SexOffenderIssues : Interview with Patty Wetterling - June 27, 2008 - From the book "Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Directions"
(Her 11-yr old son, Jacob, was abducted in 1989 and has never been found. The Wetterling Foundation helped create The Jacob Wetterling Act).
Richard Wright: Let's start where we are today and work backwards. Obviously you know we are operating under the Adam Walsh Act, which is the major rewrite of sex offender federal laws from a few years ago. What are your general thoughts about the Adam Walsh Act?
Patty Wetterling: "Well, I had great concerns about some of what they were trying to do when they proposed the bill. I kept raising questions about treating juveniles the same way we treat adults. It makes no sense at all, and that was one provision that I had concerns over. I was told not to worry about the juvenile provisions because that would get thrown out. I was told there was no way that would pass. Also, when we worked on the Jacob Wetterling Act, we were told that we couldn't make it retroactive, and yet the Adam Walsh Act has done that. One of the other clear pieces that I had concerns over was the amount of money that we are spending on GPS monitoring."
"This law applies to a very, very tiny percentage of our general population. There are many pieces to it that are very costly and don't necessarily work. I worked with a family where the offender was on house arrest and he convinced his girlfriend to go over to his house. While he was on house arrest with a bracelet, he murdered her and took off. These laws don't necessarily stop crimes from happening, and they cost a ton of money Those are two issues I have great concerns over. Additionally The AWA allocates zero dollars for prevention."
Wetterling: "Let's take these one at a time. But first of all, I don't believe in registering juveniles. I don't see any, not one redeeming quality in doing that. The goal is to interrupt the behaviors if they've done something wrong, get them some help so they can live a normal, healthy wonderful life. Registering juveniles takes away everything that would allow them a normal, healthy happy life. It takes away any stability and sense of support. Registering juveniles is ludicrous and wrong always."
"Residency restrictions are also wrong and ludicrous and make no sense at all. We're putting all of our energy on the stranger, the bad guy and the reality is it's most sex offenses are committed by somebody that gains your trust, or is a friend or relative, and so none of these laws address the real, sacred thing that nobody wants to talk about."
Wetterling: "I ask a lot of questions. I've always asked a lot of questions. I feel that, when Jacob was kidnapped, I was angry, as you can imagine. I've been angry; I know fear and I know anger, and I don't like living my life like that. I believe that much of the legislation and much of the initiative in this country is to use fear and anger to keep people on guard. I honestly believe, and this is consistent, this is what I felt in 1989 and what I feel today, that there are more good people in the world than bad. We need to pull together and design a world that is safer and better. Just having this absolute anger and pointing our fingers at one or two people as the bad guys, we're denying the realities of sexual offending. We're denying it."
"I've learned a lot. I didn't know that most of the time sexual offenses are committed by someone that the child knows. I learned that by being investigated. Law enforcement always looks at the family, friends, and relatives. They always look very closely at the family. I understand that. It was painful, but I do understand that now. Knowing that, why are we always putting all this stuff under this "stranger danger" mind-set? That's not the solution to this problem."
"Registering and treating them as demons and animals, not even human, that doesn't do anything. It destroys the person. It would destroy me internally and it would not help solve the problem. The problem is how do we treat our kids? If they are victims, we need to get them help right away so that they don't continue the behavior. We've got to build a culture that values and protects its kids."
Wright: You have had access to hundreds of legislators who've passed these laws. Some of these laws have been fairly thoughtful and some have been fairly reactive. Having dealt with so many legislators, how would you characterize their understanding of the problem?
Wetterling: "Overall I would say they have very little understanding of the problem. That's why I ran for Congress. I don't think they want to. Nobody wants to look at the problem. You don't want your child to be a victim. I have said this a lot. In Minnesota, everybody wants to find Jacob and everybody wants to find the man who took him. We've been overwhelmed with just amazing, amazing support, but at the same time nobody wants to find the man who took Jacob... in their family. They don't want to find him in their church, in their school community, in their neighborhood. These people are not monsters. They're living and functioning amongst us, and we've got to figure out a way for them to live amongst us and not harm another. There are many things that need to be looked at, including the effect of pornography. We have a "pornified" culture. It affects the way men view women and the way men view girls. The amount of violence with pornography has greatly grown. We're nurturing that, we are putting that in beer ads and that's everywhere. We are so used to it that we aren't even shocked anymore, and that's sad to me."
Wetterling: "Well, first of all, I would venture to guess that maybe I'm different on this one, too, but when Jacob was abducted, I didn't want a law. It upset me. We had state legislators come to us right at the beginning and say, we want to do something, we're going to pass a law. I thought, why are you talking about laws? I'm looking for Jacob. I didn't want a law named after Jacob, I wanted my son."
"I didn't have the time or energy to put any thought into that. But over time I began looking, and I asked law enforcement, what would have helped you? They said it would have helped to know who was in the area. From a law enforcement perspective, that makes sense. It would have helped to have a central repository of information because we have a very fluid society. Those I think are two valid law enforcement tools, but when they expanded it to community notification, I wasn't even sure if I liked that. It made me very nervous about people not handling that information well."
"On an intellectual level, when these guys are released from prison, we want them to succeed. That's the goal. Then you have no more victims. All of these laws they've been passing make sure that they're not going to succeed. They don't have a place to live; they can't get work. Everybody knows of their horrible crime and they've been vilified. There is too much of a knee-jerk reaction to these horrible crimes."
"I'm not soft on these guys, but I just know that they're not all the same. They're not all the same and we can't treat them as such. There was one time when a man was arrested in St. Paul. My mother called, we were all up at the lake, and she said, "There's a break in your case." I said, "I don't think so. I've talked to the sheriff's department. They know where we are and they haven't called." She said, "Well they've been promoting it all day on TV. There's a break in your case. Watch the news tonight." So we did."
Wright: From your experience, what distinguishes the news media that do a responsible, sensitive, thorough job from the sensational?
Wetterling: "The wording. They tend to right away call someone a rapist, or a child molester. The wording that they use is very inflammatory. I'm not thinking of good examples right now, but I know you'll know them when you hear them. They often suggest it being a stranger. They only report the stranger cases. The sad reality is, they so overemphasize the stranger cases, it suggests that those are the only thing that's happening. There are stations that do a better job. Some really address sexual violence by talking to victims. They know that most cases aren't reported to police and that most of the time it's not a stranger."
"The ones that do, the strangers that do make those high-profile cases are often very bad. I think we have to work out some of the kinks of civil commitment, because there's got to be a way for some of these people to not get out. We've had cases where the offender told people they were going to reoffend. They told them who they were going to go after and how they were going to do it. Now these people are clearly not safe. I don't believe they should be out. So we have to have a place for discerning the differences between these people. They are still human beings."
Wetterling: "I think that one thing that is so sorely missing in all of this, with all of our anger and all of our tough laws, there is no safe place for these guys. There are a lot of people who succeed. They do these terrible offenses and they go to jail and do their time. Then they get out and never reoffend. There is no place to share their stories, because you can't say, well, yeah I was a sex offender once and then I got some help, and I got off alcohol and drugs and I'm cured. As a culture, we don't tolerate that. We have not built into the system any means for success, and I think that's really sad. If I were the parent, the second worst thing to having your child kidnapped, would be to be the parent of someone who did this. I just can't imagine if you are the parent of a juvenile who did something wrong and you get them some help. You want them to lead a healthy, full life, and we've not built that into the equation at all."
Great thanks to SexOffenderIssues for all the hard work they did in transposing this interview
Copyright © 2009, Sex Offender Issues, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
MS Wants Tougher Sex Offense Laws
Desototimes.com : Supes want tougher sex offender laws.
Some DeSoto County supervisors want to take a look at strengthening laws that govern restrictions and public disclosure of convicted sex offenders living in the county. District 4 Supervisor Allen Latimer said that convicted sex offenders shouldn't live within 2,500 feet of where children congregate. (Now it's up to a half mile, which makes most parts of most cities off-limits to any person with a sex offense in their history).
"They've (sex offenders) brought it on themselves," Latimer said (This man needs to be impeached; he thinks he is a judge who doles out punishment, but he is a lowly small town county supervisor).
Effective in 2008, that law was strengthened to prevent sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of any child-care agency, a group home, playground, ball park or any other recreational facility used by individuals aged 18 and under.
District 1 Supervisor Jessie Medlin said he thinks DeSoto County should consider making sex offenders place signs in their yards stating they are sex offenders, similar to what some parishes in Louisiana require. (..or perhaps residents of Desoto County, MS should insist these ignorant spuervisors place signs in their front yards so the children of the town can stay away from them as well).
County attorney Tony Nowak said privacy issues might come into play if that requirement was mandated. (Novak sems to be the only county officialwith any sense)
Juveniles convicted as adults and juveniles who received adjudications or probationary sentences in youth court also must register if offenses involve use of force against the victim.
Temporary residents who reside, abide or lodge in Mississippi for a period of four days in a month, consecutive or nonconsecutive, or 14 days total in a calendar year must register. This would include sex offenders living in recreational vehicles at RV parks.
Contact the County Supervisors here - the lame web page indicates that this must be a rural redneck smaltown.
Some DeSoto County supervisors want to take a look at strengthening laws that govern restrictions and public disclosure of convicted sex offenders living in the county. District 4 Supervisor Allen Latimer said that convicted sex offenders shouldn't live within 2,500 feet of where children congregate. (Now it's up to a half mile, which makes most parts of most cities off-limits to any person with a sex offense in their history).
"They've (sex offenders) brought it on themselves," Latimer said (This man needs to be impeached; he thinks he is a judge who doles out punishment, but he is a lowly small town county supervisor).
Effective in 2008, that law was strengthened to prevent sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of any child-care agency, a group home, playground, ball park or any other recreational facility used by individuals aged 18 and under.
District 1 Supervisor Jessie Medlin said he thinks DeSoto County should consider making sex offenders place signs in their yards stating they are sex offenders, similar to what some parishes in Louisiana require. (..or perhaps residents of Desoto County, MS should insist these ignorant spuervisors place signs in their front yards so the children of the town can stay away from them as well).
County attorney Tony Nowak said privacy issues might come into play if that requirement was mandated. (Novak sems to be the only county officialwith any sense)
Juveniles convicted as adults and juveniles who received adjudications or probationary sentences in youth court also must register if offenses involve use of force against the victim.
Temporary residents who reside, abide or lodge in Mississippi for a period of four days in a month, consecutive or nonconsecutive, or 14 days total in a calendar year must register. This would include sex offenders living in recreational vehicles at RV parks.
Contact the County Supervisors here - the lame web page indicates that this must be a rural redneck smaltown.
Child Sex Predators Are Usually Not Strangers
LJWorld.com (Kansas) : Child sex predators not usually strangers - Family members, friends responsible for most assaults.
It’s easy to find the address and photo of any of the 51 registered child sex offenders in Lawrence.
But it’s more likely that the person with the most potential to prey on a child is someone within a family’s circle of trust.
In the past five years, more than 200 child sexual assaults have been reported to the Lawrence Police Department, according to a Lawrence Journal-World and 6News investigation. In many of the cases, the offender was a relative — parent, uncle, cousin — or someone the family knew well, such as a boyfriend or baby sitter.
“We have this big sex offender registry in our country. Those people in my opinion don’t make up the majority of the risks,” said Yolanda Jackson, a clinical child psychologist and Kansas University associate professor. “In the majority of the cases of sex abuse that we see, the perpetrators are going to be people the child knows, not a random guy who just got out of prison.”
In fact, national statistics show that 85 percent to 95 percent of the time, the offender is someone the child knows.
“It’s not the green monster around the corner. It’s usually the people your child is getting familiar with or has a relationship with,” said Phaedra Wade, social work supervisor for Douglas County Child and Family Services.
Wade’s agency, which is under the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, works with police to investigate many of the sexual assaults reported in Lawrence.
It’s easy to find the address and photo of any of the 51 registered child sex offenders in Lawrence.
But it’s more likely that the person with the most potential to prey on a child is someone within a family’s circle of trust.
In the past five years, more than 200 child sexual assaults have been reported to the Lawrence Police Department, according to a Lawrence Journal-World and 6News investigation. In many of the cases, the offender was a relative — parent, uncle, cousin — or someone the family knew well, such as a boyfriend or baby sitter.
“We have this big sex offender registry in our country. Those people in my opinion don’t make up the majority of the risks,” said Yolanda Jackson, a clinical child psychologist and Kansas University associate professor. “In the majority of the cases of sex abuse that we see, the perpetrators are going to be people the child knows, not a random guy who just got out of prison.”
In fact, national statistics show that 85 percent to 95 percent of the time, the offender is someone the child knows.
“It’s not the green monster around the corner. It’s usually the people your child is getting familiar with or has a relationship with,” said Phaedra Wade, social work supervisor for Douglas County Child and Family Services.
Wade’s agency, which is under the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, works with police to investigate many of the sexual assaults reported in Lawrence.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Arkansas Sex Offender Bill Fails Without Vote
Fox16.com : Law to keep sex offenders away from school fails.
Arkansas - A push to crack down on sex offenders on school campuses failed at the capitol. Legislators in the Senate say the bill could unfairly target the wrong people.
Representative Donna Hutchinson's bill would require offenders to be chaperoned if they're on campus. She told the Senate judiciary committee it also targets teachers who abuse their students. But committee members questioned specifically which offenders the bill targets. That's something even Hutchinson struggled with. "We acknowledge that labeling these predators is a little fuzzy and none of us quite understand it."
That fuzziness did not sit well with the committee, one that's known for killing bills for lack of clarity. This bill failed without a vote.
"I think they were thinking more about that small minority in the second level that will never commit a crime again but when you're making law you can't do that."
Clearly, this woman is an idiot who thinks it is perfectly fine to punish and banish an entire group of citizens because some of them MIGHT re-offend. We urge all readers to contact her office at: Phone: 479-876-6011 eMail: hutchinsond@arkleg.state.ar.us
Arkansas - A push to crack down on sex offenders on school campuses failed at the capitol. Legislators in the Senate say the bill could unfairly target the wrong people.
Representative Donna Hutchinson's bill would require offenders to be chaperoned if they're on campus. She told the Senate judiciary committee it also targets teachers who abuse their students. But committee members questioned specifically which offenders the bill targets. That's something even Hutchinson struggled with. "We acknowledge that labeling these predators is a little fuzzy and none of us quite understand it."
That fuzziness did not sit well with the committee, one that's known for killing bills for lack of clarity. This bill failed without a vote.
"I think they were thinking more about that small minority in the second level that will never commit a crime again but when you're making law you can't do that."
Clearly, this woman is an idiot who thinks it is perfectly fine to punish and banish an entire group of citizens because some of them MIGHT re-offend. We urge all readers to contact her office at: Phone: 479-876-6011 eMail: hutchinsond@arkleg.state.ar.us
Murders of Sex Offenders Increasing
Sexoffenderresearch.blogspot.com : Murdered in the United States - 2008: Registered Sex Offenders.The 2008 year was the worst year ever for deaths of Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs). Of those murdered or killed, not in jails, prisons or civil commitment centers, the most dangerous state is Florida where 5 persons were murdered. PA and TX reported 3 each, CA, MD, MA, NC, and TN each reported 2. AZ, CO, DE, GA, IL, IN, IO, KS, KY, ME, MO, NM, NY, UT, WA each reported 1.
Allen Hunt Show - Sex Offender Law
Allen Hunt Show - Show Description : A Federal Judge must agree with me because this past week he shot down a law requiring registered sex offenders from living 1000-feet from where kids congregate as being unconstitutional. Finally! Do we not realize that if we let these people out of prisons, we owe it to them to reestablish themselves in society. How does it help anyone forcing them "underground." Join the conversation as we look at forgiveness and redemption for people who rarely get it. (See also related show links below this story)
Download MP3 file here. Alternate Link here.
Or here.
The Scarlet Letter: Halloween Version (video):
Download MP3 file here. Alternate Link here.
Or here.
The Scarlet Letter: Halloween Version (video):
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Woman Falsely Listed As Sex Offender for 5 yrs
kbmt12.com : DPS Accidentally Posts Woman's Name As Sex Offender For 5 Years.
Ft. Worth, Texas (AP) - The Texas Department of Public Safety has apologized for posting a Dallas woman's name and photo erroneously on the state's sex offender Web site for nearly five years.
She said she's consulting with lawyers about what her next move should be, if any. Her name apparently was posted on the Web site in 2003. That's when the then-13-year-old girl was detained on a minor trespassing complaint.
Now 20, Marquez said she learned of her listing when she tried to rent a new apartment and the management denied her application. They cited her status as a registered sex offender. Marquez is a mother of two and a criminal justice student at Remington College in Garland.
Ft. Worth, Texas (AP) - The Texas Department of Public Safety has apologized for posting a Dallas woman's name and photo erroneously on the state's sex offender Web site for nearly five years.
She said she's consulting with lawyers about what her next move should be, if any. Her name apparently was posted on the Web site in 2003. That's when the then-13-year-old girl was detained on a minor trespassing complaint.
Now 20, Marquez said she learned of her listing when she tried to rent a new apartment and the management denied her application. They cited her status as a registered sex offender. Marquez is a mother of two and a criminal justice student at Remington College in Garland.
Supreme Court Delays Release of Sex Offenders
Politonomist.com : Obama Delays Release of Sex Offenders.
Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday granted a request of U.S. President Barack Obama to block the release of up to 77 sex offenders; some of the 77 offenders in question were set to be released as early as next week without this intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, previously invalidated a law allowing indefinite incarceration of perceived “sexually dangerous” inmates.
When Congress enacted a law permitting the indefinite commitment of sex offenders, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals claimed that the decision was beyond the bounds of Congressional powers. The appeal was brought forth by several convicted sex offenders: four men serving terms of three to eight years for a variety of charges, such as possession of child pornography or sexual abuse of a minor. Though the four men were due to be released over two years ago, their incarceration was extended due to a perceived risk of repeat offending.
Keeping an inmate in prison one year past his parole date costs about $30,000, versus $800 for a year of parole.
Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday granted a request of U.S. President Barack Obama to block the release of up to 77 sex offenders; some of the 77 offenders in question were set to be released as early as next week without this intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, previously invalidated a law allowing indefinite incarceration of perceived “sexually dangerous” inmates.
When Congress enacted a law permitting the indefinite commitment of sex offenders, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals claimed that the decision was beyond the bounds of Congressional powers. The appeal was brought forth by several convicted sex offenders: four men serving terms of three to eight years for a variety of charges, such as possession of child pornography or sexual abuse of a minor. Though the four men were due to be released over two years ago, their incarceration was extended due to a perceived risk of repeat offending.
Keeping an inmate in prison one year past his parole date costs about $30,000, versus $800 for a year of parole.
OK Sex Offenders Decry Classification System
newsok.com : Oklahoma sex offenders decry classification system.
The number of Oklahoma sex offenders saddled with lifetime registration has doubled since 2007, when state officials implemented a classification system to come into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act, which increased the federal government’s role in dealing with convicted sex offenders.
Some local attorneys say it has resulted in harsher treatment of such offenders. "These people are living just in absolute terror,” attorney Mark Bailey said. "The rules have been changed on them.”
Bailey said he has been approached by a number of people with sex-related convictions in their distant past who recently have been notified they must register with authorities, most for the rest of their lives.
He said the stigma of being branded sex offenders keeps people from speaking out about the recently enacted registration requirements.
William Farmer isn’t so shy. He condemned the restrictions that have hampered one of his relatives for a decade, since he was convicted of indecent exposure in 1999. Farmer said the man was drunk when he urinated on the side of his truck in the view of two women, but that shouldn’t brand him a sex offender. "He is not a danger to society,” he said.
The Choctaw resident complained the state is not doing enough to differentiate between dangerous sex offenders and people who made a stupid mistake. "They’re lumping them all in the same basket,” he said.
Lifetime registration
The law that went into effect in November 2007 requires authorities to evaluate everyone convicted of a sex offense since 1989, assigning each one a tier in the new classification system. Tier 1 offenders must register for 15 years; tier 2 for 25 years and tier 3 for life. Most of the state’s 6,000-plus convicted sex offenders fall into the latter category, state Corrections Department officials said.
Sex offenders considered aggravated or habitual were subject to lifetime registration before the tier system was enacted, said Jim Rabon, who oversees the sex offender registration program. Those offenders used to make up about 40 percent, he said. Now more than 80 percent are subject to lifetime registration.
Bailey said there should be more tiers to encompass the range of people who committed crimes classified as sex offenses. Many are not sexually dangerous, he insists, but guilty only of bad behavior. He said the assessment is based on the charge of conviction, not the circumstances that led to it. It doesn’t consider how likely someone is to commit further sex crimes. "That’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” he said.
Oklahoma’s classification guidelines (before Adam Walsh Act) were created by a committee that included prosecutors, counselors and victim advocates. Tulsa counselor Randy Lopp said the state’s assessment tool meets the requirements of the Walsh Act, but he acknowledged it is not the best way to classify sex offenders.
Lopp, who is head of the Oklahoma Coalition for Sex Offender Management, said offenders should be classified according to their risk level rather than their offense of record.
"This belief is based on accepted research in the field that indicates (75) percent of sexual offenders are not re-arrested over a 15-year period,” he wrote in an e-mail to The Oklahoman.
Richard Kishur, an Oklahoma City counselor who specializes in treating sex offenders, said ideally sex offenders should be evaluated before they are sentenced, to determine if they are a risk to re-offend.
The number of Oklahoma sex offenders saddled with lifetime registration has doubled since 2007, when state officials implemented a classification system to come into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act, which increased the federal government’s role in dealing with convicted sex offenders.
Some local attorneys say it has resulted in harsher treatment of such offenders. "These people are living just in absolute terror,” attorney Mark Bailey said. "The rules have been changed on them.”
Bailey said he has been approached by a number of people with sex-related convictions in their distant past who recently have been notified they must register with authorities, most for the rest of their lives.
He said the stigma of being branded sex offenders keeps people from speaking out about the recently enacted registration requirements.
William Farmer isn’t so shy. He condemned the restrictions that have hampered one of his relatives for a decade, since he was convicted of indecent exposure in 1999. Farmer said the man was drunk when he urinated on the side of his truck in the view of two women, but that shouldn’t brand him a sex offender. "He is not a danger to society,” he said.
The Choctaw resident complained the state is not doing enough to differentiate between dangerous sex offenders and people who made a stupid mistake. "They’re lumping them all in the same basket,” he said.
Lifetime registration
The law that went into effect in November 2007 requires authorities to evaluate everyone convicted of a sex offense since 1989, assigning each one a tier in the new classification system. Tier 1 offenders must register for 15 years; tier 2 for 25 years and tier 3 for life. Most of the state’s 6,000-plus convicted sex offenders fall into the latter category, state Corrections Department officials said.
Sex offenders considered aggravated or habitual were subject to lifetime registration before the tier system was enacted, said Jim Rabon, who oversees the sex offender registration program. Those offenders used to make up about 40 percent, he said. Now more than 80 percent are subject to lifetime registration.
Bailey said there should be more tiers to encompass the range of people who committed crimes classified as sex offenses. Many are not sexually dangerous, he insists, but guilty only of bad behavior. He said the assessment is based on the charge of conviction, not the circumstances that led to it. It doesn’t consider how likely someone is to commit further sex crimes. "That’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” he said.
Oklahoma’s classification guidelines (before Adam Walsh Act) were created by a committee that included prosecutors, counselors and victim advocates. Tulsa counselor Randy Lopp said the state’s assessment tool meets the requirements of the Walsh Act, but he acknowledged it is not the best way to classify sex offenders.
Lopp, who is head of the Oklahoma Coalition for Sex Offender Management, said offenders should be classified according to their risk level rather than their offense of record.
"This belief is based on accepted research in the field that indicates (75) percent of sexual offenders are not re-arrested over a 15-year period,” he wrote in an e-mail to The Oklahoman.
Richard Kishur, an Oklahoma City counselor who specializes in treating sex offenders, said ideally sex offenders should be evaluated before they are sentenced, to determine if they are a risk to re-offend.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Are Current Approaches Counterproductive?
Law & Psychiatry: Sex Offenders in the Community: Are Current Approaches Counterproductive?
Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D., American Psychiatric Association
This column examines laws aimed at preventing sex offenders from reoffending and court challenges to those laws. All states have enacted registration and community notification requirements. More than 20 states and hundreds of municipalities now restrict where sex offenders can live. In many states, public disclosure of registration information is not limited to predatory offenders, but instead includes everyone convicted of a sexually related offense. The author argues that draconian approaches will likely not achieve the goal of protecting the public and that they divert limited resources from other law enforcement needs.
Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D., American Psychiatric Association
This column examines laws aimed at preventing sex offenders from reoffending and court challenges to those laws. All states have enacted registration and community notification requirements. More than 20 states and hundreds of municipalities now restrict where sex offenders can live. In many states, public disclosure of registration information is not limited to predatory offenders, but instead includes everyone convicted of a sexually related offense. The author argues that draconian approaches will likely not achieve the goal of protecting the public and that they divert limited resources from other law enforcement needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
