conviction for posession of a joint should not carry a longer sentence than murder. The numbers of non-violent offenders in jail should not outnumber the violent ones. Treatment and rehabilitation programs should have enough funding to treat the prison population waiting for it. Consensual sex in high school should not be on the same level as raping a toddler.
Laws restricting an offender from living within 1,000 ft of a school does squat if a kid lives next door. Not being allowed near a park doesn't do any good if the kid and offender are in a chat room online. Harrassing offenders to drive them out of town doesn't protect the kids in the next town they move to, or remove those never-caught molesters who still live in your town. Teach your kids to know what is a bad touch. Be responsible enough to warn them about friends and familty too, not just strangers. Be approachable so that if something is going on, your kids (or someone else's) aren't afraid to come to you or another adult and tell the adult that someone is hurting them.
For more information go to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Their CyberTipline handles leads from individuals reporting the sexual exploitation of children. There are plenty of creepy people online. (not all are after kids, but adults need to know how to protect themselves from stalkers online too)
posted by two bits @ 3:51 PM
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