Megan's Law

[Gibsie]

So what would anyone here do if they looked at such a site and found their neighbour was on the list? Move away? Lynch 'em? Live in fear?

[Whaleboy]

freedom of information

Knowledge is power and what happens when people have unchecked power over other people?

The thing is Sava that what works for us as individuals wont work in government. If anyone laid a finger on my younger brothers, they'd find their head sandwiched between the pavement and a cricket bat. That's because I'd be involved, I'd be pissed off and I'd want to defend my brothers. The state however works on the principles of justice and balance which a vengeful individual does not. That separation is crucial for a system of fair justice, which some might argue defines civilisation.

[Whaleboy]

So what would anyone here do if they looked at such a site and found their neighbour was on the list? Move away? Lynch 'em? Live in fear?

See above. If I was a parent with kids living next door to a child abuser, rapist, murderer, sexual abuser etc, I'd quite happily take matters into my own hands irrespective of the actual risk he poses. That's precisely why in that situation I shouldn't know.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap


There is a difference between someone you are petitioning for a job having the right to know some of your past, and random individuals having that information. Obviously society should have programs to reintegrate inmates into society, including job training.

Yup, the former effects hundreds of thousands, and clearly makes reentry to society difficult, and the latter affects a handful.

But since we're "liberals" instead of social democracts, we're more interested in a technical rights violation done by the state, than in an actual social problems.

As for job training for excons, youre whistling up a tree. We dont even have adequate job training for ex-welfare moms, or for those displaced by trade agreements.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Gibsie
So what would anyone here do if they looked at such a site and found their neighbour was on the list? Move away? Lynch 'em? Live in fear?

QOTM would say move away. Or not let POTM out of the house alone. Or at least tell her to be wary of the given individual.

[trickey]

Originally posted by Sava
death penalty for child molestors

[Japher]

Thing is, these people aren't just child molestors. The site doesn't discern between a child molestor, a rapist, or some guy who locked himself out of his house naked and was arrest for indecent exposure.

[Flubber]

I took a look at the site and its probably too much information to be so readily available.


Also not all "sex offenders" are the same. Consider some 17 or 18 year old who in some states could get the label for activity with his 16 year old girlfriend. Now that person carries a sex offender label??

Now, personally I am in favor of very very harsh penalties for most sex offenders . I would have little problem with the idea of life terms for repeat offenders in an attempt to protect our children.

BUT if people have been released, I think it may be counterproductive to harrass and hound them so much that they go underground and hide.

I often wonder as to the effectiveness of these registration laws. Does anyone really think that knowing the location of a few convicted molesters gives anyone any added safety when you consider how many unknown perverts may be out there?

[Japher]

Flubber

[lord of the mark]

lots a people still from their employers who have a clean record. and an employer request for a record will catch people who were busted for possesion of a small quantity of drugs.

[DanS]

The only thing this law does is shatter big city anonymity. If you've lived in a rural area or small town, you know that any serious crime that you do stays with you on the community's permanent collective memory, even if you've done your time in jail. Small towns have a lot less crime at least in part because of this. On the other hand, your small town or rural neighbors know the context of the offense, which these databases might not make clear.

Provisionally, I would be all for putting information on convictions on the web for other very serious crimes.

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by Whaleboy
Irresponsible, damaging and stupid. If the government needs to resort to vigilanism in order to protect children, then it's saying a lot about the governments programme for dealing with ex cons and sex offenders.

Needless to say, revenge has absolotely no place in justice and I am thoroughly opposed to anything that would facilitate that, Megan's Law and it's UK equivalent, the proposed "Sarah's Law" (after Sarah Paine).

It is not vigilantism. Parole board members are human and can make mistakes in evaluating whether a sex offender has truly reformed and is eligible for parole. BTW, how do you truly reform a sex offender short of cutting his balls off? You can load him up with medicine while he is in jail and make him seem as if he is reformed, but once he is out, he doesnt have to take his medicine. If you had children you would feel differently about this matter.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Do you also favor having lists of former drug users who were busted circulated because they may give drugs to your kids?

[DanS]

Why would you tend toward secrecy in this case?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Do you also favor having lists of former drug users who were busted circulated because they may give drugs to your kids?

Drug user != drug pusher.