When it comes to policy for sex offenders, who are the real monsters?
By Emily Horowitz . . . Watching the Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, I was struck by how Republican senators pounced on the judge’s thoughtful, considered, and mainstream sex offense sentencing. My research examines why our sex offense policies are based on fear-driven myths and how excessive criminal-legal responses do not genuinely and effectively address sexual violence — and do create new harm. At the time, based on this knowledge, I wrote about the spectacle, where politicians like Josh Hawley accused Jackson of “endangering our children” and not “protecting the most vulnerable,” while those voting in her favor were branded “pro-pedophile” by the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The message was clear: Supporting sex offense policy as it exists on the books is the same as supporting sexual violence, not caring for children, and, as in Salem, the equivalent of being someone who sexually offends.
Since 1994, ostensibly in the name of public safety, legislators passed sweeping federal, state, and local laws imposing onerous requirements and restrictions on people who have completed sentences for sex-offense convictions. On pain of further punishment and incarceration, these provisions require their names’ inscription on registries easily consultable by the public, notification of their moving into a new community, and restrictions on residency, travel, work, and presence. In practice, these burdens fail to reduce recidivism while subjecting those on them to never-ending state surveillance; even after sentence completion, not adhering to the myriad of complex and ever-changing rules, such as failure to update personal information to law enforcement, can result in reincarceration. An example: A 62-year-old, last convicted of a sex offense in 1989, and off probation since the mid-1990s with no sexual re-offense, received two years in prison for failing to update his registration in 2020.
For almost three decades, the Sex-Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as SORNA, has subjected millions with sex-offense convictions to a period or even a lifetime of being openly named, shamed, and essentially banished from society. . . .
Public and political support for registries remains high. There is little evidence that attitudes have been impacted by a growing body of research showing that public registration, community notification, and residency restrictions do not decrease the incidence of sexual offense. Rates of sexual re-offense have been low both before and after registries, and sex offenses have lower recidivism than almost all other crimes. Further, decades of data consistently show that the majority of sex offenses involve non-strangers and those without prior sex-offense convictions. In other words, there’s scant proof that sex offender registries make us any safer.
Read Emily’s full piece here at Inquest.
In total agreement of this piece. The truth is not enough is being done to help sex offenders in America. It’s so easy to label someone as an offender and it’s very harmful to them. Their civil rights are being violated all over the place and lawmakers need to realize this. Not all “sex offenders” are bad and many are working very hard to change their lives around and be productive members of society. But we need to assist them not constantly cripple them. I hope more and more people will realize this and help sex offenders in this country.
I’m concerned about this clean slate law I feel it’s not fair to everyone it excludes those that have sex offenses all sex offenses are not alike some offenses occurred 25 years ago for example a person was convicted of statutory rape 25 years ago was sentenced to 6 months in county jail 5 years probation then told they only had to be on the registry for 10 years then the law changed and they say now you have to be on the registry for 20 years once Megan’s law became the SORA Act then in 2012 the person goes to prison for 1 to 3 years for failure to register as a sex offender and placed in a sex offender program there has been no new sex offense and no history of sex offenses before or after 1998 however out of no where they say now the person has to register for life this person was in their 20s and the victim was in their teens unfortunately both met at a party and they got together unbeknownst to the one in their 20s the teen was underage at the time now the person is in their 50s and still on the registry still have a hard time finding work or places to stay and now being told everyone else deserves a second chance EXCEPT sex offenders it’s not fair and it loops everyone on the registry in the same category the registry itself needs to be changed a person can be on the registry for life for peeing on the sidewalk it’s gotten out of control and it limits those on it from moving on with their lives even sex offenders deserve a second chance not everyone is a child molester or rapist for some it was just a bad decision that was made however they shouldn’t have to pay for one mistake for the rest of their lives this is an issue I believe needs to be addressed when it comes to giving second chances
You said it Emily ! The SOR is a modern day witch hunt ! The politicians and lawmakers instill fear into the public . The fear of Sexoffenders . Until the public sees anyone on the SOR as a kidnapping, raping , killing pedophile . So they will go along with any despotic law proposed against registrants . Adolph Hitler had the same idea against the Jews .
I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.
Adolf Hitler
The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the GOVERNMENT is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.
Adolph Hitler
And that’s exactly what the politicians do. They instill fear into the public and convince them the children are their number 1 interest . And once they have succeeded instilling fear into them , they will vote for any Despotic Unconstitutional law that is proposed .
And pass down any Draconian punishment they think of for violating a law that only applies to a person on the SOR . Being on the SOR is no different than being on probation . I have been on the list for over 12 years now . I would have originally been off of it 2 years ago. But they passed the act which requires me to remain on it for 25 years. I will be 77 years old when I get off . But they Do Not care . And they ruled the SOR to be nonpunitive in order to get away with the Ex Post Facto statement in the constitution. It is the public that need to be educated about the SOR . At this point they only know what’s really going on when themselves or one of their children end up on the list . And sometimes by a law they themselves voted in . Pray for the help of God before we all end up living in the streets .
A Poem describing how I feel:
He wakes up every morning with a heavy sigh
He doesn’t see the point of living or why he should try
He feels like he’s trapped in a dark and endless hole
He doesn’t have a purpose or a meaningful goal
He goes through the motions of his daily routine
He doesn’t find any joy in anything he’s seen
He feels like he’s alone in a world that doesn’t care
He doesn’t have anyone to listen or to share
He lies down every night with a hopeless cry
He doesn’t see a way of escaping or how he could fly
He feels like he’s doomed to a life of misery and pain
He doesn’t have a reason to smile or to remain
He wishes he could find a way out of his depression
He wishes he could see a glimpse of hope or a positive expression
He wishes he could feel some love or some compassion
He wishes he could be happy or find some satisfaction
yes HE is ME. a florida sex offender