Is the Registry Unconstitutional?
- Why isn’t a sex offender registration unconstitutional?
- History of the registry – how/why did it come about:
- Pre 1994: Few states required convicted sex offenders to register addresses with local law enforcement. The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act, required states to implement a sex-offender registration program.
- 1996: Wetterling amended by Megan’s Law. Required all states to conduct community notification, required the creation of Internet sites containing state sex-offender information but did not establish specific forms and methods.
- Post 1996: Several pieces of legislation were passed to improve sex offender registries. Despite these efforts, many sex offenders still failed to comply with registry laws.
- How is unconstitutionality defined?
- Construct an unconstitutional registry
- Do only items covered in the Bill of Rights count or do all constitutional amendments get covered when looking at constitutionality
- If you have your constitutional rights, how does that impact what you can do while under supervision?
- Different societies have their own constitution. Wouldn’t a ‘right’ be universal? Natural versus legal rights
- States with lifetime registration. Is this constitutional?
- Eliminate registry vs Private registry?
Source http://www.registrymatters.co/
The way I see it, if someone is convicted of a sex crime, they do their time if sentenced to jail/prison. Time is served, any restitution paid in full. All requirements met, counseling, probation/parole done with. Everything the courts sentenced to be taken care of are completed. Now, everything has been met but the sex offender registry is punishment for something you have already paid for. If a person is considered safe enough to be out on the streets, has not committed crimes since released either they are safe to be in the community if not they should be in prison still. The sex offender registry does nothing but punish the person who has served their time and completed what was put before them to complete. Leave them alone, quit punishing them for something they have paid the price for!!
Of course it’s unconstitutional. Few sex offender registrants actuallly went to trial, instead they were forced into a plea deal under the threat of a long jail sentence. The plea deal itself prevents the alleged offender from appealing the sentence or having it reversed. Due process is manipulated in this manner.