Sexophrenia: moral mania and mass hysteria
By Norm Pattis . . . I’m not hopping on the bandwagon circling the Santa Clara County, California, courthouse. Don’t add my name to the million-plus names of those calling for the scalp of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky. Far from a goat, Judge Persky is a hero.
Would that there were more judges like him.
Judge Persky presided over the sexual assault trial of a Stanford college student, Brock Turner, accused, and then convicted by a jury, of raping a fellow student. Mr. Turner and his victim attended a frat party. The victim was intoxicated, passed out; the defendant, too was drinking.
There was sexual contact. She claimed rape. He claimed consent. She was apparently in no position to consent.
I suspect this scene is replayed on college campuses nationwide more often than we care to admit. But these days, colleges are driven by the new Puritans to get tough on libidinal crimes.
Mr. Turner was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of probation, and he must now register as a sex offender. The sentence outrages the judge’s critics. How could the judge be so callous and minimize this crime of violence?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We’ve fallen in love with prisons in this country. We incarcerated almost 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, although we are just under 5 percent of the world’s population. The sentences we impose for all sorts of crimes are far longer than sentences imposed in other republics.
Somehow, we can’t get enough of prison.
A felony record isn’t enough? Six months behind bars is a slap on the wrist? Stigmatization of the sex offender registry is of no consequence?
Those who believe the punishment does not fit the crime live in a dream world.
What explains our penal savagery?
I suspect it is at root the same violent instinct that leads us to shoot one another in one mass shooting, or isolated act of violence, after another. We boast of being the land of the free and the envy of the world, yet our streets are blood-soaked, and the prisons are filled with despair.
We’ve each the right to define ourselves, to declare our identity, and then to demand that our idiosyncrasies be treated as sacrosanct, if not sacred. Deny my identity, and you’re now guilty of the new heresy. Heretics, we know, must be burned at the stake.
The stench hanging in the air is smell of fear. What else can explain the unusual politics of this electoral season than a full-scale legitimation crisis? Not many of us believe the creeds we were taught. Everyone is groping for something secure, some foothold in a world in flux.
I envy historians the task of deconstructing and explaining our time, the time the center gave way, and we scattered, each of us driven to extremes by our desires.
My hunch is that a secular society just can’t work; we’ve lived for a couple centuries now on borrowed spiritual capital. Intellectuals long ago declared God is dead; now that the masses have read the memo, we’re suddenly all at once governed by, and at war with, our desires.
Consider our attitudes toward sex. We have a morbid preoccupation with sensuality, at once reveling in it and then condemning anyone who colors outside the lines.
Sex is entertainment. It is advertising imagery. It is desire unleashed. We celebrate sexuality in a way that cannot help but send mixed and confusing signals to the young.
Then, when a young man makes a mistake, when he takes seriously the notion that there can be intimacy without consequences, we declare him a criminal.
I call this species of hypocrisy sexophrenia — it’s a moral mania, a species of mass hysteria.
Judge Persky, it appears, called the hysterics’ bluff. He refused to crucify a young man who made a horrible mistake, and, for this, the new Puritans among us want now to destroy Judge Persky.
Have we lost our minds?
A few weeks ago, a federal judge in Connecticut sentenced a popular former prosecutor turned defense lawyer to 30 days in prison for the theft of $600,000 from a client. The sentence sent shockwaves through the defense bar — how could this leniency be explained to less popular defendants facing far more time for similar crimes?
I took some consolation in the sentence. Perhaps it was a signal that the judiciary is now beginning to understand that prison is not the answer. Locking folks up for years and years isn’t justice; it’s institutional savagery.
Why not start with the presumption that 30 days is enough time for anyone convicted of theft of funds? That would be a start.
So, too, in the case of Mr. Turner. Why isn’t six months in prison, a felony conviction, probation, sex offender registration enough of a sanction for a drunken assignation at a frat party?
To utter these words publicly is to court outrage. I will be accused of tolerance of “rape culture.” We need to send a message that this sort of violence won’t be tolerated. Campuses must be made safe. Messages must be sent.
Oh, please.
Spend a night in prison and then tell me six months isn’t enough time. Save us from the self-righteous among us.
Judge Persky may well be recalled from office as a result of what his critics believe was undue leniency toward a rapist. A mob will have silenced a jurist guilty of doing nothing more than using his judgment to impose a sentence he thought fair, just and reasonable.
Other judges, less courageous than he, will get the message. They’ll feed the penal plantations in our midst other young men as a result.
All we like sheep have gone astray. Passion replaces reason; identity trumps integrity.
What a world, the Wicked Witch of the West said as she was dissolved by the water Dorothy doused her with in “The Wizard of Oz.”
What a world, indeed. The bonds of civil society are dissolving in the name of righteousness. I admire Judge Persky’s courage.
Norm Pattis is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer with an office in New Haven.
(Source: New Haven Register)
I have only one thing I can add to your very eloquent statements. I hear the most blood thirsty cries of “Hang’em High” coming from the fundamentalist right. It’s in direct contradiction to what I hear preached from their highest pulpits of forgiveness and love.
George Carlin has been quoted as saying “There may or may not be atheist in foxholes, but I’m certain there are none in the KKK”.
I truly believe people should have just and fair sentences imposed on them for crimes society should not tolerate. And repeat offenders that do not learn from those sentences should be punished with increasing severity.
But for those that make a one time mistake, as horrible the consequences may be for both the victim and the offender there should be forgiveness.
“One nation under God”.
If we’re supposed to be a christian nation where is the forgiveness.
They live in the Old Testament, blood for blood.
Emil,
If they actually took the time to READ the Old Testament, they’d have “God” on trial for encouraging sexual offenses.
JohnDoeNC: I hear you, But this isn’t a Christian nation though I thought for a long time it was. Our forefathers and many others were not all Christians, although by observation, most of them later did become one. I wish this would become a Christian nation, but in reality to even my Christian self, Our nation is a melting-pot of people. But, despite 1962’s decision on tossing God out of our schools n such, there is a cry out again to end this nonsense and bring back in to our schools and our government buildings prayer meetings and “Jesus” quotes. Yes our founders were and became God fearing freedom ists. And, yes, For those one time mistakes n such, such as myself also, it sucks when you’re stupid to the system, or misled by public pretenders, and fall pray later to states like Nevada’s yes we wan’t our federal money to rebuild roads n stuff no matter what the cost of the public!! So, federal government, jack-up the tier levels to a 3 and class-D felony to “ALL” those who have already served. And unconstitutionally go ahead with the “double-jeopardy” clause and forget it! It’s a political year, let’s show the dumbest voters our muscle power against the poor and vulnerable and give them a big whammy! Let’s keep praying my friends, don’t stop or give up hope yet, when a door closes, another one will open.
Those of us who have received longer prison sentences to accompany our lifetime registration requirements over victimless crimes can’t help but feel slighted by this short sentence. Whether he is guilty of outright rape or not, that is what he was found guilty of.
Today a good friend of my girlfriend is being sentenced for an online police sting. My girlfriend is at the courthouse now and I am waiting to here the results. Like Brock, until this incident he had a perfectly clean record and was a contributing member to the community.
When he posted an ad on craigslist looking for a woman in her 30s to 40s he was contacted by a police officer pretending to be a 15 year old girl. As a man who had been alobe for years, it was hard to resist the temptation, he fell for the trap and has been logged in the county jail since February.
A couple weeks ago at his pretrial his court appointed attourney asked the judge for 36 months (3 years) in prison. The judge holler back; “No! I have to consider the mandatory miniums. It will likely be more.”
So, in a victimless crime where police prey on a lonely manto fill the prisons in order to make money, the accused will get no less than 36 months. Whereas in a crime where the accused is found guilty of rape and it is determined that there was an actual victim, a six month sentence is handed down. I find this very insulting and feel that money or some sort of cronyism was at play here.
We are about abolishing the registry and that does not change for Brock. I agree he should not be labeled for life. However, when I compare his incident to those of many others, many who are still being denied their prison releases even after completing their time, I have to say something doesn’t add up.
Something about Brock’s case just further clarifies to me that we are the whipping boys of society and the privileged will avoid the same consquences for more severe crimes. I do not see Brock’s light sentence as a victory for our cause in anyway. Howevr upon his release in 6 months, he will have the right to put his life back together, barring probation restrictions. We will be fighting for him in that respect as well as everyone else on the registry.
And why aren’t attorneys (even this man’s public defender) raising the question of why a cop posing as a 15 yr old would do so in response to an ad specifying and age range of 30 – 40?
When are we going to expose the law enforcement agencies for CREATING crime rather than actually fighting crime?
Wanna make headlines? Sue these bastards.
I’ve noticed some RSO’s being upset at the perceived leniency of Brock Turner’s sentence. Whoa….For one, how many of us had our name become a household word? Also, regardless of the time spent in jail, Brock was sentenced to life on the registry, and as we all know, that is punishment for life.
I’m absolutely NOT defending his actions. It’s just that maybe instead of thinking of his sentence as too light, we should think of our punishments as being too HEAVY. Six months in jail is still a long time. Depending on what county you’re in, jail can be pretty rough too. For Brock, I’m sure it will be tough. And there’s nothing that Daddy’s money can do to keep him off the registry. I’m sure being wealthy and on the registry is better than being a poor, homeless RSO. Still….everything is all about perspective, and for Brock it probably can’t get much worse than this.
I used to (and still sometimes) play this game of comparing other crimes and punishments with what I received. A lot of the time it doesn’t seem fair. Like the man, high on meth and booze, who held his girlfriend and young son hostage with a gun, threatening to kill them if they tried to leave. HE made page 8 in the local paper and was released on a signature bond. Me, arrested in a “bait and switch”, with NO victim and no intention of causing harm, made page 1 and had to pay $1000 bond. That’s just one example. Nope not fair. But to EXPECT fairness is to be forever disappointed. Life will probably never be fair but we can sure do better than what’s going on right now.
My only beef with the judge’s sentence is that I feel like Brock should maybe have gotten more probation. Keep him off the juice, put him in SO therapy (hopefully a good program), make him realize how f**ked up his behavior is/was, have him take RESPONSIBILITY for what he did, and then let him move on with his life, much more likely a much better person than when he raped a drunk passed out girl behind a dumpster.
Like it or not, Brock is now “one of us”. Or maybe, taking it a step further, he is just another errant (or sinning, if you prefer, James) member of our large extended family- a citizen of the United States and, going even more out there, the entire human race. I believe that love is stronger than hate and only by loving each other will we ever heal. Aren’t we ALL family?
i would like to add; If anything I think Brock’s light sentence could be seen as a motivation to seek even harsher sentences and other forms of punishments for sex offenders. His light sentence infuriated many and it may very well result in a backlash against us. Lets not praise this judge anymore. He did not do us any favors.
I am an ex offender for possessing child porn. I did it, I accept it, I have grown because of it. I received a 20 year sentence. I served two, and will be on probation for at least a few more years. I have no “hands on” victim, I did not distribute or manufacture. I refused the offer to meet the “14 year old girl” that the detective pretended to be, but they used the conversation to gain the search warrant. And, it may sound odd, I am thankful for. I am not the man I used to be and God is using me and my history in amazing ways. I do not want to think of what I would have done down the road had I not been caught.
In regards to Brock. His sentence seems light to me from what information I hear, especially compared to many who have crimes with no hands on victims. But, there is one major problem. None of us know the intimate details about what evidence was brought forward in that courtroom. None of us can say for sure if his sentence was justified, too much or too little. We simply do not have all the facts to make that judgement.
Lifetime registry? No, I think that is a lifetime sentence. He does not deserve to have the rest of his life defined by this moment in time. Even if he is totally guilty he can learn, he can grow, and he can change into a better man than he is today. Lets not ruin his chances of ever becoming that man. Punish him fairly for his crime, have him undergo counseling and treatment, and once his dues are paid to society, let him live.
Alas the perception in the society is that once a sex offender always a sex offender, until unless of course themselves or one of their family members gets into the dreaded registry.
Well Said!!
it was 6 mounts county jail not prison , i got 3yrs 20mounth supervised release and live time registry just for touching and this sentence peed me off
On June 2, Persky chose to sentence Turner to six months in jail, followed by probation. Under the terms of his conviction, Turner must also register as a sex offender.
there is nothing saying it was 6 month prison he will never see the inside of a prison , jail and prison are 2 very different things
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwj3mqDayq3NAhXBth4KHXs2BQsQqQIIHzAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2016%2F06%2F16%2Fus%2Fjudge-aaron-persky-district-attorney-confidence%2F&usg=AFQjCNHBg6JkGgHNkWGKNGZOafA2-YFRWw&sig2=tyhB6obdkGwhTp3OW7AKEA&cad=rja
For once I have to agree with Norm on this one. Lets all backtrack for a second. In the first place both were responsible if you would like to call it that. One passed out the other had different motives. They were both incoherent. Enter frat boys noticing this and then police involvement.
Police are only to protect and serve? Did police protect her? Did the frat boys that saw this scare the offender to come back to some realization…. one will never know the answer to that question as that is in the mind of the one that attacked.
When police get involved in anything like this it is like a Salem Witch hunt with morals that are Christian-like. Well if you call deception Christian-like than were all guilty of sex offending.
The judge knew a bit more and it should send a message to other judges that prison is not the answer in some cases of a sexual nature. Now you can blow this comment out of the water if you want but you tell me one person that doesn’t have a bit of sexual immorality. And you all jump on me for using the bible. All of us are sinners… now take it from that.
Are you suggesting that we use ideology to in future cases?
James,
With all due respect for your religious beliefs, I feel we should keep religion out of these discussions about criminality and our issues of sex offenses. If money is the root of all “evil”, religion is the root of all the world’s problems with its never ending contradictions and hypocrisies.
Those who bible thump are the most UNforgiving people I’ve ever met. And when the politicians bible thump, it gets worse. Because it goes from being about the forgiveness of the character “Jesus” to the outright angered punishment of the father character “God/Yaweh”.
Every time I’ve watched a sentencing video on YouTube, the “victims” always say they hope the convict “rots in hell”. My, my, what a thing for a Christian to say.
Let’s leave the fairytale out of reality issues. These laws being enacted against us is not the “devil’s doing” and “God” sure ain’t in any hurry to come to the rescue.
Peace out
Woah, Maestro. Just ask to leave religion out of it. Even though I’m an S.O., I have been brought christian. A mother who was a youth pastor. I agree, SOME christians are unforgiving, but some aren’t. I am quite forgiving. That said, this is a site for rso’s. Christian or not, we should ALL leave religion out of this. I have stayed pretty quiet, but when I read this response, wow. Smh. As I said before, we are all in this together. Please remember that.
Tara, I was raised Christian as well….then I woke up. Just like finding out there is no Santa Clause.
I just can’t sit back and constantly read/listen to this “God” stuff anymore. I heard it all throughout my 2 yr prison stint and then again in the SO ‘treatment’ groups on the outside. Enough! Seriously. Even if I were to believe in religion (as I once did) no “God” is stopping probation officers from making our lives miserable by not allowing us to live normally.
And there’s no magic power that’s going to make politicians commit political suicide by easing up on us. We are the scum of the earth, even in the eyes of the ‘holier than thou”s of the world.
I sometimes think about the natural disasters (and man made disasters) that happen often and how everyone comes to the rescue of total strangers and gets their little 15 second spot on the local news. I often wonder how many people would help tsunami victims of the strangers who attempted to rescue them were to know that the person in need of help was a RSO.
Christianity my foot!
Sorry, not sorry.
Maestro, most of what you say, I entirely agree. Much of them think we are the worst alive. But their wrong! And some of us DO actually care. The majority don’t. Not all of them, though. That is all I am saying. I don’t think religion should ever be brought up in these arguments unless its a reason used in the case. When people do, they disagree, start arguing. And I don’t see any good in that. I have woken up doubting, but the specific things I have been through with my health…. well, maybe it doesn’t matter. Or it only matters to me. Idk. Im just hoping everyone can agree that we should leave religion out of these issues.
Maestro,
I understand. Lots feel that if religion were more important, our actions may have been different. What they don’t like to consider are the circumstances surrounding it all. Religion is suppose to be a choice, not a requirement. Although I agree with your post, I don’t think anyone should bring up the bible in this. I faced my first serious doubt when I was diagnosed with cancer. A lot of soul searching came afterwards. A “Christian” is not just someone who believes. Those who aren’t forgiving, or are hypocrites in their own right, only to turn around and ask for forgiveness, should rethink christianity. I just feel religion, altogether, should be left out of it. Not just you, all of us. Including me. I’m with you wholeheartedly. The comment just struck a nerve. Have a good day.
Maestro, please. If you remember in 1962 was when hell was accepted and hell is what’s going to keep happening. 1962 our country decided to “compromise” and kick God out of America! We were given undeserved free grace through Christ Jesus. He didn’t come to missguide no one! He’s not our enemy, but our passage! The subject of these “re-punish” all the sex offenders is do to our unGodliness in our system. In Nevada, they’re going to Unconstitutionally RE-punish sex offenders who have paid their time, or were merely caught up in the un-justice system they couldn’t afford accept for public-pretenders (defenders).It’s o.k. to speak freely to whomever about your, mine, or whose ever religion. It part of the freedom that’s being attacked along with other parts of our constitution and amendments! attacking each other of his or hers religion is NOT what this should be about, it’s a distraction off the real problem here you know!?!? The real problem here is about the original subject. Plus, the ever changing sex offenders laws you know? “Stay focused people!!” Politicians and law makers are the best at this game of distractions, remember, “freedom of speech”?? Focus on the subject(s).. And yes, God has heard everything, He will see to it justice now or later WILL be given to those whosoever has wronged, and to those whosoever seek justice with pure intentions. His will, not ours be done. It “will” work out in Gods timing, not ours, it has in the past, and still is. I’m not a patient person at all, but, when I give over to God my petitions, and I focus on just what gets me through each day without trying to worry myself to death on something I cannot control, He comes through in His timing, Patients is the hardest thing for us to do, attacking each other is the devil’s playground, don’t let him in to play! Focus, focus, focus! Mr. Ed
Fred lets all be rational about this without all of us beating our brains out with this. I’m glad I’m not perfect and I’m glad that a lot of us aren’t. If we were perfect than how would we learn? Would we all know the answers to everything or everyday problems with others?
This brock case… The judge doesn’t have to take the advice of the jury. The judge can do whatever he wants too. We don’t know the judges mind but he must of had a good love thy neighbor insight for that person on trail.
Now all judges would look at it that way. Did the brock dude get lucky or get a bit of mercy? That show’s love?
When one seeks knowledge and understanding do judges go to the President? In all these sex offense situations where do they get their understanding from some common man that said we all evolved from Apes?
I think the Scopes Monkey Trail was a victory for all but how we all soon forget that their has to be a balance in America or else look at how the country is today.
Your comments were exactly as I thought maestro and Tara. I guess everybody has their opinion but remember we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood but principals and principalities and things of the dark world.
Did God make evil. No… Did God give us choices yes….. Did God ordain and give his Ministers of God Deception. No . Did he give us the 10 Commandments yes…..
Now figure out the imbalance in all this sex offender stuff. I would think that a course in Roman’s should be good for all.
So you have a right to remain silent, You have a right to an attorney. See even the Mrandria rights are intimidating……… Sure you have a right to remain silent but it depends on the question. I wonder if anyone ever used that to keep silent.
and maestro you take God out of law than Justice is blind as it is now.
James, I think you are awesome at not caring about the comments you may get. I am extremely timid. I don’t like arguing of any kind. To keep others from attacking God, I said let’s not make Him the issue. Because he’s not. I am sorry if you thought I was bad mouthing you. I wasn’t meaning to. Cause God has been with me every time I faced a difficult time.
I don’t think ideology has any place in these discussions. In the comment I made to you a week ago, I said I hope that we can all leave our personal opinions and beliefs that are not directly related to our cause out of these discussions, because they may be offensive to others as we don’t all share the same beliefs. I feel that you disregarded that suggestion and are pushing your ideology on us. I can’t say I like it, but its not up to me. So I will try to just skip over your future comments and hope you don’t alienate any other participants and members.
Fred, I and many others are not offended over J.T.’s writings. Just read the message and what was written, not how you and “maybe” others might have been offended by anything by J.T.. His message was clear, after all if you remember in the amendments on “freedom of speech”, freedom of religion??? Most of us are offended day in and day out by our public and work places, the media for sure!, and all kinds of people daily. One cannot “MAKE-YOU” Or “FORCE-YOU” to believe anything, am I right?? I’m alright with what J.T. wrote. It’s better than these (NV) and other states forcing you to do or believe in their hypocrisy. Thanks,, Mr. Ed
Wow sometimes I think I opened up a can of worms with giving out that URL about sex offenders but if you really think about it, its just comes down to who wants to try and control who in deception. Don’t say James is right or the Government or the pastor that wrote the blog.
Since I have met this person that wrote this blog I would love to see this written up in the paper or sent to news media. I’m sure people would speak up on this one as nobody wants to even be called a sinner.
These sex offenses are no way to love thy neighbor as thyself and to think we all have a measure of faith and we don’t even know it. Some could even look at this as a technical foul if you want to call it that.
It was published in the New Haven Register.
I have spent well over 6 months incarcerated and I find a six month sentence for this crime to be a joke. I notice many of you speculating on the actual facts of the case, but there’s some facts that are not disputed at all.
1. He ran when discovered by other students signifying wrong-doing
2. He was intoxicated
3. She was intoxicated and unconscious
There’s no question in my mind that this young man knew what he was doing was wrong.
30 days for theft? Is this author crazy? I understand her problems with the justice system that punishment should fit the crime, but the punishments aren’t really the problem in our society right now, it’s the ostracizing and disenfranchisement of those convicted of a crime in general. The SO registry just makes it worse for those on it.
Disney actually portrayed this problem, probably without being aware of it, in their story of Aladdin. “Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat, someday you’ll understand”
When you take away job prospects, housing, and other necessities of life from a former criminal, it produces career criminals.
Punish people duly for the crime committed, but once the sentence is complete, give them a chance to rejoin society.
With all due respect to RSOL and all these comments the main thing this all boils down to is deception. They are deceiving the public in a lot of this sex offender registry thing and the American people are lapping it up.
Look at all the comments in the nation….Guys should have their balls cut off or something like that or women shouldn’t be wearing provocative clothes or get drunk that they pass out.
All I am saying is the Government is abusing their power in a lot of these sex registry things.
I think Mr. Ed said something about the 1962 issue over school and religion well that could have been the start of the downfall it goes back earlier than that.
Its all about power. I could say we are all in a spiritual warfare right now but I’m sure everybody would have a different comment on that statement.
And believe it or not I still hope we still have free speech in America today but they are trying to work on that one also as my probation officer mentioned.
I always wondered why their was a democrat party and a republican party. At one time I heard about an independent party but I think that’s gone by the wayside.
The main thing is the American people need to erase the hate and understand about these deceptions that police are doing to mankind. Warning is a lot better way to do things.
Thank you for your thoughtful article. I also think the judge got it mostly right since we don’t know exactly what happened. Both were admittedly very drunk so who’s to really know what went on between them? The jury found him guilty of assault not rape. The judge’s sentence of 6 months in jail to make clear that whatever the effect of the alcohol, what he did was wrong. The 3 years probation with drug and alcohol testing to supervise his behavior as he hopefully grows out of this. Plus the loss of all he had. The only thing that seems overly harsh is the registration. I wish more judges would use sentencing especially for first time, young offenders as an opportunityto reform rather than destroy.
Alice,
If the man were to have taken a plea and told his attorney to tell the prosecutor he wants more time in order to come out of prison with no probation, chances are they would have honored that request. He probably could have even requested more prison time at his sentencing to do away with probation.
Being supervised doesn’t mean jack diddly. Because when anyone gets off probation, they can do as they please. And we all ‘play the game’ with the probation officers to make them THINK we’ve been ‘cured’ of the imaginary disease they think we have.
These are the same probation officers who go out and party themselves during happy hour. How do I know this? I happened to work at a bar/restaurant that was one block from the probation office.
So what makes them any more special than any of us?
People drink for fun not always for addiction. Things happen. Not always good things.
I can’t stand to see people actually believing in the need for probation. A job that is, in retrospect, a waste of tax payer dollars.
Good point …Something I hadn’t considered.
Norm – your take on “sexophrenia” And probation departments is so dead on. Such a waste it is, and in most cases a violation of the thirteenth amendment, because you find coming out of prison that you no longer have first, second, fourth, fifth, thirteenth and fourteenth Amendment Constitutional protections at ALL.
I am in the position of an antebellum black slave, wholly-owned by the federal government’s US probation Department – not for probation, but supervised release which goes on to the grave (which is what most RSO’s get these days upon Conviction, no matter even if their original offense was just whizzing in an alleyway at 2 a.m. and some overzealous cop happens to see them).