Ga.’s sex-offender laws an injustice themselves
You know, it takes a lot to generate sympathy for a sex offender. But Georgia’s draconian laws about where sex offenders can live are doing the trick. It’s downright ridiculous.
“A group of homeless sex offenders who had been living in tents in the woods behind an office park near Marietta were told they had to leave the land by Tuesday.
“We don’t want to allow anyone to live on our property for liability issues,” said Mark McKinnon, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Transportation, which owns the wooded land where the sex offenders had taken residence.
Several men said their probation officers had told them about the encampment as a kind of last resort for homeless sex offenders trying to meet the strict residency requirements of their probation.
Georgia’s law prohibits the state’s 16,000 sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, child care facilities and other areas where children gather. It limits the locations where they can live….
William Hawkins, 34, a registered sex offender living in the camp, gathered his belongings Tuesday.
He’s not sure where he’s going to go.
When Hawkins was 15 years old, he had sex with a 12-year-old in Florida and received two years of house arrest and 10 years’ probation. “I have a 19-year-old case. Technically, I don’t think I have to be on it,” Hawkins said of the sex offender registry.”
The law hounding those people has no real purpose but to, well, hound them. As experts have testified to the Georgia Legislature, it serves little or no protective function. A sexual predator intent on finding victims will do so, regardless of where he (or occasionally she) is forced to live. Furthermore, unlike many states, Georgia law makes no distinction between somebody like Hawkins and somebody who has a history of true predation.
An even better example is Wendy Whitaker, who as a 17-year-old was caught performing oral sex on a 15-year-old classmate. That incident back in 1996 put her on the same sex offender list as a multiple rapist, As The Economist recently pointed out in an article featuring Whitaker as an example:
“The Georgia Sex Offender Registration Review Board, an official body, assessed a sample of offenders on the registry last year and concluded that 65% of them posed little threat. Another 30% were potentially threatening, and 5% were clearly dangerous.”
Given that reality, throwing them all into the same bag and forcing them to live together in surreptitious little communities helps no one. If serious threats must be freed, restrict their movements and track them closely. But don’t pretend that they’re all the same. Law enforcement officials have already told legislators that the law is overly strict, forcing officers to spend precious time tracking low-risk offenders that could better be spent elsewhere. But politicians passed the law as an act of grandstanding, and so far they haven’t summoned the courage to correct it.
Of course, much of the rest of the world is more intrigued by the case of Roman Polanksi, who hasn’t exactly been living in a tent city in the 32 years since he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl. Ann Woolner, a columnist for Bloomberg, explores that case and reaches what I think is the right conclusion:
“The shame is that it has taken this long to sort everything out. The blame for that lies with Polanski for refusing to answer for evading the law.
Celebrate the man’s talent, honor his contributions to filmmaking. However gifted he is, Polanski’s art can’t serve as a reason to ignore his terrible crime or his refusal to answer for it.”
The injustice done to the Wendy Whitakers of the world, and maybe to the William Hawkins, far outweigh any alleged unfairness to Polanski.
UPDATE: I should note that my colleague Cynthia Tucker has also weighed in on the Polanski case, reaching a verdict similar to Woolner’s.
“It’s important for Polanski to face the bar of justice, even thirty years late. His appearance would serve as an example to others among the wealthy and glamorous that they are not above the law. Neither money, fame, connections nor artistic achievement should excuse you from facing up to your crimes. Forcing Polanski into court, in a case which will receive lots of media attention, might also stiffen the resolve of other victims of sexual violence who are trying to find the courage to face their abusers.”
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364 comments Add your comment
Bodine
September 30th, 2009
1:30 pm
To those of you who insist these Odiotic,Senseless,ILL-Thought Draconian laws are just,What part of Wendy Whitaker,William Hawkins and Genarlow Wilson don’t you understand?Please tell
me also,what does being a Democrat or repukeblican have to do with supporting injustice.And last
but not least,why were there no beautiful young School teachers(who were caught molesting young
boy students),living in this camp.Justice is blind……………………………………………..Yeah,Right.
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 30th, 2009
1:30 pm
Intriguing that the Repubozos on Senate Finance and want to keep any federal funds from abortion when abortion is the law of the land. If they want abortion outlawed, let’s see them get it through Congress.o
Olympia Snowe voted with the Dems. Hatch’s federal funds for abortion prohibition is defeated for the second time. LOL “the conscience protection act.” The Repubozos are trying to protect conscience–what a friggin’ joke.
Let’s see –the Supreme Court has upheld abortions and the Repubozos want to get at the law by endrunning around it in the new health care legislation. It was DUHFEATED.
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 30th, 2009
1:34 pm
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America have been running hard hitting ads in Montana, Maine, and Washington, DC, targeting Baucus and Snowe for failing to support a public option. With their votes registered, the groups are now seeking to extend the ad buys.
Let’s defeat all Blue Dog Hookers. Let them take their whorehouses out of the Senate perhaps in Malls in their states.
Mrs. Godzilla
September 30th, 2009
1:36 pm
elections have consequences so do SFC votes…..
Just Woke Up
September 30th, 2009
1:37 pm
“Kerry For President”, “O”, “Co-Exist”, and “End This War” bumper stickers – now that’s funny!
Taxpayer
September 30th, 2009
1:52 pm
I tried the lock in room approach on my stepson one time and regretted that one. In no time, he got bored and found some matches and, well, it was only carpet.
Carbon Bigfootprint
September 30th, 2009
1:55 pm
[well hey, if Al Gore and the UN can have one, why not me? I sure don't agree with raising taxes over it]
I find it more than mildly amusing that the same liberals who want to hang a Conservative sex offender are concerned about local sex offenders – and turn a blind eye to that liberal
‘I remember a little tirade of yours whereby when pushed, you came back playing your victim card saying I was THE MOST DANGEROUS blogger here because I misled people into thinking I was a nice person. Give me a break!!! You a victim!!?!!”
Welcome to the world of critical thinking in liberal land, @@. I’m surprised you weren’t called an internal threat to America.
So, how’s it going in Chicago land lately with Obama flying around trying to win an Olympic bid? I’m so sure the MSM would have been so quiet had Bush flown overseas in an attempt to whore out Dallas to the Olympics. Chicago’s intertwined political hacks, many of which were rewarded to the Obama Administration, would probably make the Atlanta Olympics look competent – and that’s saying a lot.
‘CHICAGO (CBS) ― Six people were in custody on Wednesday for criminal damage at an anti-Olympic protest in the Loop Tuesday evening. A group of protesters tried to snatch an Olympic decoration that was supposed to go on the Picasso statue in Daley Plaza. CBS 2’s Anne State reports that the whole thing started as workers were decorating Daley Plaza for the Olympics. An oversized Olympic medal was being taken out of packaging as a group of protesters nearby was beating drums chanting, “No Games.”‘
So, what else is going on out there – lets see here..
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez, BFF of Hollywood liberals and Jimmy Carter, and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi have joined forces to urge the world to redefine “terrorism”. Isn’t that special.
September economic figures are out: the ADP Employer Services showed private employers cut 254,000 jobs in September, more than the 210,000 layoffs the market had been expecting; manufacturing shrunk. Thank God for that trillion dollar stimulus bill that saved jobs.
Gore Vidal says that America could fall into a military dictatorship under leadership like Obama’s. Well, he’s already appointed czars to handle the jobs of what used to belong to cabinet members. He’s already mentioned a civilian security force is needed. What’s the next step?
every mothers son
September 30th, 2009
1:59 pm
There is a female sex offender who lives about four houses from me. I saw her address on the sex offenders registry.
When is she going to pay me a visit……….?????
Call it Like It Is
September 30th, 2009
2:01 pm
Hey Taxpayer which I doubt you are.
You are a F Moron!
Enough Said!
Mrs. Godzilla
September 30th, 2009
2:01 pm
Carbon bigfoot
Love the nomme du jour!
Date the Save
September 30th, 2009
2:02 pm
Normal
September 30th, 2009
1:03 pm
Wow. I like the sounds of that. What a great idea.
Mrs. Godzilla
September 30th, 2009
2:02 pm
enter “call it like it is”…….
Mrs. Godzilla
September 30th, 2009
2:04 pm
Oh and Carbon bigfoot
your name (names) have been entered into the roll of the civilian security force.
took up 13 pages…..
The Chicago Way
September 30th, 2009
2:13 pm
What’s going on in Chicago?
WTF?
Public Option's Doing Swell
September 30th, 2009
2:13 pm
If anyone needs a hassle free antivirus for a Windows box that costs nothing, MSFT has released Microsft Security Essentials that runs in the background and is very good at picking off spyware or worse.
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/
Bodine
September 30th, 2009
2:20 pm
I’ll be willing to bet that most of you self-righteous sickO’s,who insist these foolish sex offender
law’s represent justice,have probably done far worse sexually predatory things than some of these
on the list……………..You Know Who You Are………And you know what you have gotten away with.
JR
September 30th, 2009
2:24 pm
Here’s an idea:
Lock up rapists and child molesters. Never let them out. Problem solved.
Yeah, I know, there’s still the “underage fornication” issue. Surely we can find some means of differentiating between teenage sex and rape/molestation. The former shouldn’t be anything beyond a misdemeanor, if that.
Taxpayer
September 30th, 2009
2:33 pm
Call it Like It Is
September 30th, 2009
2:01 pm
Hey Taxpayer which I doubt you are.
You are a F Moron!
Enough Said!
I know, son. I also know not to leave you alone with matches. It’s OK.
Bud Wiser
September 30th, 2009
3:14 pm
Maybe those ‘woods’ in Cobb County won’t stink so badly now that the human garbage is being evicted.
Finfam
September 30th, 2009
3:24 pm
Registry Laws have been proven to be ineffective and a waste of government resources and YET we continue to feed the hysteria behind the label. SEX OFFENDER does not equal CHILD MOLESTER. Until these labels are changed the perception will not change.
Wake up American: our politicians use smoke and mirros to make you think you are safer and all they are doing is wasting your tax dollars to win votes. “Getting smart on crime means moving beyond useless labels and catch phrases, and instead relying on science and date to shape policy” Attorney General Eric Holder
MomofTwoKids
September 30th, 2009
3:32 pm
Of all the former sex offenders I know, not one has re-offended OR hurt a child. Not one. I’d let them live with me but the requirements where I live — again…..they’re not ALLOWED to live with me because of WHERE I live! The guys that chat online with teens — are not criminals – they are stupid. The guys that sleep with their girlfriends consensually are not criminals, they just were stupid in the moment. I agree that child molestors and violent rapists (which ARE VERY RARE) should be probably watched closely – but the other dudes that made ONE mistake and have served their time, give em a break — they had no true victims and I’m sure the “victims” would say the same thing — “give em a darn break, we had sex together – it wasn’t just HIM doing it” – ya know? I’m just sick of all the people calling ALL sex offenders pervs and child molestors — MOST are NOT.
TP
September 30th, 2009
4:00 pm
NIF:
You must have missed this part of the article:
“The Georgia Sex Offender Registration Review Board, an official body, assessed a sample of offenders on the registry last year and concluded that 65% of them posed little threat. Another 30% were potentially threatening, and 5% were clearly dangerous.”
It does not bother me at all to treat child molestors like the scum they are. However, the sex offender registry is pretty much useless if 65%(not .0001% like you say) are not dangerous predators. It is not only people who had underage sex on the list. There was an example a few years ago of a man who was drinking on a golf course and urinated on a tree. A group of girls saw him and even though he was not doing anything sexual he was convicted of exposure and placed on the offender list. There was a man who robbed a Dairy Queen when he was seventeen. Because he did not allow anyone to leave during the robbery, he was convicted of kidnapping. Since there were underage patrons in the Dairy Queen he was placed on the registry because he kidnapped an underage person.
According to the Review Board such people make up 65% of the registry. Trim the registry down to the dangerous people, and then show them no mercy.
Christina
September 30th, 2009
4:17 pm
I don’t give a rats behind how some “seemingly minor” sex offenders are inconvenienced in the course of keeping child rapists away from the kids. If it were up to me…THEY WOULD NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!
Bethany
September 30th, 2009
4:41 pm
Enter your comments here
State Rep. Jerry Keen really should invite all these people he has uprooted to live with him.
He’s a good Christian,he won’t have a problem with forgiveness.
Not all people on the registry are baby rapers or predators.
The laws need to be made to fit the crime.
No one wants the worst of the worst out roaming free.
The people who have done their time and who are not a threat to society
ought to be left the hell alone to work to provide for their families.
All this childish sniping back and forth is embarrassing.
commonsense
September 30th, 2009
4:55 pm
Everyone needs to stop and really look at what we are talking about.Many of you are so caught up in one uping the others comment theat they lost sight of the topic.We are not talking about child molesters or rapists.The term sex offender is more broad than saying car when talking about what vehicle is good or bad.We are talking about those people with low level crimes that have not reoffended and have proven they are no more a threat than you and me.The 34 yr old man whose offense was when he was 15 or the women at 17 are what we are talking about. These people do not deserve to be ruined.The purpose of the correctional system is to correct behavior not to destroy lives.I agree there are the 5% or so that need to be monitored but not the people we are talking about.Why do we spend time and money monitoring and destroying people who are no threat?Thats crazy and a waste of both resources and good people.Lets never confuse the topic with child molesters as so many of you like to do. Thats wrong and unfair to those who have already proven themselves but are forced to live on the streets or in the woods like animals.Be fair to the subject and you will see what is wrong with the system in place.
TP
September 30th, 2009
5:03 pm
Christina,
The MAJORITY of the people on the list and being inconvenienced are not child rapists. You can do anything you like to the predators. The problem is that between 65 and 95 percent of the people on the list are NOT predators. All it would take to make this problem go away is to take the non-predatory offenses off of the offender list.
This list right now is useless. If you look at it and see four people close to your house it might concern you. However, you will miss the actual predator who is a farther away because people who had sex when they were 17 is closer to your house. You cannot find the actual dangerous people on the list because they are hidden by the non-danderous ones.
noncitizen2009
September 30th, 2009
8:24 pm
TP (9/30 at 5:03 pm): You are correct about almost everything you said. The thing you are wrong about is you said, “All it would take to make this problem go away is to take the non-predatory offenses off of the offender list.”
In reality, these laws are not appropriate for anyone. There is not a single expert in our entire country that supports laws that force ANYONE on the Registries to not have stable housing or employment. There are no experts who support the housing restrictions in general. All of the experts who testified multiple times for Georgia’s legislative committees told them that these laws were a terrible idea. But of course, Georgia’s legislators are more intelligent than any experts are.
Experts who have decades of experience in the field do not support these laws. Decent Americans do not. Politicians do. Uninformed people do. Hateful people do.
The Registries are negligibly and unnecessarily “useful”. Responsible parents and people simply do not need them. However, the Registries could still exist and not be so bad if we Americans could simply just “use” them responsibly simply to be “informed” about who was around them. Remember, that was the huge lie that was told when the Registries were initially conceived? That they were needed to keep people “informed” and that the Registries were for “public safety” and “protecting children”.
The problem is that Americans could not use the information responsibly. They couldn’t use the information just to be “informed”. So, the Registries turned out to be the basis and foundation needed to create the huge punishment/harassment mechanism that it is today. And that has made the entire thing a huge waste of time, money, effort, and other very limited resources that could have instead been used to actually combat sexual offending. Unfortunately though, that is not the worst of it. The entire Registration mechanism is completely counterproductive. It promotes recidivism. It leads to far more sexual crimes than it could ever hope to prevent.
The facts are clear. There are no informed, intelligent people who support these laws.
noncitizen2009
September 30th, 2009
8:29 pm
Christina (9/30 at 4:17 pm): If you think Registration or any of Georgia’s other laws are “keeping child rapists away from kids” you truly are a completely uninformed fool. The people on Registries are not being monitored in any way, shape, form, or fashion. I understand that won’t make people who like the Registries feel better but I promise you that is reality.
rwsmom
September 30th, 2009
8:31 pm
I read all these comments and shutter with sadness. To those who want to see sex offenders be put to death or sentenced for life in prison….. My 17 year old son was one of them. The week he was arrested, 3 other boys, under the age of 18 were also. I don’t know thier whole stories, but I can tell you this, my son was charged and convicted of possession of child pornography. These were homemade video’s of his girlfriend, that she had personally made and given to him. Two weeks after his 18th birthday, he was arrested. Now he has to live a life with a felony conviction and register for life as an SO. Please tell me where the justice is and why he should have to be labled as the same thing a 30, 40, 50 or 60 year old man who kidnaps, rapes and murders a small child? There is a LOT of difference between these stories/convictions. Further more, don’t be caught relieving yourself on a bush! You too could go to prison and register! Shame on all of you who have no heart for justice and the truth! This could happen to you, your child, niece or nephew! Open your eyes America! Stop asking lawmakers to make laws that aren’t thought out, that make you feel safe. Somewhere down the road, these laws WILL impact you too! Maybe a real pedophile will move in to your neighborhood and no one will feel the least bit worried, why? Because the registry is coming down to where no one can differentiate between teen hormones and perverts!
noncitizen2009
September 30th, 2009
8:45 pm
TP (9/30 at 4:00 pm): Sorry, I’m just sort of scanning all these posts backwards.
Do you really think someone who robs a Dairy Queen with a gun and holds people hostage is not particularly dangerous? I know that a good number of people who like the Registries and think they are just grand, really do believe that. To me, that is a pretty good example of the insane thinking that has driven how we’ve ended up with these idiotic laws.
You do understand how 90+% of child molestation occurs, don’t you? It is not by force and it is certainly not by some stranger. It almost always occurs by someone the child trusts grooming the child over a significant period of time. If you are a parent who has a person who was convicted of child molestation living next door, you simply don’t allow your child to have an intimate relationship with the person. You teach your children about grooming and sexual abuse and until you know that they will not be a victim, you supervise everything. It is that easy.
If you have a person living next door who will go into a building and rob people at gunpoint, I’m not sure that’s so safe. Perhaps, just maybe, the person enjoys drinking and taking drugs as well. And perhaps one day the person will decide to break into your home with a gun to rob it too. Maybe the person will put the gun in your child’s face until you tell him/her where all the valuables are.
I would much rather live in a neighborhood full of child molesters than around people with guns who drink and use drugs. Call me crazy, but I know I can protect my children from child molesters. Now child murderers, like John Couey, that’s another story and I’ve got other means for that. But of course we don’t even bother Registering people who have only negligently (or even intentionally) gotten children killed. That makes the Registries make more sense, huh?
Wendy Whitaker is not Roman Polanski « East Metro Atlanta Libertarian Party
September 30th, 2009
9:36 pm
[...] Roman Polanski deserves to be punished for his sex crime, which actually involved the rape of an underage girl. However, Wendy Whitaker is a victim of a bad law. [...]
TP
September 30th, 2009
9:52 pm
noncitizen2009,
I think you misunderstood my point in the description of the DQ robbery. He was stupid, but what he did would not be any indication of a tendency to molest children. If the list is intended to identify people who pose a threat to children, then it should ONLY list people who are actually a threat to children.
TP
September 30th, 2009
9:59 pm
Oops, I misunderstood your post. I would agree with you that this individual might be dangerous in general. However, the stated point of the list is to identify individuals who are sexually dangerous to children. Putting an armed robber on the list does nothing but give a DA campaign points. Also, you stated that if you have a person living next door who was convicted of child molestation you should keep your children from having an intimate relationship with them. If the list does not exist, how would you know? As to my previous posts, I believe with the current system you would not really know either because he could be a child molestor, or he could have urinated on a tree.
Sex Offender Issues
September 30th, 2009
10:29 pm
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
I am totally against ANY form of abuse to any human being. And I believe anyone who murders another human being should be in prison for the rest of their life (until they die). I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone. Also, I believe that once a person has been in and out of prison and has served their probation and parole, done everything required of them, and what was signed on the “contract” when they took the plea, none of this should be required of them, none of it. The state cannot tear up a contract like this, which they are basically doing, it’s unconstitutional. Many people, if they had known they would be faced with all this, they would have NOT taken a plea deal. And the courts are very aware of this and this is why they made it retroactive; thus violating ex-post facto laws! They should be allowed to get on with their life as if nothing happened. I’m not saying for it to be removed from their record, but, the crime should be removed from public view and background checks, they should not have any more restrictions, shaming, etc. If they commit another crime, then they face a lot more punishment, like everything else is treated.
When an ex-offender is forced to move from his/her home, thus having to sell it, cannot find another home within the law due to the residency “buffer” zones, get fired from their jobs due to being on the registry, cannot find a new job due to being on the registry, their husband/wife lose their jobs due to a significant other being on the registry, their children lose their friends and are harassed and bullied in school due to a family member being on the registry, thus destroying the children’s lives, ex-offenders are forced into homelessness and to live under bridges, harassed by police, neighbors and probation/parole officers, have to wear “I’m a sex offender T-shirt” or have a neon green license plate on ALL their cars, have “sex offender” on their drivers license and forced to renew their licenses every year, forced from shelters during tornadoes or hurricanes, cannot give blood at some places due to being discriminated against for being on the sex offender registry, denied housing due to being on the registry, signs placed in their yards inviting harassment and ridicule from the neighbors, forced to move when the neighbors start picketing outside the ex-offenders home, the list is endless.
I THINK THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, BEYOND THE EXTREME!
concerned
September 30th, 2009
10:54 pm
It is truly appalling how many ignorant people there are reading this blog. Noncitizen2009 is dead-on correct. These ‘laws’ are only there to placate the ’soccer moms’ and the Nancy (dis) Grace believers because they have bought in to the hype. That is all this is…the explosion of propaganda. (You do realize she was a former prosecutor!) All these do is give a false sense of security. How many children have been protected by these registration or residency laws? The FACTS show molestations happen from someone the child knows, not this ’stranger danger’. How many people have been affected, rightly or wrongly by these laws? Thousands, maybe 20 -30,000 here in GA (including spouses and biological/step children, extended family, employers). How does putting sex offenders on these registries protect children? Why wasn’t the girl who was allegedly fondled by the cabbie protected? What law needs to be enacted to prevent that from happening? Huh? What, no answer…. That’s right. There is no answer. Sometimes evil things happen and for the legislature (narcissistic as they are – they didn’t listen to the plethora of experts in past sessions) to attempt to pass such a law (I’m sure someone will introduce a bill, like Jerry Keen) is ludicrous and a waste of time. But they really will want to try.
What needs to happen is mass education on the truth. Sex offenders have lower recidivism rates than murderers, than drug possession/ selling, than property crimes. But in many publications, sex offenders are incorrectly listed as the HIGHEST chance of re-offending. If you get one of those crazy urban legend emails going around warning of false wal-mart shopping scams, or that cell numbers are going to be sold to telemarkers, one can check out the validity by checking out snopes.com or others. For Joe Schmo, when even the FBI cannot get their facts straight by not citing the DOJ (Dept of Justice) studies, then they have bought into the myth of erroneous data. Is there really any wonder why peoples beliefs are wrong?
When you wish the degradation of rights to a group of people, no matter how unlikeable, you risk it happening to you. The slippery slope has begun. Since society sees fit to have a sex offender registry why don’t we have a DUI registry, because more children are killed or hurt by DUI’s than sex offenders. What about a speed limit registry, since children are killed or maimed by speeders (the ones through school zones, too). And what will these registries accomplish? I’d really like to know.
“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”
-Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler, Publ. Houghton Miflin, 1943, Page 403
Tina Trent
October 1st, 2009
8:57 am
Hawkins was 16, not 15, and his victim was younger that 12 — how much younger? Well, you clearly don’t care to find out, do you? If you’re not going to contact the prosecutor and get the real facts in a case, which you ought to do, don’t you think you should — at bare minimum — take a cursory glance at the criminal records?
And he got a long sentence for two decades ago. It must have been a pretty disturbing crime.
Also, the crime for which he was convicted was attempted sexual battery of a child under 12. How do you justify allowing him, the convicted offender, to characterize the crime differently? He isn’t any “suspect innocent until proven guilty,” Jay — he is convicted of attempted sexual assault of a child under 12. You need to correct the record.
a_mom
October 1st, 2009
9:28 am
Jay, did you bother to read the story in the AJC today about the horrendous suffering and death of poor little 6-yr old Christopher Barrios? And you wonder why no one wants a sex offender for their neighbor?! Studies show that they can’t be cured and they will always have perverted impulses. I just wish it was enforced for neighbors to be notified when a sex offender moves into their neighborhood. Christopher’s family had no idea he was walking past that sick pervert every day.
Sally
October 1st, 2009
10:19 am
What about someone accused by a crazy ex-wife of molesting their daughter at an early age simply because she is angry that he will not give her more money. He has given more than child support since the divorce. He never molested the daughter, spent 6 months in jail, which was driving him crazy, was offered a deal of pleading “no contest” with 5 years probation or going to trial and if he did loose the minimum sentence would be 8 years. Thinking the 5 years probation would be no problem, because this really is a decent man, chose to get out of jail and on with his life. Which by the way he thought he could step right back into. The lawyer he had spent his last $10,000 on gave him no advice or idea how hard life would be for him with this conviction attached to him like an albatross around his neck. His buddy he was living with is too close to a school so he has no where to live. He was living and working in another state where the police picked him up and transported him to where he was jailed leaving his car behind so he has no transportation, no job, no money and nowhere to live. What is this man to do? There are criminals who have committed murder and released to go on with their lives like nothing happened. How has our judicial system helped this once productive citizen?
debbie
October 1st, 2009
11:35 am
Enter your comments here the laws are foolish and give people a sense of confidence that is wrong! just because an offender doesn’t live near a school or playground doesn’t mean that he can’t walk there! DUH! further, the recidivism rate for class 1 offenders (internet porn) is low, very low. they should not be lumped in a category with those that have contact. the overload on the registry makes it difficult or impossible to follow the truly violent and dangerous offenders.
Bodine
October 1st, 2009
1:55 pm
a_mom,perhaps I’ve somehow overlooked it but,
I can’t recall having read anywhere,anything to
suggest that Jay is defensive of Child Sexual
predators.I also have not seen anything to in-
dicate he is for leniency for them(beyond the
rule of law and common decency).To me this is
the basis for what is wrong with this entire dia-
logue.The simple truth is all these should not be
just lumped together.I believe that Jay’s views
are completely fair and honest.Now if you still
disagree,again I ask;why are there no beautiful,
young boy child molesting schoolteachers living
in this banishment camp?
J D
October 2nd, 2009
12:05 pm
“why are there no beautiful,
young boy child molesting schoolteachers living
in this banishment camp?”
>>> Because women are always viewed as “the victims” and Men the “Perpetrators”.
The Law views Mens’ Penis’s as Lethal weapons and ’cause Women don’t have them, they are treated differently.
It’s a case of Preferential treatment based on Gender.
Many Females who have committed a sex crime against a minor have not had to register with the registry. The Law thinks these females simply need counseling and probation and that’s it. If it was a Man, forget it…Or as the queen-of-hearts in Alice-in-Wonderland once said “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!”
Double-Standardd…..gotta love ‘em. *rolls eyes*
ROAR For Truth
October 4th, 2009
10:19 am
http://www.vimeo.com/6888581
Bethany
October 4th, 2009
6:06 pm
Enter your comments here
ROAR For Truth
Truth?
I think not. It’s a shame you spend so much energy creating hate filled propaganda.
The facts are out there for those to read. The facts reveal the truth.
ROARfortruth
October 4th, 2009
9:54 pm
Bethany, the truth is out there but you have to willing to believe it. Why in the world are sex offender activists hanging out with know pro pedophile activist groups like NAMBLA? These pedos want to ABOLISH sex offender restrictions so they can have sex w/children without facing criminal penalities.
SOSEN wants to abolish all restrictions and tell me, how that will protect children? I spread the “truth” because I care more for the defenseless child over any the so called rights of registered sex offenders. Read this and open your eyes!
http://roarfortruth.blogspot.com/2009/09/sosen-village.html
concerned
October 5th, 2009
12:48 am
RoarforTruth, the truth is YOU are the one that needs to seek some guidance. You have been blinded by a very twisted view that all sex offenders wish to have sex with children. You couldn’t be more wrong. Where you came up with that is, well, asinine.
SOSEN’s views DO NOT advocate anything of the sort that you say – in FACT they have this on their web site:
“SOSEN upholds fair and just laws that are evidence based, are effective and that protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens. The mission of SOSEN is to educate the public, the media,
law-enforcement, and legislators regarding the facts, based on current research, of sexual abuse. We are striving to incorporate fact based solutions thus helping to change the laws that affect former offenders, their loved ones,victims and the communities where they live.
We seek to also provide support for victims, former offenders and their families.”
FURTHER:
“Affiliations :
SOSEN is committed to promoting public safety and community awareness. All members of SOSEN have agreed to abstain from any activity that is not consistent with the organization’s goals. This requires that any person who is a member of SOSEN will in no way affilliate him/herself with any organization, including but not limited to NAMBLA, Boy Chat, Girl Chat, which promotes inappropriate sexual behavior. Any person who has information that suggests a member of SOSEN is engaged in inappropriate conduct should notify SOSEN staff immediately.”
Please show me *where* they have ANY connection to NAMBLA. You can’t because it doesn’t exist! SOSEN and others like it (sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com) advocate the reduction or elimination of laws enacted on knee-jerk reactions and NOT on sound, FACT based reasoning and evidence based research. And no, I’m not a member of any organization, just a guy who knows his facts.
You ’spread the lies’ for others to quote and to continue to promote this moral hysteria. Read my above post. Do some FACT based research, and not let your emotions guide you. For every sex offender is not the John Couey’s of the world; in fact if your daughter or son has EVER texted or had texted to them an inappropriate (nude) picture in the eyes of the law they are a sex offender (distribution of child pornography). If you say ‘my child would never do that’ is either correct (they have no cell phone/ email address) or you are deluding yourself. (What did YOU do when you were a kid that your parents would be horrified to know?)
So please don’t give the ‘defenseless child’ BS. Open YOUR eyes and seek the truth. Quoting you and adding my own: “the truth is out there but you have to willing to believe it”, even if it doesn’t agree with your preconceived views.
Mike Gregg
October 5th, 2009
5:40 pm
Hey Concerned, ROAR is dead on right! Go do your own research unless you intend to believe the SOSEN propaganda. Just because SOSEN posts some thing, does not make it true!
“SOSEN upholds fair and just laws that are evidence based, are effective and that protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens.”
You really believe that, then why did SOSEN CEO Linda Pehrson sign the RSOL Petition seeking to abolish ALL sex offender restrictions? SOSEN COO Mary Duval sign the same as well. Here is the RSOL petition, scroll down and read the 8 points and see the signatories names for yourself. ROAR knows how to research, do you?
Here is the original pedo site the petition was posted in 1998:
http://wikisposure.com/images/8/80/Ipcersol.png
Plenty of evidence if you research the “names” listed…NAMBLA members! Go Research for yourself if you think I’m lying.
Mike Gregg
October 5th, 2009
5:41 pm
RSOL Petition, forgot to include link:
http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/statement.php
concerned
October 5th, 2009
7:01 pm
Just where does it say they want to “abolish ALL sex offender restrictions?” I could not find that statement in either the two sites you mention. Should we have some sort of registry? Yes, for law enforcement use ONLY. Society has proved it cannot handle the information and many people (those on the list and ‘innocent’ children of those on the list) have been hurt or demonized for it. If you really want every ’sex offender’ (using this term in its full breadth – ’sexting’ teens, rapists, molesters, and those who finished their sentences) in Georgia and around the country listed on some sort of public registry, I pity you. For you don’t grasp the severity of the precipice we are on then you really are a piece of work. Wait until someone close to you is involved and see if your position changes. There was a female legislator a few years (don’t recall her name) ago here in Georgia that was just as gung-ho to implement these new laws as Jerry Keen. Then her son was charged with a sex offense. Suddenly, the whole picture changed. She resigned from the committee and faded away. Do some ‘research’ and ask her now what should be done.
It would seem your mind is made up on the issue. No amount of common sense posting, no amount of verifiable studies will apparently change you mind.
Here is the 8 points from RSOL (for those who are interested):
Therefore, we call for the immediate reform of America’s sex offender laws33 – especially the state and Federal sex offender registries and the life-time civil commitment laws. We support the following immediate actions:
1. Abolish all provisions of state and Federal sex offender registries that publicly shame offenders. There should be no internet or other public posting of the identity, photograph, address, workplace or personal information of any offender, nor should this information be available to the public at police stations or registry offices. In cases of genuinely violent sex crimes, especially against young children, and with a specific finding of a likelihood to re-offend, registration may be required, but information will be shared only among police officials, or if a court rules it appropriate, with institutions serving children or others who might be vulnerable to abuse. Strong penalties should be levied against police or others privy to the registration information who violate the privacy of the offenders.
2. Abolish all life-time civil commitment for sex offenders34 who have completed prison sentences and/or parole and probation. In cases of violent offenses and specific findings of a likelihood to re-offend, carefully constructed court hearings, with medical advice and full due process, should determine if the person may be further incarcerated, and then only for a short time and with regular review. The ultimate goal of all measures aimed at sex offenders should be their return to the community when they are not likely to re-offend.
3. Stop public vilification and demonization of sex offenders. Oppose the use in the media or by public officials of obviously pejorative language with regard to offenders. Label only actually violent acts as violent crimes – define violence simply and logically as a physical attack or threat that causes real harm.35 Use of the term “pedophile” should be extremely limited and accurate.36 Children should be defined as persons under the age of puberty.
4. De-criminalize all consensual sexual activities among teenagers.37 Stop all required sex offender registration for minors.38
5. Abolish all laws that provide the death penalty* or life in prison without parole for sex offenders.
6. Support broad sex education for children, and empower them to make their own decisions and stand up for their rights.
7. Provide accurate information and support valid research about sex offender characteristics39 and recidivism rates.40
8. Help sex offenders re-enter society by abolishing measures which make it difficult for them to find a place to live41 and a decent job.42 Encourage support groups for sex offenders, including help with finding housing, employment, and effective treatment, before their release and afterward.
Bethany
October 6th, 2009
1:48 pm
Enter your comments here
SOSEN & NAMBLA have their own agendas…
The registration laws should be revised to fit the crime.
The AWA has strayed away from its’ original intent.
No one wants pedophiles running loose,that is not what all this is about.
Abolish,no.
Revise,yes!
Jen
October 11th, 2009
10:15 pm
If these people didn’t molest kids, they wouldn’t be homeless now. Maybe they should have considered the consequences. Sure, an 18 year old who sleeps with his 17 year old girlfriend should be categorized differently. I can see adjusting the law on that one, but otherwise, I don’t want child molesters near my kids. Sorry they are in the woods, but I’d be a lot sorrier if they hurt my child. Perhaps they can move somewhere else with different housing options. It’s a big state.
ieee
October 14th, 2009
7:04 pm
The governments which have passed these “sex offender” laws are criminal regimes. It is not acceptable in the United States to pass laws which retroactively punish and harass people who were legally sentenced years and even decades ago. That might be okay in China, North Korea, Iran, or similar places, but not in the U.S.
If these criminal governments and the uninformed “good” people who support them want to have their registries or whatever, then fine, have them as long as the people who are listed on them are not punished or harassed in any manner and if they do not need to be involved in any manner. Then the laws would almost be acceptable.
People listed on these registries should not have to take extraordinary measures (or any measures) at any time simply to keep from being arrested. Because that is the ONLY real purpose of these laws. Only a true fool still believes the lies that they are about “public safety” or “protecting children”.
Keith Richard Radford Jr
October 17th, 2009
4:13 am
Sex laws have been built on misconceptions and myth.
The Supreme Court just ruled on sex offender laws where some factions of our government think by some inert reasoning that sex offender should be quarantined or executed. Video taken in another country shows where sex offenders were placed on a pole much like the Catholics use to use a pyramid shaped object and have them sit on it and spin, the pole travels through the body looking for the throat but if not found its ok because the sharpened end of the pole will come out somewhere to the delight of these very strange people who think such thoughts are a bit barbaric. The heritage of the act is in its self a brutal throwback to violent uneducated people who are so obsessed with any sex & the only way to deal with this kind of “hierarchy” of historic hysteria. A word taken from hysterectomy, hysteria is tied to castration, we are supposed to be the most advanced nation and we still have a death penalty when the rest of the world except for some nations we are still warring with/selling weapons too, while other nations went home our weapons dealers and torture lovers delighting in support for the death of people they don’t know or want to simply because they don’t know how to get money with out taking it from someone by force. Is that supposed to include mutilations? In my humble opinion this alone “is” terrorist activities as much as severed hands, ears, heads, or making a case with nothing more than an obsession justified by lies. The registry’s origin in the Jim Crow hang~um laws that brought disgrace to our nation allowing thieves and murderous societal bigots who have trashed any shot at making good of a program in its design to make money destroying our nation and its people. We can not survive using this behavior model because we are compounding the problem since the numbers are increasing to include the children they purport to protect.
The doctoring, castration/hysterectomy/health care/physic care of people through sex laws that have damaged everyone it has touched. What about the people who are being used by the Medicare programs that requires these mutilations for both men and woman after they take their means of support? Digging around in someone’s genitalia because you want what a weaker nation? Can’t you see? You have created the model and it is worthless! Why don’t we just indiscriminately kill people we don’t know? That is statically the next sex offender, because over 90% of all new offences are committed by someone “not” on the sex offender registry and the numbers are increasing not decreasing so as a behavior model this is really worthless.
So what is the use of such laws as the sex offender registry other than to terrorize people? With the murder of so many sex offenders and the continued disregard for life by the use of the registry it will be no time at all before the federal government will be held liable for their deaths through federal court. Best regards
SOIssues
November 2nd, 2009
7:38 pm
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
Has anyone done a follow up story to this article?
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/homeless-ga-sex-offenders-148558.html
Joel Steele
November 13th, 2009
9:58 am
Take that damn unconstitutional Adam Walsh Act and shove it up John Walsh’s ass. The sex offender registry should be abolished because it violates the United States Constitution. You want to protect your children; keep your damn children off the internet. Don’t give your children cell phones. Nobody under 18 should be allowed on websites like myspace and Tagged. Nobody under 16 should be allowed to have a cell phone. Nobody under 16 should be allowed to use a computer without direct adult supervision. It should be a criminal offense for anyone under 16 using a cell phone. It should be a criminal offense for anyone under 16 using a computer without direct adult supervision. It is time people start using their brains instead of punishing people who served their sentences.
tracey ledford
January 16th, 2010
11:21 am
i have no sympathy for them! they are the ones who hurt innocent children, raped women and so on. obviuosily you do not have children and i doubt that you have been raped either. where they live is their problem, not ours. they have no right to complain about their living situation! they did wrong and they should be punished, i dont think that they were punished enough, i think that the death penalty should be punishment for ALL SEX OFFENDERS AND SEX PREDATORS. ANYONE WHO MOLESTS OR RAPES A CHILD OR AN ADULT SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR. SO PEOPLE DONT COMPLAIN IF THE LAWS ARENT DOING ENOUGH TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN AND OURSELVES, WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME! WE NEED TO CHANGE THE LAWS AND QUITE COMPLAINIG ABOUT THEM. WE NEED TO STAND TOGETHER AND CONFRONT THE POLITICIAN’S WHO DECIDE THE LAWS AND LET THEM KNOW THAT WE WANT STRONGER, TOUGHER LAWS ON THIS ISSUE
INFORMED
January 20th, 2010
11:45 pm
ISN’T IT GREAT HOW MANY IGNORANT FOOLS ARE ON HERE?! Learn to respect other’s opinions. Atleast the law should differentiate among the severity of the sex offenses. Let’s say your 17 year old daughter sent a naked picture to an 18 year old boy. Is that his fault? He didn’t take that picture, nor did he physically force her to send it to him. Yet you still press charges and he is marked for life as a nasty kiddie porn freak, A SEX OFFENDER. This isn’t right. And in this particular case, your daughter is just as guilty because she distributed it. You don’t want her marked for life. Meanwhile, there are molesters (one in particular I can think of) that have gone free because of a technicality; Perhaps the child used adult lingo (”blowjob”), so they say they can’t prosecute. So while this creep goes free, the rest of the world is bent on ruining the life of a fairly innocent person who made one little, simple mistake. And they pay dearly.
Melissa Cochrane
January 26th, 2010
7:26 am
The sex offenders who served their sentence should be left alone. All children should be supervised 24/7. It’s the children who need the supervision, not the sex offender.
bonnie
February 15th, 2010
10:33 pm
most of the people that has commited these sex crimes where abused as a child themself,and alot of this sex violence thats coming out is due to the world selling the porn in every store you walk in .i say its the worlds fault we have failed by lowering ourself to sell such garbage! and yes most of these crimes are commited by a family members so i garantee you at least one person out of every family has done a sexual act in one way or another that they know is wrong!! check your family!
B.N.
March 24th, 2010
7:56 pm
(Dan Gunderson, “A Better Approach to Sex Offender Policy.” Minnesota Public Radio, June 18th, 2007) “Lisa Sample, a criminology professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, says…
“Misinformation and a lack of information often shapes sex offender policy…Most of the legislators in her study said their primary source of information was the news media.”
In most cases, lawmakers didn’t read studies or reports relevant to legislation they supported.
She says it’s clear most sex offender legislation follows the abduction and murder of a child, and the resulting public outrage.
Few people are aware a child is at greater risk of sexual abuse from family than strangers. If people understood that, they would support more programs to prevent sexual abuse.
In Minnesota, a panel of experts recently completed a comprehensive report to serve as a guide for sex offender policy in the state. One of the report’s authors says the biggest challenge is just getting lawmakers to read it.
Spanish Harlem
May 14th, 2010
2:04 am
Hello all,,, heres how i see it,,,,the sex offender laws are assumption laws,,,and they label everybody on it as predatory! I feel that just because someone committed a “Sex offense” they arent necessary a Sex offender! just as,,just because a person manages to put a stripe of paint on a canvas doesnt make them an Artist! If a person Identifies as a Sex offender,,he becomes what he is,,,and these laws forces the offender to identify as such! if you identify as a thief,, then you will steal,, its a given! But i call these laws assumption laws,, because they ASSUME just because a 18 year old has Consensual sex with a 15 year old, that he will rape a 5 year old or another 15 year old,, to me that like saying that if a man is attracted to a woman,, he will rape all women! I for one dont condone child molestation,,,,,but also consider that in the eyes of the law,,,Consensual sex with a 12 year old is rape ! Even when the 12 year old liked it,,,the picture painted will be a tall dark shadow hovering over a 40 lb child in bunny sleeping suit holding a stuffed animal who is scrunching in a corner in tears! Grant it,, the Adult Should KNOW better! And to end up, refering to some comments in here,, i once read a Criminal Justice book and the former judge who wrote it stated,,,On the same logic that the law uses to make people register,,,ANYone who ever committed a felony should be on it!! not just Sex crimes,,,,her point being,,,A disregard in human life and peoples feelings as a WHOLE has to be considered,, and not just Sexual,,,Yes,, a bank robber is Just as bad as a Sex offender,, Yes,, a wife beater is just as bad as a Rapist! When you hurt people , you hurt people,,,doesnt matter whether you get off on it or not!!
Spanish Harlem
May 14th, 2010
2:09 am
I read somewhere that 70 percent of Sex offenses doesnt even involve children,,,,Squeezing a girls boobs at a party could constitute rape if she complains! i once had a friend who was charged with Attempted rape because he tried to kiss a girl! And a judge once stated that in most child molestation cases , there is little to NO evidence !! All a person has to do is SAY you touched a child and you are a goner!!!
Spanish Harlem
May 14th, 2010
2:20 am
one more point and ill leave Yall alone,,,,3 boys could take 3 girls to a secluded area,,,,,all 3 could make moves on their dates,,,,All three had the same intentions,, and ONE girl complains,,,the one guy who was with that ONE girl is arrested and tried and put on the registry,,,,,Point is,,,,all 3 guys had the same intentions,, they all made the same moves,, only one had to register,, what made that ONE any more dangerous than the other 2 ?? 3 boys with the same intentions,,same desires,,,but only one gets on the registry! That ONE boy was victim to that ONE girls Perception,,,That ONE girls perception Changed that One boys Life FOREVER! Just think , for every ONE guy you have on the registry,, i gaurentee that there are dozens more who has the the same thing and is NOT registered! If we all look back in our lives we may all find that we have all committed what might, by todays laws be considered rape! the laws throw that word around loosely nowadays,, Rape, malestation,,,child abuse,,,,,and if thats the case, i bet we were all raped, abused or molested by todays standards! So,, watch out for Sex offenders who arent convicted or Registered! And statics says that 90 percent of new sex crimes are committed by poeple NOT on the registry,, and Now,,,70 percent of Sex Crimes are committed by Juveniles themselves! and Juveniles commited 50 percent of Crimes altogether!
Ron Hyatt
August 29th, 2010
10:59 am
Georgia. Government of the idiots, by the idiots, for the idiots.
Makes you wish for a corrupt Banana Republic, where at least money thrown at the right place gets your problem fixed, no questions asked, instead of the self righteous craphole that is AmeriDUH.
jovan
August 30th, 2010
9:56 am
Anti-choice activists are child molesters by default, since they support parental rights for violent pedophiles.
We need to prosecute all of the doctors who force women to remain pregnant against their will for rape. Forced pregnancy is sexual assault and it should be treated as such.
We also need to prosecute the entire anti-choice movement for terrorism, too.