Man who gunned down sex offenders gets life in prison
PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- A man who gunned down two sex offenders on the Olympic Peninsula was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without possibility of parole, but a judge warned those sympathetic to his cause to back off.
Patrick Drum, 34, shot Gary Lee Blanton, 28, on June 2 at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home. Drum then drove to the home of Jerry Wayne Ray, 57, in the Agnew area near Port Angeles where Ray was killed the next morning.
Later that day, Drum abandoned a rental car he had been driving and was soon located after witnesses reported seeing a suspicious man in a remote area of the northern Olympic Peninsula.
Responding deputies found the car and a note inside that led to the victims and identified Drum as a suspect. Police said the note offered an apology for what he had done and that he took full responsibility for "taking care of some problems."
Dozens of officers responded to the area. Drum was tracked down by a dog team and flushed out of a wooded area following a three hour manhunt.
Investigators say Drum knew both men were sex offenders, and both victims were shot multiple times.
"There's no way to explain how horrible it is to see your children saying their last goodbyes," said Leslie Blanton, Gary's wife. "Shaking him... saying, 'daddy up. Daddy up.' "
During sentencing Tuesday, the judge made it clear there should be no kind of vigilantism and told Drum's supporters to back off from the attacks on the victims' families.
Leslie Blanton says people who support Drum and consider him a "hero" have stalked their house, thrown things at their car, spat on them and more.
"Just last night, I had carloads of people outside my house and I had to call the police to remove them," she said. "Who's there to protect my kids, Pat?"
Leslie Blanton says her husband is listed as a sex offender because he had consensual sex with a freshman when he was a senior in high school. The sheriff's office online record of sex offenders shows Blanton was convicted in November 2001 of third-degree rape.
Ray was convicted in August 2002 of child rape.
After he was caught, Drum admitted that he planned to continue killing sex-offenders until he was caught.
In court Tuesday, Drum was not very apologetic. "It was never my intent to hurt the families involved, that's like collateral damage that I feel bad about," he said. "If anybody is bothering folks, the families of my victims, I would ask that they not do that. As for the men themselves, actions speak louder than words."
Patrick Drum, 34, shot Gary Lee Blanton, 28, on June 2 at a home Drum was renting near Sequim. Blanton was renting a room in the home. Drum then drove to the home of Jerry Wayne Ray, 57, in the Agnew area near Port Angeles where Ray was killed the next morning.
Later that day, Drum abandoned a rental car he had been driving and was soon located after witnesses reported seeing a suspicious man in a remote area of the northern Olympic Peninsula.
Responding deputies found the car and a note inside that led to the victims and identified Drum as a suspect. Police said the note offered an apology for what he had done and that he took full responsibility for "taking care of some problems."
Dozens of officers responded to the area. Drum was tracked down by a dog team and flushed out of a wooded area following a three hour manhunt.
Investigators say Drum knew both men were sex offenders, and both victims were shot multiple times.
"There's no way to explain how horrible it is to see your children saying their last goodbyes," said Leslie Blanton, Gary's wife. "Shaking him... saying, 'daddy up. Daddy up.' "
During sentencing Tuesday, the judge made it clear there should be no kind of vigilantism and told Drum's supporters to back off from the attacks on the victims' families.
Leslie Blanton says people who support Drum and consider him a "hero" have stalked their house, thrown things at their car, spat on them and more.
"Just last night, I had carloads of people outside my house and I had to call the police to remove them," she said. "Who's there to protect my kids, Pat?"
Leslie Blanton says her husband is listed as a sex offender because he had consensual sex with a freshman when he was a senior in high school. The sheriff's office online record of sex offenders shows Blanton was convicted in November 2001 of third-degree rape.
Ray was convicted in August 2002 of child rape.
After he was caught, Drum admitted that he planned to continue killing sex-offenders until he was caught.
In court Tuesday, Drum was not very apologetic. "It was never my intent to hurt the families involved, that's like collateral damage that I feel bad about," he said. "If anybody is bothering folks, the families of my victims, I would ask that they not do that. As for the men themselves, actions speak louder than words."
This man is a hero
Why do you expect that he told his wife the truth? Chances are the underage girl sued him after a date rape and he came up with a better sounding story to tell his wife, in which he appears to be the victim. As far as the other child molester goes, there are reasons for everything, for some they are genetic for others due to life events. None of these make his actions OK. Female children are a bit more likely to get molested and yet 99% of child molesters are male. Clearly there are other ways to deal with trauma that don't involve victimizing more children. I wish the vigilante would get 20 years and get released after 5 for good behavior. He's clearly a good guy and deserves better treatment than the average violent psychopath who ends up in prison for life.
Gary Blanton did NOT rape a girl. He was a HS senior who had sex with a freshman, was caught and charged by her angry father. Has his "victim" been interviewed and asked whether she is traumatized after she was "abused" over ten years ago? OH WAIT, she WASN'T abused! Too bad Drum wasn't aware of this itsy bitsy little detail before he brutally shot Gary L Blanton, Jr.
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The ultimate tragedy, and what inflames me even more than Drum's murders, is the torment Leslie Blanton and her children are enduring at the hands of the ignorant worshipers of this scuzzbag.
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@nehalem94Â
Im a bit late to this story, since i ran across it by chance..
This man is a hero plain and simple, if more people would take arms and defend their children and rid of this sex offender menace, the world would be a much better place. If your a Senior you have no business sleeping with/raping a freshman. This man was a dangerous sex offender and would of raped more. He deserved to die, as all other Sex offendersÂ
 @Monique Obviously you didn't read even THIS article with any comprehension. Patrick Drum had every intention of being a serial killer had he not been stopped, clearly NOT a good guy. FYI Gary Blanton's charges were not just his wife's version of what happened. He grew up in that community and many were well aware that his charges stemmed from his relationship with his 17 year old girlfriend while he himself was 17.
 @Monique If you would read Mr. Blanton's case for yourself, or even an article about it, you wouldn't have to speculate; you could speak about the case as it really was, which bears no similarity to your speculation.
And Mr. Drum is "clearly a good guy" based on what? His murdering two men in cold blood, one a husband and father of two babies and the other the only caregiver for his aged father? Or his telling the police that he already had other offenders targeted and would have killed more had he not been caught? Or his attacking an 18 year old kid in the jail exercise yard, a kid who was serving a few months for a minor parole violation, a kid who had been on the registry since 13 for adolescent behavior? He got put in solitary for that. I guess he was reasonable good in there.
What people fail to realize, and what Drum fails to realize, is that a sex offender is most likely a sex offender because they themselves were victims of a sex crime when they were kids. Too ashamed to speak about it, they bottle it up and when they get older, for some odd reason they have this urge to do the same to some other child. It's not on purpose, and it's not intentional, and it's hardly ever about sex. It's about recreating the trauma that happened to them except this time they are in control, and doing it to someone else. It's a vicious cycle but what this guy did was definitely unacceptable.
 @Dillinger Rockwell The statement that sex offenders are most likely victims themselves is actually a myth.  There is no evidence that this is true, but merely a myth perpetrated by the fear mongering media.
My father was 21 and my mother was 16 when they were married. By today's standards he's a "sex offender" who "should be in prison". And by this creeps standards , and all of you who support him, he should of been shot in his home in front of me , my sister , and my mother. Â This sex offender label is thrown around by politicians who want to be elected for "saving the women and children". Same with the drug war, terrorism, un-leashed dogs same issue. People get excited and jump on board and all that really happens is a lot of innocent lives are ruined. There are people who's job it is to protect the helpless and ways for individuals to help if they feel a need to get involved. Drum is a homicidal maniac and nothing more. He should never be out of his cell with-out shackles.
Too bad he didn't get more before he got caught. Sex offenders have no place in society. Sex offenders ruin peoples lives for ever.
 @DDG Sounds like Patrick Drum was taking care of the sex offender problem like Gary Ridgway was taking care of the prostitution problem.
 @JAP506  @DDG Kinda serial killer-ish you mean?
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Send him to Twin Rivers where he'll be surrounded by sex offenders. He can start a club...."The Rapo Rangers," and really do some damage.
LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE...
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Murder is justified (to many on this message board) with the excuse of ridding the world of someone who committed a crime in the past, someone who was sentenced and served his punishment, and was released by the state, and was in the community minding his own business.Â
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Studies done by our state show that the recidivism is less than 5% for sex offenders as opposed to much higher rates for other felony crimes. The arguments that those released into society are much likely to reoffend are driven by frenzy and fear of constant media reporting of new crimes, and the outcry those stories generate.
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I agree any re-offense is unacceptable.Â
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Most of these men are horribly ashamed of their crimes, and just want to live peacefully and quietly. They do not take for granted their release. That is not to say they are perfect citizens, but the fact remains they are not more likely to reoffend, despite what the media tells you.Â
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If you want to really find out what makes a sex offender tick, try talking to one and getting to know them. You want them to succeed? How about helping them get a job, and stable housing in appropriate neighborhoods where they can not only be monitored correctly by DOC, but they can build appropriate and healthy relationships in the community.Â
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Perhaps instead of solely concentrating on those who have been released we should also take a look at the issue of moral decay in our country which contributes to the objectification of men and women into sexual objects. Why not get rid of or strictly control the filthy crap on TV and "adult" entertainment that our men, women, and youths get unrestricted access to, that corrupts their viewpoint and diminishes the inherent value of human beings?Â
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This man who murdered these other men deserves what he got. He is no hero. Period.Â
@commonHuskyfan Just curious - which studies were done by our state that reflected the less than 5% figure for recitivism - What were the sources of the studies?
 @Smokin Bear  @commonHuskyfan Thanks exactly what I was thinking.
 @Smokin Bear  @commonHuskyfan The Washington State Institute for Public Policy is one source.Â
 @Smokin Bear Yes, your second paragraph is what I see. You put it very well. I am so sorry for whatever you suffered that has left you so well acquainted with grief and pain. I trust that you are moving toward comfort and healing by whatever means works for you. I wish you blessings and peace.
@Shelly Stow - Okey dokey. You're still describing the material worldly sense as you define success.Â
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Success can be in the form of not taking that drink or eating an entire cake in secret or psychologically torturing your family, then putting on a happy face for the rest of the world because you are trying to fill the empty void left behind by a predator.
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Success can happen in the form of embracing honest grief for what was taken from you and accepting that life will never be the same but that you can develop strength and courage to continue living the best you can, beit through counseling, faith, healthy social interactions or a combination: what ever works to keep moving forward each day .Â
(Disclaimer: "You" in this instance does not mean you, personally, but the general collective usage, meaning anyone)
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Grief and loss are so personal that I would hesitate to suggest how a person should come to terms with their trauma
 @Smokin Bear Maybe our definition of successful is different. I didn't mean in the worldly sense necessarily. I was referring to strong sense of self, devoted family, loving friends, strong church ties and faith, active in community, always ready to help and give to others. Of course they struggle internally. Everyone struggles internally, but some of these women seem to struggle less than others. The fear factor I see in some but by no means all. A couple are teachers; there are nurses and homemakers and some with small at home businesses. One attorney that I can think of, and one doctor, so I guess the last two would meet the standard of worldly success although the attorney seems to do more pro bono work for women who need help than she does the cases that bring in the bucks. Yes, there are a few who struggle more, but they don't give in. Almost all say  three things saved them; faith in God, forgiveness of their abuser, and focusing on those who needed help rather than on themselves. One agrees with the later two, but she persists in being an atheist. I define a successful life as a happy life. Often those with the greatest in worldly success are the least happy in their personal lives.
@Shelly Stow
Thanks for providing the link - I'll take a look when I have time. Can't stay on this computer all day! :-)
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One point that I've made and perhaps not as clearly as I could have conveyed, is that for survivors, despite all outward appearances, they will struggle internally for the rest of their lives. There will always be in internal fear 'trigger'.
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 Being successful is not the litmus test for how well a person has dealt with trauma - there are plenty of successful business people who are also DSM-IV candidates.Â
@Lila Folster - Yes, I know. That was a link as directed to me by Huskyfan. The report is from 2007 - at the time there was a 23% recitivism rate for repeat felony sex offenses and 4% for misdemeanor sex offenses.
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 I am interested in seeing an updated report or, if you have credible sources that you'd like to share, please provide a link.Â
 @Shelly Stow Thank you. My thoughts will be with you. I appreciate the help. Need it right now. I can go years and be fine, than feel like a crazy person..I guess it's just well, normal..I am NOT alone.
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 @Yeah_and   Thank you so much. Your words brought tears to my eyes. You might want to investigate a group called Women Against Registry. Many but not all of the women involved are survivors of sexual abuse. They all recognize that the focus on the registry and those who have already offended and been punished and are trying to rebuild their lives keeps us from dealing with the real problem of continuing sexual abuse of children. Blessings and continued healing to you.
http://www.womenagainstregistry.com/
 @Shelly Stow  @Smokin Bear  @commonHuskyfan Very well said Shelly. Thank you. Forgiveness is incredible. A lot of people think I haven't, but I have. Had to, for me to be a better person/mother. I agree with your comment about the registry. I still want it, but it doesn't deter, nor does it make us much safer, a bit, but just like a restraining order it has to be followed to be of use. What bothers me about statistics regarding sexual crimes is that so many go unreported. I believe you are also correct about education and prevention, it's the 21st Century for pete's sake. That is what helps the most, being educated about something, learning.Â
Maybe some day it won't be something that stays hidden in closets and is treated as the disease it is.Â
Your mom sounds wonderful, mine is too, although it broke her heart to have her child go through awful things, she was there and helped find the people to provide the tools to heal. I wish to meet more women like us. I bet they walk by me everyday! You opened my eyes a lot.
 @Smokin Bear The link you have provided is for a study of Sexually Violent Predators recommended for civil committment. In all fairness that is not a valid cross grain of those on the registry. These are the type of people that the registry were created for and as such are a very small percentage of today's registry. I want to say I also appreciate the effort spent on research by Smokin Bear, common Huskyfan and Truncheon. These are the type actions that will bring a resolution to the cycle of sexual abuse. Thank you all.
 @Smokin Bear  @commonHuskyfan and Truncheon; good, respectful exchange of ideas. This study uses a wider sample and shows a 2.7 re-offense rate for felony sex offenses by registrants. The initial sentence in the paragraph that gives that figure is vital--compared to the full population of felony offenders--because it uses the word 'highest' to describe the 2.7, meaning the rest of those in the study committed sex offenses at less than 2.7%. The beginning of the next paragraph is vital also, that registered offenders who have victimized children have the lowest of recidivism rates, 2.3%. http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/05-08-1203.pdf
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Truncheon, your theory has merit. After all, if what we see and hear and read has no effect on us, we all spend a lot of years in the classroom for nothing. However, the problem of intra-familial sexual abuse has existed long before television and video games were prevalent. In spite of the nay-sayers, an official, well-funded national program of education and prevention in the schools and communities would do more to help stop this than the focus on the public registry has ever or will ever do. The registry does nothing until after offenses are committed, and, as the above and all other studies show, once caught, those aren't the guys committing the new offenses. The registry does nothing to prevent new victims from being made, and it does nothing in the way of victim services to help those already victims.
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And incidentally, I know many, many women who are survivors, are strong, have strong, successful lives, and refuse to let their abuse define them. My mother was one such. What most of these women have in common is they have forgiven their abusers, an idea that is anathema to many on here and to Patrick Drum. People don't forgive for the sake of the other person; they forgive to heal themselves.What intrigues me is those who 'can't forgive' and were not involved in the situation and have no rights either of forgiveness or non-forgiveness. If I were a psychologist, I would study the motivation behind people who assume rights in a situation that never involved them to begin with.
@commonHuskyfan I'm looking at the site but perhaps you had a different report - I found their six-year follow up report interesting:
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http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/07-06-1101.pdf
@commonHuskyfan Thank you. I'll give it a read.
 @commonHuskyfan Well, I have to agree 100% with you at least on this one paragraph: "Perhaps instead of solely concentrating on those who have been released we should also take a look at the issue of moral decay in our country which contributes to the objectification of men and women into sexual objects. Why not get rid of or strictly control the filthy crap on TV and "adult" entertainment that our men, women, and youths get unrestricted access to, that corrupts their viewpoint and diminishes the inherent value of human beings?"
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I keep saying that the ultra-violent and very realistic computer "games" that allow "players" to interactively hurt, rape, and kill their life-like victims are screwing up the brains of those who "play" them. Maybe someday we'll wake up to how evilly degenerate those things are, as well as a certain form of currently popular "music" that exhorts its listeners to violence while denigrating women; along with what you listed too.
 @TheTruncheon Well said.
I do see your point.Â
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At the same time, it's easy to say that sexual assault isn't so bad unless you have been a victim.  Child predators inflict pain beyond the physical act - it is lifelong psychological torture for the victim. Regardless of outward appearances, sexual assault victims never really recover. They live with fear all their lives.
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Maybe it's my character flaw, but I have no mercy for anyone who would hurt a child, or any innocent person for that matter, but especially children who are are taught to respect adults and adults who prey on kids should die. Period.Â
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I honestly don't care what makes a level 3 offender tick. Execute 'em or keep them confined for life.
@Smokin Bear Certainly, the individuals who are victimized at the hands of these abusers endure long-term emotional and pyschological damage that few others can imagine.
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But that's hardly the point in this case! Gary L Blanton NEVER abused a child (his so-called "victim", by the way, was only THREE years young than he at the time) and I am absolutely positive that HE became the true victim when he was charged. Not only was unfairly categorized with rapists and child molesters under poorly drafted, hysteria driven laws, but he has now been murdered by a pyschopath and his poor family is being harrassed by his killer's devotees.Â
 @Smokin Bear Thanks Smokin Bear. You always say it better than I do. I don't condone murder, I am just thanking you for always being someone who, to me, speaks for some of us victims. It's like you stick up for me in a weird way.
Just thanks.
 @Smokin Bear  @Yeah_and What? No cussing..gasp!..LOL, I think we both did pretty well considering the topic! Take Care.
@Yeah_and - Right Back atcha. Thank you as well, your kindness and understanding are genuinely appreciated! Â
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I did reply to you earlier  but the Admin deleted it - weird. I didn't even cuss..LOL
 @Smokin Bear And I see your point as well.
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I certainly do not want to dismiss the pain that the victims go through, or minimize it in any way. Â You are right, and I completely agree that child victims can be scarred for life. I say "can be" because I know of a few success stories that have risen above their personal tragedy and have become very successful. But that doesn't mean that the pain ever goes away.
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That also goes for those within society. These crimes leave no one unaffected unfortunately.
 @commonHuskyfan  @Smokin Bear True success stories are few and far between. I don't want to talk to any sex offenders and find out any more than I already know. Both as a victim waiting to die and as a detective waiting for the truth. I know they cannot be "rehabilitated" not talking about the teen sex thing that's just wrong, but the child rapist, as far as I'm concerned needed to go a long time ago.
I'm sorry in a way to sound so harsh, but the pain never leaves and the fury that follows must be dealt with everyday to ensure healing and a positive future.
This man is no hero though, he is a murderer.Â
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Yeah, this guy fell off the boat. He went after sex offenders without knowing the history of their offense and blindly executed them .He shouldn't have taken the law into his own hands but , he did rid the world of a child rapist and perhaps sent a message to level 3's who are free and living in our communities.
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 Gunning down the 28 year old was awful and I am sorry for the man's family, but I won't lie:  Drum killed a 57 year old convicted child rapist (who was 47 at the time of his conviction - Ewwwww!!!!) and saved other kids from a ghastly fate at the hands of the offender, not if, but when he would next hurt a child. Adult sex can be painful, imagine the horror a child endures. It is beyond reckoning.
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Sex offenders - - - > Child rapists and level 3's don't generally change and have a high recitivism rate.
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I understand the frustration with our courts and the DOC - Level 3 sex offenders who are most likely to repeat their crimes and especially those who've refused to participate in a treatment program of any kind, Â are thrust upon the civilian population where they have opportunity to attack an innocent again and again until they are caught (and released again).Â
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If level 3's are likely to re-offend, either execute them or then don't let them out and give them something constructive to do while they are incarcerated for life: strap them onto a bicycle attached to a generator and make them contribute electrical power for Washington taxpayers.
@Smokin Bear Neither one were level 3, they were both level 2, and for two very different reasons. I know that there were initially reports that they were level 3's, but they weren't.
 @Smokin Bear No evidence whatsoever Mr. Ray had re-offended, and every year that passed lessened the chances of that ever happening. Your statement that child abusers have a high recidivism rate is not borne out by the study I quoted above or, indeed, by other studies.
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"Sex offenders who victimize children havethe lowest felony recidivism rates as well asthe lowest sex (2.3 percent)... recidivism rates."Â http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/05-08-1203.pdf
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The one sub-category of sex offender with high repeat rates are men with same-sex victims who were strangers to them and with whom they used violence, even torture. Fortunately, these guys are very rare, but, unfortunately, this is the type of offender much of the public thinks of when they hear the words "sex offender" because the publicity surrounding their actions is massive.
@Smokin Bear I hope you don't put faith in the tier system
@Dana - How do you mean?
What legislatve changes would you like to see and how would you go about introducing the measures you've discussed?
 @Smokin Bear  @Lila  @Dana I would recommend actual risk evaluations by experts in the field of sex offender treatment and the placement of only those who are at risk on a registry and in treatment. My problem with the public registry is the ever expanding problem of vigilantism both toward offenders and their families. This was not a problem when the registry was an effective tool for the eyes of law enforcement only. There is searchable information that states the recidivism rates were exactly the same prior to and after the registry became public. Most public registries have a disclaimer stating that the information in the registrants files is not to be used to harass threaten or harm them or their families in anyway. There are also laws in place stating that it is a criminal offense punishable by jail time and fines. I have personally seen law enforcement officers and judges chuckle and turn their heads as they walk away crumpling up a police report or bang the gavel and dismiss an obvious harassment case, indicating they do not take these laws seriously. That in my mind, reinforces the fact that there is no way society is responsible enough to handle the public registry in a realistic and humane manner. The eternal punishment is just that,  vengeance, not something that is going to help past victims, and certainly will not prevent future victims. There will continue to be children molested in their own homes (as I was by my own father for close to a decade) because they fear telling anyone, knowing it will lead to the break up of the family, losing their homes, having to change schools, because daddy will not be given any kind of treatment to help him. He will simply be taken from the home, leaving the family to struggle on their own. If there was a program in place to help these people before the abuse takes place, or at least early on, we would have hope of breaking the cycle. My father apologized and begged my forgiveness time after time, but truly had a problem, and I as a toddler in the beginning and a young teen had no idea what to do.
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I hesitated, momentarily, to even write all of this, but if we are not honest with ourselves and others, how shall we ever REALLY provide a solution that will make a difference? For those who will understand my concern for society as a whole, Thank you. For those who don't, I am sorry, but hate and persecution will never provide a solution to this problem. If we truly want all of our children to be safe we need to step away from the hate within ourselves and TRULY think about our children.
@Lila Folster @Dana - The system is flawed, no doubt about it but there has to be some sort of controls in place to protect the general public.
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What would you propose to fix it?
 @Dana Any states who have enacted the Adam Walsh Act ( I believe there are somewhere around 15 of them now) use the charge based tier  system.Â
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"As of July 2012, the Justice Department reports that 15 states, two territories and 31 tribes had substantially implemented SORNA (Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act) requirements of the federal Adam Walsh Act. July 27, 2011 was the implementation deadline for the comprehensive national system for the registration of sex offenders. The Departmentâs SMART (Sex Offender Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking) office that administers SORNA requirements identified these jurisdictions as meeting the compliance deadline:
States of Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming, and the United States territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands have been found by the SMART office to be in compliance."
Thats my point. Only what they pleaded to. You could have a person who has been offense free for 25 years before all this tiering and sex laws existed but is given a tier 3 listing. Is this person dangerous? Also a person commits a tier 3 crime but pleads guilty to a less serious tiered offense. So my question is, is the tier system based on charge or risk. It's flawed and once again really doesn't protect society.
 @Yeah_and  @Smokin Bear  @Dana BTW most tier levels are not assigned by the judicial system as the majority of tiers were assigned only after the Adam Walsh Act was enacted, thus making it many years after conviction for most registrants. Many youthful registrants were assessed a level 3 rating and had their registration requirements changed to  life, because of teen relationships in which one or both, were a minor. Granted, some will be able to petition to be removed because of the Romeo and Juliet clause. But that also is limited by financial ability. Many who were assigned court appointed attorneys at the time of their offenses, will never have the money and will be relegated to the list for the rest of their lives.
How effective are crime based tier levels, compared to a complete medical/mental evaluation of true individual risk? If some one is familiar enough with how to work the plea bargain system, what is to say that they won't hold out for a plea bargain that will lower their tier level? That is the danger in the crime based system. Of course it is far less expensive which is why it was chosen the favored procedure. It does however have a far greater chance of inaccuracies.
 @Lila Folster  @Smokin Bear  @Dana Actually the tiers are defined by the Federal Government and outlined based on the type of crime committed, not law enforcement. States also have a say for their own state system.
Also the Adam Walsh act in 2007 set down basic criteria for establishing registries and tiers. States would face a penalty if they did not do as title (I) of the Adam Walsh law stated.
The tier to which the offender is assigned only corresponds to what the offender pleads to or what he is convicted of, leaving it to the judicial system to assign the tier after conviction.
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 @Smokin Bear  @Dana Because the tier system is not accurate. For the most part, the tier levels are assigned by law enforcement, not by the assessment of a medical/mental expert in the field of sex offenders. Sadly it is not uncommon for treatment or evaluation of sex offenders to be non-existent.