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228 Comments
- Ysabetwordsmith, on 12/31/2008, -10/+263I am profoundly disturbed by the growing trend to demonize "sex offenders" and treat them as second-class citizens. 1) If someone is a plausible threat, they should not be released. 2) If someone is not a plausible threat, they should not be harassed after completing their sentence. Not only is it wrong to harass people that way, it is *impractical* -- it makes it harder for them to learn how to behave decently, harder to fit into society, harder to make an honest living. If you want them to become upright citizens, you have to treat them that way. This trend harms everyone.
- SharMarali, on 12/31/2008, -0/+106"Sex offender" is such a broad category. Most people think of rapists and child molesters when they think of sex offenders, but in some states, a conviction for public urination gets you on the sex offender registry. There are also plenty of so-called "sex offenders" roaming our streets whose crime was being 19 with a 17-year-old girlfriend and being sexually active. Until "sex offenders" is broken down into smaller categories, I can't condone the ongoing, lifetime punishment that occurs for these people. If don't know whether their crime was violent in nature or whether their consenting partner was a couple of unfortunate years younger than them, or whether they really had to pee after drinking a pitcher of Budweiser, I can't really say I'm sure they should have to have signs in their yard and let the police read their emails to Aunt Maureen.
- allocate, on 12/31/2008, -3/+90I definitely foresee some serious constitutional issues arising here.
- Tarnum, on 12/31/2008, -3/+86If they start with the "sex offenders", who is next?
When they came for the communists I didn't protest because I wasn't a communist.
When they came for the homosexuals I didn't protest because I wasn't a homosexual.
When they came for the .... - inactive, on 12/31/2008, -2/+82Indeed. People often treat 'sex offenders' worse than murderers.
- NikoKun, on 12/31/2008, -1/+80And what exactly is going to get these people to give up such secret information, willingly? I mean, passwords are kept in the head... And there isn't much way of knowing how many online accounts and passwords a person uses, without spying on them for a while ahead of time. I just can't see this as any sort of practical law... Seems EXTREMELY unenforceable, and wont do any good... Probably thought up by some internet illiterate moralist nutjob who thinks he's on a crusade for good.
- guytoronto, on 12/31/2008, -0/+70Politicians are much more likely to ***** people's lives up. They should be required to hand over all e-mail accounts and passwords, just so we can keep an eye on them.
- madwaxer, on 12/31/2008, -2/+49the GA attorneys should get a medal of stupidity for this smart move.
heard of multiple accounts? - Murdats, on 12/31/2008, -1/+45exactly its like we have a legal system for all criminals, drug dealers, murderers, people traffickers etc but sex offenders, nooo they get their own special legal system, complete with the inclusion of mob justice.
why don't we skip the ***** and either put them through real justice or just stand them infront of a armed mob and say that guy is a sex offender.
if you don't think they should be on the streets, lobby for longer penalties, not mob justice.
(oh and every time I hear a report about a sex offender who lives near a school, please tell me one place that isn't near a school that is actually near people at all?) - inactive, on 12/31/2008, -3/+47Who ever gives liberty to get security, deserves neither of them.
- inactive, on 12/31/2008, -1/+41No, the problem is that not all of them raped 6 month old babies. Some were branded a sex offender for being 21 years old and having a 17 year old sexual partner. Or perhaps the mother allowed her daughter to have a slumber party, in which the girls decide to sneak in a boy for a game of spin the bottle, mom get slapped with being a class C offender. From raping babies to harmless things like allowing kids to kiss, they all get the same treatment. Even those who did commit horrible crimes, they paid their debt to society, yet face punishment far worse than those who actually took a life. If they leave us alone, we should do the same.
- dagr8tim, on 12/31/2008, -0/+38FTA:
"Staton said although the measure may violate the privacy of sex offenders, the need to protect children "outweighs a lot of the rights of these individuals."
"We limit where they can live, we make their information available on the Internet. To some degree, we do invade their privacy," said Staton, a Republican from Macon. "But the feeling is, they have forfeited, to some degree, some privacy rights.""
Sounds like the old case of "Remember the Children". Why does this seem to be the battle cry of 90% of stupid legislation?
Ohio had talked about a special plate for sex offenders which was similar in nonsense. #1 What if other family members drove the car? #2 What distinction do you make for the different degree's of sex offenses? Pissing outside in a public place can be considered a sex offense. Are you going to make drunken fratboy who pissed on a building during spring brake register for the rest of his life and turn over his emails? - dagr8tim, on 12/31/2008, -0/+38If you really want to see some screwed up *****, get divorced. Basically as part of my divorce, I am forced to allow the State of Ohio to go through my last 2 to 3 years of bank records, 3 years of income tax returns, and any other financial data on a whim. This is due to having a child and having to pay child support. I've never been late and have payroll deduction, so the likelihood of me being late is next to nil.
Plus, the agency that handles child support is "Child Support Enforcement Agency", and my case manager is my "Enforcement Officer". Not only that, but every time I have spoken with her. I've gotten nothing but attitude and misinformation regarding the system. Usually when I have to talk to her, I end up calling her out on something and she backpedals in the information she gives me. Google has been my savior through this process. - vertigo32, on 12/31/2008, -0/+36Very good point about passwords being kept in people's head. That makes this a Fifth Amendment issue, and it probably will be overturned.
I recall a similar issue where a person believed to have encrypted child porn on a laptop refused to give up the encryption key he had memorized. He refused to give up the key on the grounds that it was self incrimination, and the courts agreed. In the end, I think they ended up catching him through other means.
I despise sex offenders, but I'm a person who believes that once a person has served their debt to society, they should be allowed to live their life. If they aren't ready to return to society, they shouldn't be released. The more they are marginalized and the less chances they have to live a normal life, the more likely they are to commit more crimes. - trispear, on 12/31/2008, -2/+38You don't even realize the half of it. If you commit a felony in the US, you'll get your passport revoked and will never be issued another one AFAIK. Certain states will strip you of many rights after conviction but release from jail. So forget about being "rehabilitated"; you're still scum after they release you. So, any youthful mistakes stay with you the rest of your life.
Sex offender status is a joke too. Be "caught" peeing in the bushes, get labeled a sex offender. Have some say you sexually harass them by asking for a joke, potential sex offender status. Start registering where every you go. I'm all for taking child rapists, stapling their junk to the wall, and unleashing a firing squad on them, but it's apparent that prosecutors and attorney generals treat this as a numbers game, not for justice. So the more hits they get, the more they can claim they are being "tough on crime" and "protecting kids". - 47f0, on 12/31/2008, -0/+34More moronic "feel-good" legislation that not only fails to address any real issues, but actually pulls enforcement resources away from where they're needed. This isn't about "protect teh children" - it's all about "protect my votes" for these legislators. Be afraid - vote for us.
- LenBaird, on 12/31/2008, -0/+33That is the purpose of this. Once we accept that certain "undesirable" groups of people have no rights, more and more people will be put into the "undesirable" category. It is a technique used by governments throughout history to take away the rights of the people.
- roddack, on 12/31/2008, -0/+32For ***** sake why don't we just put them in the stocks and get over with all ready I mean ***** what is next? putting a huge ass tattoo on their head?
They served their time leave them the ***** alone. - govsucks, on 12/31/2008, -2/+34Yep, and with the aid of collectivism, the government will become so large and powerful that, in the future, they will demand this kind of info when you violate a traffic law. Nothing understands justice and freedom like a mob of collectivists.
- trispear, on 12/31/2008, -0/+31I'm a half-asleep idiot:
"Have some say you sexually harass them by asking for a joke, potential sex offender status."
should be
"Have someone say you sexually harassed them by asking for a date, potential sex offender status."
BTW, it's just sad. Had a boss come in after lunch smelling of beer years back. It was his birthday, he friends bought him a round or two. Not drunk. Passed by his secretary on the way back to the office with not a word. She said that the smell made her uncomfortable and feeling sexually harassed because alcohol made men "more forward". He worked there over 11 years, his company sacked him the next day rather than face any legal or financial liabilities.
I'm sure the criminal justice system has the same biased ***** with labeling "sex offenders." - celotil, on 12/31/2008, -1/+30Ah yes, the eternal stigma of being labeled a sex offender ...
"You've done your time, as mandated by the state, in other words, the PUBLIC, and although we think you've done enough to atone for whatever crime it actually was that got you labeled as a Sex Offender, we're going to keep a CLOSE eye on you for all eternity because we don't trust you, we don't believe in our hearts that you've reformed, and we're worried you'll offend again."
I have never served time for a crime. I have been punished by my parents for being mischievous as a child.
How do you think I'd have grown up if my parents gave me punishment that never actually ended? Let's say I pinched a lolly-pop and was caught, and my punishment was to write out a thousand times, "I will not steal."
That's a deterrent.
But what if every weekend after that I had to write out another hundred lines of, "I will not steal."
I wouldn't reform.
I'd do something drastic, like possibly killing my parents.
When you hand down a punishment to someone, regardless of what they did, and you tell them that this is it, this is the punishment, you can't keep punishing them after the punishment is supposed to be over. That warps a human mind, and a man who, like SharMarali said, may have gotten on the sex offenders list only because he's pissed in public, is not going to be happy. He may do something drastic.
Let's say someone did do something bad, like rape. Do you think they have to be punished for eternity? Do you feel comfortable handing down that verdict? Don't you think that that person has already been punished enough, and if not, why the hell are you letting them out of prison if they're not reformed, not repentant for what they did?
You either acknowledge he's reformed and let him go, to live his own life, or you say he's not reformed and you keep him in jail. One or the other, no in-betweens.
If we start releasing people that we think are just as ***** up as when they went in then we're more mentally retarded than ***** monkeys, and I mean retarded as in a lack of capacity, not HURR DURR RURR. - borez, on 12/31/2008, -1/+30I in no way agree with the actions of a sex offender but...We have a sex offenders register here in the UK, every now and then somebody accidentally discovers the name and address of an offender living near them, thus sparking a witch hunt.
The thing is though, these witch hunts always seem to be covered by one of the national tabloids begging the question: Just who did release that name in the first place? - anarcurt, on 12/31/2008, -0/+25I always thought it was against the constitution to punish someone for the same crime twice, the 'double jeopardy' rule. But hey, who cares about that quaint piece of paper anyway.
- Solkre, on 12/31/2008, -0/+23This is such a clever way for the government to get us used to less privacy and more policing.
You go after the sex offenders with ***** you couldn't pull on anyone else, not even murders. You can demonize the people trying to defend their rights, because who defends sex offenders, other sex offenders or pedophiles?
Once the sex-offenders are setup the way we like, we can start moving those rules linear to all other categories pointing back and saying "You didn't care when we did it to them." - NezaByte, on 12/31/2008, -1/+23Agreed. This is ridiculous. They're starting to cross lines when it comes to privacy.
- rhythmicdevil, on 12/31/2008, -1/+23A very good friend of mine just left the country to go an live in Canada due to this. The short story is that the guy he picked up lied about his age. He was 17 and claimed he was 20. My friend has spent the last 10 years of his life in absolute misery. He even got the original judge to review the case and say it was ridiculous. But one you are in the system your life is over. He could not find any work because people google your name. So I agree with the first poster.
If you are a danger you should be in jail. If not leave them alone. - badqat, on 12/31/2008, -3/+23So, how about making EVERYONE do the same? That way, they'll be able to catch those who have managed to slip through the cracks and not get arrested. Or they may find some other illegal activity as well.
Sound good?
And the majority of sex offenses do NOT occur online. - jehan60188, on 12/31/2008, -0/+18get a good lawyer, and if you ever get married again, get a prenup.
- s4g4n, on 12/31/2008, -17/+35Blame the church.
- bhuntsbarger, on 12/31/2008, -0/+17<begin rant>
When you quote Benjamin Franklin please quote "Who ever gives liberty to get security, deserves neither of them." -Ben Franklin... I think he's earned it </end rant> - bmatherlyjr, on 12/31/2008, -0/+17This is nothing more than the gov't going another route to get what they want. Does anyone remember "Carnivore"? If the gov't released a press release or scheduled a press conference and said "Look, we are the gov't we demand your papers (in this case, your email address, password, screen names, handles, etc)!" I think the majority of the people would tell the gov't kindly where they can go, but because this is under the guise of protecting them from another boogie man "sex offenders" people lose all common sense and are all gun ho to give their support, completely oblivious to it's dire future consequences. Who is next? Drunk drivers? A person who can't balance their bank ledger properly and bounces the occasional check? Jay walkers?
- thegrantman, on 12/31/2008, -0/+17In some states,you can be convicted of a sex crime for urinating in public.
http://www.bakelblog.com/nobodys_business/2007/03/ ...
If a state can distort even this into a sexual offense,you must ask.......
How long do you think it will be before this ruling is used as a precedent to confiscate your freedom for other offenses?
1.Privacy forfeiture for all drug charges.
(you can be convicted for taking an unprescribed Xanex.)
2.Privacy forfeiture for all violent crimes.
(you can be convicted for spitting)
http://www.davidpiperlaw.com/practice-areas/violen ... - inactive, on 12/31/2008, -1/+18And blame politics. "See, see, im doing something about the problem!", anyone who votes against it will have their vote used for political ads against them.
- 47f0, on 12/31/2008, -1/+18>
I'm sure the criminal justice system has the same biased ***** with labeling "sex offenders."
<
No, it's not really biased - it's really simple. The states get federal dollars for each offender on their registry. More registry entries = more dollars. So of course you want to maximize that registry - it's cash in the bank. - anarcurt, on 12/31/2008, -0/+16And what about the privacy of the other people the offender talks to in his emails?
- Ouze, on 12/31/2008, -0/+16and the slippery slope continues. Eventually these people will ask, why is a pedophile required to report their address, but not a convicted murderer on parole? Doesn't the public have the right to know about the convicted drug dealer living nearby?
Any additional power you give the government, no matter what the "extremism" they claim they need ot for, will always, ALWAYS, creep into things it wasn't intended for and be abused.
Either you have served your time and are now free, or you should not have been released. - Ouze, on 12/31/2008, -0/+15What if you lived next door to a murderer? No reporting requirement for a paroled murderer.
You can't be afraid all the time. - MrChunks, on 12/31/2008, -1/+15My next door neighbour lives next door to a sex offender.
- royozin, on 12/31/2008, -5/+19Raving idiots that use the Internet only to read their e-mail making stupid laws? This is new.
- inactive, on 12/31/2008, -10/+24The threat of sex crimes is vastly inflated by the media, as because it's so rare, it makes for a good story.
Also, I am reminded of a passage from Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", when a woman writes a letter to Dawkins, who says that she had been molested by her priest when about eight, round about the same time as one of her non-Catholic friends died from leukaemia, and although she describes her feelings at that age about the molestation as being "yucky", she was much more terrified of the warnings that the priest was saying that non-Catholics would go to hell, and burn and suffer for eternity, and that her eight year old friend would fall victim to this horrible fate.
What I'm trying to say is that there are much greater threats than child abuse/molestation to children in today's society, and that these threats are much more effective in harming children. These include organised religion, the attraction of crime, and the inability of capitalism to provide for the poor and needy. - redrabbit, on 12/31/2008, -1/+15I actually do live next door to a sex offender. Looked it up online while I was bored one day. Don't really care much, to be honest. Neither did my roommates when I mentioned it to them.
- inactive, on 12/31/2008, -1/+15if there was a museum for digg comments...
I was molested in high school, babysitter's son got me to lick his ***** a little. you know what? that doesn't rate anywhere in the list of top things from teen years that traumatized me. Things that happened in the light of day, right in school, fully allowed by all the laws of the land, nobody detained or punished. By today's laws the guy that "molested" me would be branded for life, and more than one of you otherwise well-behaved citizens think you should be allowed to murder him now, and yeah i guess he was a perv, but all these people yelling "we have to protect the children" are mainly up to the same ***** they're up to whenever they trot that out: making the priests and cops and judges more powerful, and if it costs a few innocent lives along the way whatever.
this whole sex crime thing is just a smokescreen, a first wedge in the crack, a way to get you to agree to a boundary between black and white, so "they" can move it wherever they want and direct your hate. - DCGUY12, on 12/31/2008, -0/+14Mooning kids= Sex Offender Status
Urinating in Public= Sex Offender Status - borez, on 12/31/2008, -3/+16They are looked upon as worse then murderers in the UK prison system and get treat accordingly. For sure.
- Swivelstick, on 12/31/2008, -2/+15According to whom? I'm sorry but most is done by trusted members or friends of the family. Child pron is now done online, however I'm sure there were underground methods previous to that just like all other forms but when using the net it is easier to find the deviants not the opposite.
- BadAsh71, on 12/31/2008, -1/+13Here in the US it is as easy as searching online.
It is scary sometimes to poke around online "for fun" only to find out that one or more of your co-workers is on the list.
I wouldn't say such internet searching has lead to "witch hunts" here but I know it has lead people to think less of their co-workers. - addiktion, on 12/31/2008, -0/+12I have a best friend whose a sex offender. He shouldn't be on the list though in my opinion. (Very long detailed explanation below!)
He was dating a girl for 4 months before they decided to get intimate. I've met this girl before at a concert and you wouldn't take her as a minor physically, mentally, or emotionally. Either way they both consented to sex obviously and she ended up getting in a fight with her father over something and skipped town with some older guys. Of course they contacted my friend and asked him what he did with her trying to put the blame all on him as if he had kidnapped her or something. He didn't know what the hell was going on and then they finally told him her age and he told me he's never felt so sick to his stomach in his life and started to panic and almost passed out talking to the officers. He literally was depressed and blue for like 6 months straight after that. But anyways it turns out she lied about her age. He told the cops he'd help them if she called him and said he would comply with whatever they wanted. She called and he managed to convince her to go home even though she didn't want too and wanted to leave the state.
Of course he decided to be honest and explain everything because he really is a good kid (Bad mistake). He's never "lusted" for young girls before or looked twice at a younger girl. Sure he was sexually active but it wasn't like a "one night stand" kind of situation or rape. They were actually going out from what I understand. So the cops show up at her house. Drill her down with questions. She admits they were sexually active and that she lied about her age and she didn't mean too.
He was then interviewed too and he told the truth. Obviously he should of had a lawyer but he was so depressed from the situation it slipped his mind. They slapped him with Misdemeanor A for unlawful sexual activity with a minor or something like that. 3 months in jail, 1 year probation, 10 year registration, requires registration twice each year, plus a new drivers license each year, It's one of the states that requires you to turn over passwords and emails and he had probably spent $10,000 dollars in fees, lawyers, and had to pay for required counseling. He told me he was required to counsel for 1 year but he was out in 3 months because the counselor said nothing was wrong with him. I guess his probation office said the same thing. I think he's actually friends with his counsel now. When I was in the court room with him the judge even made a statement about him not being a psycho or sicko or anything like that and unfortunately there wasn't much he could do because it was still against the law and the laws were there to protect children. He accepted his responsibility even though everyone felt like his was getting shafted.
The saddest thing though is he's a changed person now. Before it happened he used to be outgoing and what not and he could always make you laugh but he seems to have locked up and is quiet a lot now and doesn't express himself like he used too. He's been married now for 3 years and his wife helped him get through it all without having a melt down. I think he's on year 3 on the list. We don't talk as much anymore but I remember him always telling me he was worried someone was going to show up at his door and stab/shoot him or his wife so maybe that's why he's so closed off these days.
Misc Details that I remember: He just turned 20 and the girl was 16 when it happened. She had slept with 2 other older guys before him they found out but they weren't charged at all. Her dad pressed the charges against him because he didn't want to accept responsibility. She had daddy issues from what I understand. His lawyer told him that if he didn't talk to them he would of had all charges dropped because they had 0 evidence besides his statement.
Thank you justice system for instilling fear in my friend and making him look like a rapist in the eyes of everyone that see's him on that list. - inactive, on 12/31/2008, -1/+13there seems to be a drive to make EVERYbody a criminal. hmmm, prison industry lobby money behind it much?
- andyb747, on 12/31/2008, -0/+12today sex offenders.....tomorrow the rest of us
- txdrifter, on 12/31/2008, -0/+121) Our definition of "sex offenders" is *****, public urination requires people to register as a sex offender in some places, by way of "public exposure", same goes for something as innocent as college streaking in some places. Limit it to direct crimes against another person(or animal/corpse... sick *****)
2) This is only going to hurt prosecution of legitimate sex offenders nabbed for online activities, any defense attorney worth a ***** is gonna make the argument that by forcing the sex offender to "release" their account security information that it makes any "chat tracking" or email evidence inadmissable because of the state enforced breach of the account. Its going to end up with hard IP monitoring in order to ever get a conviction on a repeat offender, which can still be argued away with a little effort in our increasingly wireless age, and the inability to prove who is using the computer at the exact moment the offenses were committed.
This is ***** on not only the civil rights of the offender, but also on their victims are going to increasingly see the monsters that hurt them walk away scott free because "fruit of a poison tree" is useless. -
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