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I'm not sure if this would be better here or in politics, so feel free to move it if necessary. This is an interesting case, and a hotly debated topic. Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
While in the military, Kebodeaux at age 21 had consensual sex with a 15-year-old.
He was sentenced in 1999 to three months in prison, which he served...
The problem with the registry is that makes no distinctions between the actually
predatory or dangerous and the poorly lawyered horndogs.
It also retroactively adds time on to agreed upon sentences.
Case in point, a loved one of mine was falsely accused, went to court, got a hung jury, and then took a plea to a misdemeanor of indecent assault. figured 3 months in jail and 10 years on the registry and misdemeanor was better than going back through it all over again and possibly getting convicted and sent away for 20 years. He had an inexperienced public defender who did try his best (hence the hung-jury)
At any rate, along comes the AWA and he's now a tier 3 and has to register for LIFE!
Mind you, it's a misdemeanor but because the accuser claims she was 8 ...actually the age changed many times, and still does depending on what day of the week you catch her on...anyway, because she claims she was 8 and under 13...he's on it for life.
Oh and what did he plea to? Touching her breast over clothing. Yeah, cos 8 year olds have breasts right?
The whole thing is stupid.
Should we register people, maybe but we're not doing it right, and too many people are on that aren't a threat.
How about risk-assessments? My loved one had a whole battery of tests done, all found him to be low-risk (IDK could be cos he's innocent) but anyway, if they're not effective, why bother? if they are effective, then make use of them
I have heard of people landing on the registry for taking a leak in public. I was watching one of those cop shows based on the Vegas strip and when an officer caught a couple of adults getting it on in some bushes, he warned them that they could end up on a sex-offender registry for that behavior.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
If I really thought the public registries kept people safe, I'd be all for them, but I'm not convinced that they do.
I feel like this has become a "Salem Witch Hunt", to "punish" the "bad ones"...a modern day Scarlet Letter. I have little sympathy for true child Sex predators. But, personally saw the problems with persecuting Sex offenders with draconian laws...the one in Florida, makes it almost impossible for a Sex offender to get housing. There were so many restrictions on where offenders could live, they finally converged as a group of homeless under a bridge in Miami.
And finding a job for a Sex offender is no easy task either.
Sometimes, in some cases, these may be people who just made a bad choice. We punished them, sent them for rehabilitation, and yet, society wants to continue to punish these offenders,, for life. No easy answer.
And really, does the offender registration protect children? No. Does it serve any purpose?
The problem with the registry is that makes no distinctions between the actually
predatory or dangerous and the poorly lawyered horndogs.
The other problem is that the list only tells you what the guy was convicted of or what he pleaded to, not what he was originally charged with. Most of these cases end in plea bargains and the victims are usually willing to accept a maor drop in the severity of the crime he's pleading to in exchange for never having to be in the same room with the guy again AND because he's guaranteeed some sort of sentence -- you don't risk acquittal when there's no trial. A guy I grew up with pleaded down from felony criminal sexual conduct against several children to a single misdemeanor. Another one I courtwatched on pleaded down from 3 first-degree charges to a single 3rd-degree charge. The prosecutor told the victim the guy was guaranteed a full year in the slam. He was out in 5 months. She was already living in another state under a new name, but still.
People who are charged with molesting children often plead down to a child abuse charge, and since they'll just have a child abuse (not a child sexual abuse) charge on their record they won't even be required to register. I have sort of mixed feeling about registries for the most part, but I have no idea why anybody would feel safer if sex offenders are forced under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. I dislike rapists and child molestors (not that I dislike murderers or bank robbers or several criminals not required to register any less than I dislike rapists or molestors though) just as much as the next guy, but forcing rapists or child molestors into homelessness is only going to make them more likely to reoffend.
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