Controversial ad sparks debate over sex offender registry
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SEATTLE -- In some cases, it's "a list for life." The sex offender registry forces convicted criminals to stay in the spotlight.
Not everyone wants to stay there.
"Those two words, 'sex offender,' they make me sick to my stomach," said one such former criminal.
We protected his identity so he could be candid about what he had done. He doesn't want you to forgive him or forget what he did. He just wants you to shift your perception of his crime.
"I did something wrong and I manned up to it. I admitted it in court. I took my punishment," he said.
It was nearly two decades ago, when he was 18-years old. Half his lifetime ago. He says that night he was "drunk beyond anything I've ever been almost to the point of falling down."
He was drunk and out of control with a female friend.
"Kind of in and out of consciousness, not really able to function, and I took advantage of her," he said.
She couldn't give consent. It was a sex crime.
"I agreed. I plead guilty. I did something very wrong," he said.
In the time since, he's been registered as a sex offender, done right by the law and paid his dues. But he wants a change. He wants to get off the sex offender registry.
"Having to be subject to this public embarrassment and scrutiny for the rest of my life -- that seems a little harsh," he said.
Which is where a controversial ad comes in, placed on the back of alternative newspapers. It's from attorney Brad Meryhew.
"Sex offender registration got you down? Give us a call; we might be able to help,"Meryhew said.
Under Washington state law, certain lower-level offenders have the option to petition a judge for removal from the registry. The worst criminals aren't eligible. Even if a judge agrees that the offender is reformed, it doesn't expunge the conviction from the record. It just takes the offender off the list and some tracking websites.
"We are one of the toughest states in regards to registration and community notification," said Kecia Rongen with the state sentence review board.
She says the original 1990s-era sex offender laws haven't caught up to actual research.
"Treatment does work. Recidivism rates for juvenile sex offenders are fairly low," she said.
In a way, the registry could become a form of punishment. That's fine by Deborah Kaye -- especially after she saw Meryhew's ad.
"It seemed so glib. 'Sexual predator registration got you down?' I hope so," she said.
Kaye has counseled sexual abuse victims for years and says even though the law allows some offenders to leave the list, some punishments shouldn't be swept away.
"The power over another person. It's always been about power. So that wiring is often hard to unwire, if you will," she said.
While she said she was shocked and appalled, she sees the conflict so many face in the legal system.
"Can people be turned around? I'm sure there are, I'm sure there are many. I'm conflicted," she said.
Meryhew knows it's a controversial business. Some people have called and yelled at his office, but he shares his clients' stories to change minds.
"What we're speaking to are those people who can't find work, can't find housing, can't get a relationship going, have trouble with their families," he said.
Kaye isn't entirely sold. She feels some crimes don't deserve compromise.
"Sexual predators hunt. And we need to know who the hunters are," she said.
The man who admitted his crimes says he isn't that hunter. He wants his chance to prove it to everyone.
"I've had to own this, because I did it. There's no other way around it," he said.
Not everyone wants to stay there.
"Those two words, 'sex offender,' they make me sick to my stomach," said one such former criminal.
We protected his identity so he could be candid about what he had done. He doesn't want you to forgive him or forget what he did. He just wants you to shift your perception of his crime.
"I did something wrong and I manned up to it. I admitted it in court. I took my punishment," he said.
It was nearly two decades ago, when he was 18-years old. Half his lifetime ago. He says that night he was "drunk beyond anything I've ever been almost to the point of falling down."
He was drunk and out of control with a female friend.
"Kind of in and out of consciousness, not really able to function, and I took advantage of her," he said.
She couldn't give consent. It was a sex crime.
"I agreed. I plead guilty. I did something very wrong," he said.
In the time since, he's been registered as a sex offender, done right by the law and paid his dues. But he wants a change. He wants to get off the sex offender registry.
"Having to be subject to this public embarrassment and scrutiny for the rest of my life -- that seems a little harsh," he said.
Which is where a controversial ad comes in, placed on the back of alternative newspapers. It's from attorney Brad Meryhew.
"Sex offender registration got you down? Give us a call; we might be able to help,"Meryhew said.
Under Washington state law, certain lower-level offenders have the option to petition a judge for removal from the registry. The worst criminals aren't eligible. Even if a judge agrees that the offender is reformed, it doesn't expunge the conviction from the record. It just takes the offender off the list and some tracking websites.
"We are one of the toughest states in regards to registration and community notification," said Kecia Rongen with the state sentence review board.
She says the original 1990s-era sex offender laws haven't caught up to actual research.
"Treatment does work. Recidivism rates for juvenile sex offenders are fairly low," she said.
In a way, the registry could become a form of punishment. That's fine by Deborah Kaye -- especially after she saw Meryhew's ad.
"It seemed so glib. 'Sexual predator registration got you down?' I hope so," she said.
Kaye has counseled sexual abuse victims for years and says even though the law allows some offenders to leave the list, some punishments shouldn't be swept away.
"The power over another person. It's always been about power. So that wiring is often hard to unwire, if you will," she said.
While she said she was shocked and appalled, she sees the conflict so many face in the legal system.
"Can people be turned around? I'm sure there are, I'm sure there are many. I'm conflicted," she said.
Meryhew knows it's a controversial business. Some people have called and yelled at his office, but he shares his clients' stories to change minds.
"What we're speaking to are those people who can't find work, can't find housing, can't get a relationship going, have trouble with their families," he said.
Kaye isn't entirely sold. She feels some crimes don't deserve compromise.
"Sexual predators hunt. And we need to know who the hunters are," she said.
The man who admitted his crimes says he isn't that hunter. He wants his chance to prove it to everyone.
"I've had to own this, because I did it. There's no other way around it," he said.
To those that say sex offenders should all be killed or castrated well come get at this old man. I am beyond tired of hearing so called Christians talk of such hate. Or so called righteous people suggesting to harm others by breaking the law. The Sex Offender Laws are unconstitutional and in my case very retro active. For those that spew out endless false information such as sex offenders have 500 victims before they are caught, utterly insane lies. There is no one that has committed those amounts of offenses. The facts seem impossible for the hateful people to deal with or talk about. This subject is not that different from the way gun control and gun laws are dealt with and doled out. THE TRUTH is that this country must lift the stigmatic paradigm that makes it so hard for those in need of help to even feel like they can seek it. That is the very thing that will reduce these types of crimes. Love Faith Hope and communication those are sorely needed. For those that say a person is "hardwired' or can never be reformed, that is the most evil of lies and deception. I will admit there are a small percentage of people whom will repeat or choose a life of sex crime or gun crime, but it is not the norm nor the majority of cases. This is not unlike the grand military complex that generates so much money. War for money's sake. Punishment for moneys sake. It is the same money that states "In God We Trust" . In this country you all have forgotten to trust in your higher power, you have forgotten how to uplift those whom have fallen, to me you are the most VILE and EVIL blasphemers of my Masters Words. You hide your own issues and problems by wrapping them in the cloak of your hatred for those whom have fallen or failed. So I say unto you:
Lord for those whom profess your name and then turn and make all manner of hate and hateful actions unto others cast them into suffering and despair. For every redeemable man or woman that your words or laws of hate oppress or punish, for every man or woman that you walk right by without lifting them up, then so shall your misery be a thousand fold.
I am the TIGER spirit and I fear not your hatred. I no longer will obey laws of hate aimed at destroying men. My Master compels me not to abide by your hateful ways.
Lord hear my prayer,
Let him that has ears hear.
It has been 4 months. I am 42 years old had a job for 20 years, a solid life, great friends and family. I began diving into the internet for dating which lead to sex sites and then to Craigslist. It was a slow process, but I found myself addicted to online sex and trying to meet people. One day I answered an ad and after a small chat she said she was 15. I chatted for a while then left. But e-mails kept coming and pictures too. I decided to meet, sent a text, and that was it. We of course never met, the police stepped in as it was a sting operation. Solicitation of a minor. I have been in counseling for 4 months, lost everything I had, job , my entire 401K, lost every friend except those that know me best which is about 10 people. I never in a million years would have ever looked at an under aged girl. The internet is a fantasy land and is a real addiction. I accepted responsability for my actions and will soon be a convicted felon, and on the registry. I have done everything possible to ensure I never ever fall back into an online fantasy world. So now I have to forgive myself, if I ever can, and work to find a job where I will certainly not be making the $70K I was before. The utter hurt I caused my family and friends is more than I can bear. I will live with the felony, but just do not see what the registry is doing to keep people safe from me ? I am not a predator, I never looked for such a thing and never will. I will take my punishment, try to rebuild, but in my case I would like to know how do you think the registry serves the public in my case ? All people will see is the registry and of course think the worst. No one takes the time to find out details. I am sick every day knowing I will be on it. So a felony, 5 years probation, court ordered counseling, and of course the registry. Enough ? Â Â Â Â
We can eliminate all this nonsense by simply sentencing all rapists, pedophiles, and murderers to life in prison without the option of parol. What sees does it make to send drug users/dealers, petty thieves and the like to improsonement for ridiculous terms, but then to allow rapist and pedophiles to walk free after what are usually very short spans of time. Stop fooling yourself, we do not register sex offenders because it protects our children. We do it to make ourselves feel better for not having been able to give them the sentences that rapists, and pedophiles deserve. Barring future new evidence to exonerate them them of the origional charges, they should never expect to see the light of day as long as they live.
Gee, since folks think politicians, the media, and other groups have your interests in mind,
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HOW COME IN MANY STATES THERE ARE NO ARSON, BURGLARY, MURDERER, DRUNK DRIVING, DRUG and GUN TRAFFICKING, SCAMMING, ETC REGISTRIES? What about those victims, so if someone burns your face and robs you or beats if you are a family member, they don't have the punishment of having to register for life, face residency restrictions, monitoring of communications, and banishment and in some cases driver's licenses saying sex offender, and in many states a teen having sex with another teen given that NOT ALL STATES HAVE "ROMEO AND JULIET LAWS", ALSO FOR "PUBLIC URINATION" AND "MOONING 20 YEARS AGO", OR FOR A 17 YEAR OLD TAKING A PICTURE OF HIMSELF, EVEN IF THE DOES NOT SEND IT TO ANYBODY IT STILL POSSESSION OF CHILD PORN!
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I sure would love to know if my neighbor is a burglar , but of course with the exception of a few RECENT states,
there are no registries, wait wasn't my state legislature on the guise of "protecting the public" supposed to figure this out 15 years ago!, no but your legislature only is NOT concerned with the use of taxpayer funds, press releases, and the media and attention, yet the public still buys it.
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Pretty soon a few folks may find themselves on the list, chances may be slim, but don't forget false accusations.
Where are the rest of the Registries?
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The glorious, panacea Sex Offender Registries are negligibly beneficial. If that was not the case, more than a hundred other similar Registries covering all sorts of crimes would have been created over a decade ago. There are simply no excuses that it has not been done and it is absolute proof that it is a lie that the Registries exist for "public safety" or "protecting children". That is not the REAL purpose of the Registries, as we have so clearly seen with all the rampant stupidity surrounding them.
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The Registries are negligibly beneficial. We could all get the same minor benefits that we get from them by doing what all should be doing anyway - IF we are actually so concerned about protecting children (but the Registries are proof that we actually aren't that concerned about it). If the Registries were only nearly worthless, it wouldn't be so bad. But of course, they are much, much worse. The problems they bring, including INCREASED recidivism, are not nearly worth it.
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The Registries, and the adjunct idiotic laws that they have enabled and promoted, are counterproductive, immoral, un-American, divisive, anti-factual, diversionary, often idiotic, expensive, wasteful, and often illegal. Experts have never supported the Registries. Politicians do. People who depend on governments for jobs do. Un-Americans who support nanny big government do. Hateful liars do.
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The governments that run the Registries are criminal regimes. The people who zealously support the Registries and the theft they enable are terrorists who cannot mind their own business or leave other people alone. Good Americans are at war with the people.
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I parented my children today without the help of nanny big government. I am not a person who uselessly and baselessly attacks other people.
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So, terrorists: Where are the rest of the Registries?
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The sex-offender registry is an ill-conceived system that has gone awry.Over 97% of sex crimes are committed by those not on the registry. This keeps no one any safer.
 Over 90% of sex-offenders pose NO threat to society. They are on there for non-contact,non-violent crimes.Many are juveniles themselves who have done nothing more than urinating in public. This does not even take into account the collateral damage done to their families.
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Many readers lament the fact that their victims are suffering. Well, in many cases there are no victims,yet the offenders are punished for  life,
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Before hailing this registry as being wonderful and keeping people safe (which is does not!!!), readers should study who is on there are why. They should also consider the coillateral damage that the offenders family suffers.
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"There is no one so blind as one who does not want to see".The registry needs to be scrapped.Â
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Deborah Kaye has a skewed and obviously biased opinion as a victim industry mouthpiece. Anything to keep those dollars coming in, huh? The registry is a vigilante hit list. I wonder how many dollars she sent to Patrick Drum's prison account? Without the list, Kaye's job dries up. She has no business in this article, in all honesty.
So let me get this straight. He was "drunk beyond anything I've ever been almost to the point of falling down," and "in and out of consciousness" and he was able to rape someone? That doesn't add up. If you are that drunk, the anatomy used to rape someone is not functional. How does a man perform sexually when he's unconscious, or semi conscious?
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Ms. Kaye is right in that the ad is too glib.Â
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There might need to be some instances where exceptions could be made, but  helping people get off the list would do more harm than good, because a slick lawyer and a law with loopholes could allow some serious offenders to repeat their crime.Â
 @Lori Actually, there should not be "a list". The "list" is counterproductive, among many other problems. There are more crimes being committed because the registries exist than would be if they did not exist. As all experts have continually said, they are clearly counterproductive. Therefore, the less people that are on the list, the better off we all are. But don't let me bother you with facts. Keep believing in your panacea.
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Since you think we should have nanny big governments, you must surely be working hard to get the rest of the registries created. How is that going? Why is it that some government has not come to my home to tell me about the people living near me who have shot people? Don't they care about children?
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Also, I am aware that a person near me has driven drunk. The person was drinking one afternoon and took some kids to the liquor store with her. Luckily, that is not nearly as dangerous as a person who would show his penis to someone. I'm so glad I know about that person. Cause that's scary. Seeing that could harm a child irrevocably forever, for life!!!!
the thing is this.
the problem is this... there is a big difference between a sexual predator and a sex offender. just like there is a big difference between a pedophile and a hebaohile. just like there is different levels of sex offenders.
for example:
http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/lawsuit-filed-by-parents-of-grant-county-boy-accused-of/article_95e9d05e-10c2-11e1-bd3c-001cc4c002e0.html
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would you expect this 8 year old kid to be subjected to the same registry for life rules? this kid at the age of 7 tried to kill himself. i saw the ambulance take him out of his home. a 7 year old.
now there's something called the 8th amendment which deals with cruel and unusual punishment. i'll quote some things what judges have said about cruel and unusual punishment:
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However, a defendant need not suffer actual physical injury or pain before a punishment will be declared cruel and unusual. In Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 78 S. Ct. 590, 2 L. Ed. 2d 630 (1958), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of denationalization (the deprivation of citizenship) as a punishment is barred by the Eighth Amendment. The Court reasoned that when someone is denationalized, "[t]here may be involved no physical mistreatment, no primitive torture. There is instead the total destruction of the individual's status in organized society. It is a form of punishment more primitive than torture, for it destroys for the individual the political existence that was centuries in the development." The Court also opined that the Eighth Amendment must "draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society."
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"[t]here may be involved no physical mistreatment, no primitive torture. There is instead the total destruction of the individual's status in organized society. It is a form of punishment more primitive than torture, for it destroys for the individual the political existence that was centuries in the development."
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get the picture?
@paul dipass picture this. The law is not going away. I appreciate your lesson on the Bill of Rights but courts have ruled on this. Perhaps (later after rehabilitation & counseling) this young man will have options to remove himself from the registry(that is what the law firm is offering).
1 day after this article was published there are 2 more offenders in the news for criminal acts.Â
i hope so i feel bad for the kid.
where the 2 more offenders in the news for ciminal acts sexual in nature? where they on the registry?
You are the right. The U.S. as a whole is far, far too stupid and hateful to actually admit that the registries are a failed idea. This country is literally FULL of morons. And we need our governments to take care of us. Personal responsibility is not a priority.
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So given that, where are the rest of the registries? If these things are so glorious and actually do something useful, why don't we have the rest of them? They can pattern them after the sex offender registries, including all extra laws that go with them, and then add laws on from there.
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What we actually need is a system where the governments know for certain where everyone lives, works, etc. and then ANYONE is able to positively identify ANYONE else and be able to pull up that person's entire life history. That is what we need. I'm not joking, BTW.
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So how are we going to accomplish that?
I know of one individual that ended up on the list because he was 3 years and 2 weeks older than his girlfriend. It took about 10 years to get off the âsex offendersâ list. She waited till after he did his 6 months of work release then they ran off to Vegas. Not all on the list are that bad, some just a little less bright than they should be. His case is the reason the rule is in place. I think this lawyer is why they get the bad name lawyers have.
I don't think everyone should 'come off the sex offender registry list' as soon as they have 'paid their 'dues' - but some maybe - the crime will always stay on their record as it should. But I'm not sure if this list hasn't become a weapon of hate instead of a reminder to people and to be wary. After all, courts and others have said  that for instance the pedophile offends at least 500 times before they are caught - egads. Those should forever stay on the list even after they are shot and hung - but 'maybe' there should be consideration to some of these crimes being considered to come off the list. I'm not for sure but if we're going to have a list, then we should have a list for every major crime out there.
 @Elaine2 There have been lots of legitimate studies that show, that with proper therapy and support, the recidivism rate is 3-5% but when we as a society take away their stability, they are more likely to reoffend...tho not necessarily in a sexual manner. And yes, the registry has become a weapon and it just as often is used against the offender's family and loved ones as well.
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
@SOIssues ..tell me, does a disgraceful individual like you do anything on behalf of the real victims of sexual offenses?
 @Seahawksman  @SOIssues Seahawksman, tell me, what do you do on behalf of the "real victims of sexual abuse"? Sending money to a serial killer's jail account does not qualify as help.
 @Seahawksman Rod Temple is threatening? Boy, you've either got a massively oversized ego or -- more likely -- some seriously psychological problems.
 @Ben Ezzell  @Seahawksman Well put. I was thinking exactly that. I said nothing that was even slightly threatening. I was merely stating that the people listed on the nanny registries did something and were punished for it. That gives no one the right to continue to harass them or treat them worse than other people. I feel that people who do that are harassers that should be punished as well. I would love to see the zealous supporters of the registries and harassment put in jail where they belong. Until they learn to stop bothering other people.
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It is one thing to use the registries just to be "informed". If that were the case, the only problem would be that there is no excuse that hundreds of other registries don't exist. But that is not how the registries have been used. They are a weapon of hate (as someone else on here mentioned). They are being used to steal from U.S. citizens and harass them, their spouses, and their children.
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And Seahawksman is right, I have no interest in debating any zealous supporters of the registries. It is beyond clear that the registries are not really about public safety. There is nothing to debate. I feel zealous supporters of the registries are bad people and terrorists. I feel like the people listed on these registries are in a literal civil war with those people and that they should harm them by any legal means possible, exactly as those people are doing to them. I feel that they should identify those people individually and do anything legal to lower the quality of their lives. And I would be quite happy if the most egregious of the registry terrorists, for example, those people who are working to get hundred of thousands of families banned from being able to go to parks or beaches, would be murdered. Wouldn't bother me at all. This war should escalate immediately. Good Americans don't support this witch hunt.
@Ben Ezzell.. perhaps a bit of both Ben. I do know this is the issue he comments the most on..and chooses to take the most antagonistic approach. No debate just vitriol & attempted bullying....
 @Seahawksman  @SOIssues People are tired of the lies about registration adn especially the rest of the stupidity being about "protecting children". Stop harassing people unless you are willing to go to jail.
@Rod Temple ...flagged as threatening . Mind your manners
I have worked with many who are targeted as "sex offenders" long after their original (and only) offense has been "paid for" by incarceration. They have been through all the required therapy groups and educational workshops offered, and only want to return to the community and get on with a "normal" life. But having their picture and designation of "sex offender" available online has made a regular life nearly impossible. Even businesses who hire ex-felons will not usually hire "sex offenders" - no "ex-" allowed here. Seems to me that is cruel and unusual punishment. Being sexually assaulted is devastating; so is losing a loved one to murder, having one's home broken into and one's treasures plundered and trashed, being beaten up by one's spouse or child, but I see no picture page with murderers, burglers or domestic violence perpetrators on it...
 @Tricia Layden As someone who has committed a sex offense, served my time in prison, voluntarily gone through treatment and returned to the community, I want to thank you. Support from you, and others of like mind, make living in the community bearable. I take responsibility for the hurtful acts I committed. I regret the pain I caused another, as well as the "collateral" pain that caused several others. However, that took place over 18 years ago and I am NOT acting out in that way now. It is not "who" I am, it is something I did. Like my case, most sex crimes are NOT about "Power" or "Pedophilia" as the media has led the public to believe. It was about not knowing how to deal with my emotions and using the immediate gratification I felt through sex to make myself feel "better". Becoming aware of those issues, through treatment, and finding concrete strategies to deal with them in healthy ways has changed my life.
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The Sex Offender Registry does NOT prevent crimes. It does NOT protect the community. It does NOT protect children from offenders. It merely reveals the names of people convicted of a sex offense to the people ACTIVELY LOOKING for someone on whom to blame his/her problems. The registry takes time and money to administer, without actually producing any useful "tool" for investigating sex crimes. The reality is, the vast majority of sex crimes are committed by first time offenders and most of those come from within the family of the victim. Because he/she has never been convicted of a crime before, she/he is NOT on the registry. So, the registry is actually a distraction from the vast majority of sex offense investigations. Putting these resources into actual crime prevention or investigation would seem to be a much more appropriate use of the funding and man-hours.
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If a "registry" is to be a valid tool for investigating crimes, it should be used to monitor only those persons considered to be a mid to high level of re-offense and that list should ONLY be available to law enforcement. Making it public diminishes its value as an investigative tool and only shows the malicious intent behind the "Nazi-esque" style of list making.
 @Tricia Layden To clarify, a registry of ALL categories of EX-offenders, and NOT just ex-sex offenders, that are deemed more likely than not to re-offend, is what I am suggesting, so long as it is NOT published, but only used as an actual investigatory tool by police.
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However, I do believe that even this would NOT be a wise use of money and man-hours. The police already have access to lists of convicted felons and his/her complete criminal records.
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A registry only helps police to track down those that are openly WILLING to register his/her current address. A person that is likely to be committing new offenses is NOT likely to be reporting her/his current address to police as required by registries. So, in the end, registries of any type are NOT an efficient use of resources for investigations. It takes way too much time and money to maintain registries of those that are putting forth the effort to follow the laws.
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 @Tricia Layden You are exactly right. The registries are not about public safety. That may have been the original, noble, altruistic, main goal of them (and that concept seems somewhat reasonable), but they have turned out to be something far, far from that. Today, the registries are mostly just tools for stupid, hateful, un-Americans. They are government sponsored hatred and terrorism. The people who are listed on these registries should feel that they are in a civil war with the un-Americans who support the registries. They should treat them exactly as an enemy, every day in every way.
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Also, even if the other registries did exist, they would never rise to the level of the stupidity that the sex offender witch hunt has. Again, because it's not about public safety. There are unquestionably and undebatebly many crimes that are much more deserving of a registration system and its associated hatred than sex crimes are. But it will never get to that level because it doesn't involve what Americans love most - sex and feeling better than other people.
Where are the rest of the Registries?
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The glorious, panacea Sex Offender Registries are negligibly beneficial. If that was not the case, more than a hundred other similar Registries covering all sorts of crimes would have been created over a decade ago. There are simply no excuses that it has not been done and it is absolute proof that it is a lie that the Registries exist for "public safety" or "protecting children". That is not the REAL purpose of the Registries, as we have so clearly seen with all the rampant stupidity surrounding them.
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The Registries are negligibly beneficial. We could all get the same minor benefits that we get from them by doing what all should be doing anyway - IF we are actually so concerned about protecting children (but the Registries are proof that we actually aren't that concerned about it). If the Registries were only nearly worthless, it wouldn't be so bad. But of course, they are much, much worse. The problems they bring, including INCREASED recidivism, are not nearly worth it.
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The Registries, and the adjunct idiotic laws that they have enabled and promoted, are counterproductive, immoral, un-American, divisive, anti-factual, diversionary, often idiotic, expensive, wasteful, and often illegal. Experts have never supported the Registries. Politicians do. People who depend on governments for jobs do. Un-Americans who support nanny big government do. Hateful liars do.
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The governments that run the Registries are criminal regimes. The people who zealously support the Registries and the theft they enable are terrorists who cannot mind their own business or leave other people alone. Good Americans are at war with the people.
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I parented my children today without the help of nanny big government. I am not a person who uselessly and baselessly attacks other people.
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So, terrorists: Where are the rest of the Registries?
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@Mind Your Own Business.... 3rd paragraph, end of 2nd run on sentence "Experts have never supported the Registries. Politicians do." TRUE statement..it is because of that, they are here to stay...No Politician is going to come out and say they will remove the registry law AND get elected.. No One!
I should mention I do watch the registry. I do appreciate the information and would not vote for any politician that wants to remove it. Using the information as a precaution is not the same as a witch-hunt.
 @schramalot You may "appreciate it" but if you are parenting correctly, you don't need it.
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However, you are right that if the Registries were merely used just so Americans would be "informed", then it would not be a witch hunt. But that is not what the Registries are for. We have seen that Americans cannot have Registries and use them morally or responsibly. That is clear.
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One of main uses of the Registries is to ostracize the families listed on it. Is that what you use it for? Or rather, how exactly do you use it? How do you treat the Registered families differently than other people? And why would you assume that you do not need to do exactly the same for the families that are not Registered?
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Also, would you "appreciate" knowing about your neighbors who have shot people? How about your neighbor who broke into his/her last neighbor's home and robbed them at knife point? You do realize that it is a million times more difficult to stop someone from doing any of that than it is to stop someone from molesting your children, right?
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What work are you doing to get Registries created for all the other crimes?
I think the sex offender list should be abolished for all those who did not commit violent sex crimes. Why? A few reasons.Â
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First, emotionally charged blind justice does not prevent anything. Period. We all don't go around raping and murdering because we know we'd get put away for it. Likewise, rapists don't stop themselves before they act because they're considering the consequences. It is an impulse behavior. It is psychological. Threat of punishment does nothing, just as it doesn't keep someone who will murder from murdering.Â
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This brings me to my next point. If you want to change things in society and make your world safer, you have to LEARN about it, find out the causes, and work on PREVENTION. This does not mean doing away with punishment. This means taking proactive steps to identify the root causes of why such behavior exists, and what we can do to prevent them from happening. Can we eliminate violent sex crimes through prevention? No, we can't. We CAN cut the rate down, and especially prevent recurring offenses if we know what is happening and how to treat it. Major psychological issues are at play with sex offenders, and sex crime prevention should be treated as a public health and safety issue, and not a focus on criminal punishment.Â
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Look, I'm sorry that victims have had to experience what they have. Their trauma is some of the worst anyone can experience. But we have to look at this problem through an objective lens, and not through the angry torch and pitchfork mob justice mentality. That LITERALLY helps no one. If a person is branded for life for a crime, can their life get better? If they can't improve their life and try to get help and move on, is their life not ruined? If their life is already considered ruined, wouldn't they have virtually nothing to lose if they offend again?Â
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Think about how this whole thing works. Emotional outrage is understandable, but it doesn't improve anything. Blind justice doesn't keep your kids safe. Period. Knowledge and prevention is key. Prison is a tool for those who can't be helped or who commit horrendous acts, but it isn't the end-all. This is the 21st century. Psychology is real, not a pseudo-science. Mental health should be considered as important as physical health. Having more focus on this can lead us to preventive measures.Â
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You can't advocate mob justice while trying to say you're better than or above the mob. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Use your head.Â
 @jowsuf You've just explained the problem with the "justice system" quite well, better than I could have. Well done, and for what it's worth, I totally agree. Stop using "emotional reasoning", and let's get back to logical deduction. Punish the criminally violent, but let's figure out the WHY too. In doing so, I'd bet we'd find that not so many people committed crimes they are accused of such as DV and sex offenses, that are largely based on one person's word alone.
Thousands have become victim of the lifetime sex offender list because they were 18 and their girlfriend was 17 or 16 .... This is what America has become. Â Â
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Its a disgrace. Â An American Disgrace. Â
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his victim will live with this the rest of hers, he should too.
 @maggie112 So, you're saying the victim should be registered too, so everyone else will also know that she is "living with this"? (sarcasm...but only mostly)
Vengeance for vengeance' sake may not be that terribly productive - especially if there has been repentance.
@maggie112 -- His victim will live with it privately for the rest of her life, he should too.
@Bianca
perhaps NOT so privately. Perhaps she testified in court. Gave a statement to the police. Had a rape kit done.  THEN of course, lets start with the explanation to future mates ...about why things may be uncomfortable or cause a reaction .... really.  There is NOTHING private about it. It doesn't just go away because you have therapy. You LIVE with it. Sometimes, NOT so privately.
"sex offender" is a term that paints with a broad brush. I think if there is an avenue to have a case reviewed and have someone removed from the list, that is fine. The guy who is cited in the article was not the right case to highlight. I the the raped the girl regardless of his condition-then he is his a sex offender-PERIOD.
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But you have cases where and 18 year old is with a 17 year old and by the push of the parents of the 17 year old we now have an 18 year old teen feeling his oats is now a "sex offender". This is a case we have in our community.
There is another case were there was relations of an under age by only 2 years that ended up as a "sex offender" and they are now married with kids. The case of the teacher and student we have in our area is a sex offender case in may book.
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Putting these folks with the scum of the earth, the ones who mess with little kids or men who rape women and visa versa is not the way to go. We should remove the gray area.Â
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The registry was never meant to be punishment as so many commenting on this article seem to think. If that were the case then it would constitute double jeopardy and they would have to remove the retroactive portion for all offenders. The registry was only meant to be a tool to inform on the presence of a local offender.
 @fumblefacedolt And, because it IS punishment, it IS unconstitutional, even if the USC doesn't want to admit it
yawn
 @casey42 Yeah, "yawn". Who cares about retroactive, useless, stupid punishment? Who cares about the Constitution? I suppose casey42 only cares if he/she/it is being personally attacked. To h*ll with the rest of you Americans.
So he felt he put his time in, two decades have gone by. So has the girl he raped forgoten? I bet not! I don't like this idea one bit. Do the crime, you pay your time. When you rape someone you take away their physical and mental security. That never heals.
 @DDG I was raped when I was 13, I have not forgotten, but I have gone on with my life. Punishing him for the rest of his life would not have changed what happened, neither will punishing over 750,000 registrants AND THEIR FAMILIES. I can't help but think of that old saying, "two wrongs don't make a right". The registry was not created to punish anyone, its original purpose was to monitor sexually violent predators. It has gone way overboard in adding more than 200 crimes for which you are required to register, many of which are misdemeanors and some of which are even NON-sexual. The fact remains that if it is proven to be punishment, as many here seem to want it to be, the public registry WILL eventually be taken down because it IS unconstitutional under that premise.
@ DDG  You hit that one on the head. Thank you.Â
She hasn't forgotten - but this list is used for hate in some cases - the crime won't be removed, just some want to be off the 'list'.
 @Elaine2 yeah, so their families can stop being targets, and they can maybe get a job
 @casey42 She is talking about their FAMILIES being free from punishment. It seems it is OK with you for innocent people to be subject to vigilante attacks just because they are related to an offender. That's right, let's applaud vigilantism (sarcasm)! BTW some registrants are married to their "victims" and they AND their children will be made to pay FOR LIFE, by people like you, because daddy was arrested for sleeping with mommy while they were both teenagers.
@ Arianna Wolgfang. Yah. Let's applaud the sex offenders! (Sarcasm)
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MAYBE they should NOT have committed the offense in the first place. DUH