Our editorial Saturday noted that Kansas lawmakers are fast-tracking various proposals to get tough on sex offenders (and provide good election-year campaign brochure material).
The chief Senate legislation, based on Jessica’s law in Florida, would keep child molesters behind bars longer and more closely monitor them upon their release.
That basic approach makes sense. Still, some of the proposals are more effective, and cost-effective, than others: 25-year sentences and electronic monitoring make sense; pink license plates for offenders and 2,500-foot buffer zones don’t.
What’s clear is that rehabilitation doesn’t really work for the worst predatory sex criminals. The only surefire way to protect the public is to keep these molesters locked up behind bars for a long, long time.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- parkay on Open thread 11/24
- Pleefer on Open thread 11/24
- Pleefer on Open thread 11/24
- cosmos_originally on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- Regular on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- Boxlock20 on Open thread 11/24
31 Comments
All rapists, pimps, child molesters, and child pornographers should be put to death, horribly and publicly upon their fist conviction.
V.L.R.B!!
Another non-issue here. Just like campaigning as tough on crime.No politician would ever say the opposite. Have you ever heard of anyone losing an election for being soft on criminals?They should tell us how they plan to improve the situation for the majority of Americans, not just how they want be against criminals.
Speaking of pink. The Nazis forced homosexuals to wear pink armbands.
The only problem here that I see is that they will sometimes move too quickly to label something a “sex crime.” For example, a guy who gets a bit inebriated and gets caight relieving himself in an alley. He should be busted but not labeled as above. Also, kids playing “doctor” don’t quite rise to the level of concern indicated. Unfortunately, there have been instances of such knee-jerk labeling.
There are guidelines that prevent “knee jerk” labeling. It’s time we take a serious look at why the incidence of sexual exploitation of children is increasing. Putting someone away for eternity is not addressing the problem of why it’s happening in the first place. Have you seen how many registered sex offenders there are in Wichita? It’s scary when you think that many predators don’t even get on the list. There is something terribly wrong with our culture, and no one wants to take an honest look at the problem because it’s just too ugly and unpleasant to talk about. It’s time we got our heads out of the sand and really faced the issue.
damoon – some of the ones on the Wichita list were kids that did something stupid. there was an article on that a couple of days ago.
I doubt the whole story was reported fairly. It would be interesting if they gave equal time to the victim’s mother. From what I remember, only the mother of the 12 yr old was interviewed. Kids experiment, but when you have an adolescent who sexually molests a much younger child, that’s a lot more serious. I’d have to know the whole story before I decided the 12 yr old was just “doing something stupid”. I’ve known adolescents that were sexual predators, and they needed heavy duty intervention and kept out of situations where a younger child would be vulnerable.
On that I agree. My thing is that there should be a path to the future and perpetual listing forecloses that.
Perhaps it is our cultures obsession with sex.
You can’t watch a movie anymore without a sex scene.
You can’t drive through any town without seeing a porn shop.
Our culture consuming pornography at incredibly sick rates. The industry is making billions every year.
It is absolutely horrific to me how many people are obsessed with the stuff.
Nathan,”Perhaps it is our cultures obsession with sex.”
We are indeed “obsessed” about sex. Maybe a better term would be “hung up”. Other societies that don’t have the sex fixation that we have don’t seem to have as many problems as we do.
I wonder if education might not be part of the solution. Say, starting early. I’m a firm believer in abstinance, but I think abstinance should be part of a more complete dialogue and instruction in our schools. I’d rather see kids learn about sex in schools than learn the hard way.
“You can’t drive through any town without seeing a porn shop.”
Try Newton, Salina, Mcpherson, or Hutchinson, just to name a few. (sorry, just had to throw that in, lol)
“Our culture consuming pornography at incredibly sick rates.”
Yup. Sure seems that way. Something that bothers me is the combination of sex and violence. Are we so jaded that we need sex followed by a bloody killing to be entertained? Used to be, a cigarette after sex was enough.(Kidding)
I enjoy a good action flick as much as the next person. A couple of good ones: The Runaway, and Man on Fire. No splattered guts or camera-in-the-middle sex.
Nathan,”Perhaps it is our cultures obsession with sex.”
We are indeed “obsessed” about sex. Maybe a better term would be “hung up”. Other societies that don’t have the sex fixation that we have don’t seem to have as many problems as we do.
I wonder if education might not be part of the solution. Say, starting early. I’m a firm believer in abstinance, but I think abstinance should be part of a more complete dialogue and instruction in our schools. I’d rather see kids learn about sex in schools than learn the hard way.
“You can’t drive through any town without seeing a porn shop.”
Try Newton, Salina, Mcpherson, or Hutchinson, just to name a few. (sorry, just had to throw that in, lol)
“Our culture consuming pornography at incredibly sick rates.”
Yup. Sure seems that way. Something that bothers me is the combination of sex and violence. Are we so jaded that we need sex followed by a bloody killing to be entertained? Used to be, a cigarette after sex was enough.(Kidding)
I enjoy a good action flick as much as the next person. A couple of good ones: The Runaway, and Man on Fire. No splattered guts or camera-in-the-middle sex.
For once, I agree with you, Nathan. I spend a lot of time in other people’s homes. I’m amazed at how many parents don’t screen what their kids watch. An adult watching an R rated movie full of sex and violence with his young children is something I’ve seen too many times. Kids are very impressionable, and many adults seem to forget this or else they just don’t care.
Nathan, the anti-porn Marine.
Hmmm . . . usually one doesn’t put those two together, interesting.
As far as “sex and violence getting worse” though, I’m not so sure. Take the Elizabethans. Granted, they didn’t have DVD’s so they could watch seamy stuff over and over again, but they did have perfectly legal dog fighting, bear baiting (in which they set the dogs on a chained bear)and de-facto prostitution.
For instance, in the “Revenger’s Tragedy” by Middleton, you get to see a mother and her own son caught in “flagrante delicto” by the step-father, in Marlowe’s “Jew of Malta” the main character poisons an entire convent of nuns one of whom is his own daughter, and in Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus,” Titus’s daughter Lavina is raped by two young men, her hands cut off and her tongue cut out. BUT Titus gets his revenge. For he kills the men, grinds their bodies to paste, and serves them up as a fine meat pie to their own mother and stepfather.
Top THAT, Hollywood.
I’m sure the movie will be out soon. Thanks for the idea, Lib! Be prepared though, people will get upset about the animals being mistreated.
I thought it was decided I was just a liar about being a Marine?
Nathan, I remember a discussion between you and another blogger about the Marine Corps Prayer. The question was (as I recall) “Who is the greatest Marine who ever lived”? That would be a matter of opinion to a non-Marine, but EVERY Marine knows the answer. While I detest your politics and style and many, many years separate our terms of service, I do not question that you’re a brother at arms.
God bless the Marine Corps.
XXX – curiousity – who IS the greatest? I’ll have to compare that with my father-in-law’s answer.
Chesty Puller.He was a Marine’s Marine. He fought in the Boxer rebellion in China at the Embassy and the Phillipine insurrection. The man’s exploits are Marine Corps legend. A standard every good Marine tries to achieve.
Do a google search for Chesty (Chester) Puller. I assure you won’t be dissapointed. VERY interesting story.
Oops, Mistake. Served in China, maybe not the Boxer rebellion. 35 years makes the memory fuzzy.
XXX, enough with the “Chester”!
(ha, ha)
Sorry A, LOL.It’s “Lewis”.
Okay, I guess it’s up to me to state that which is obvious but exceedingly uncomfortable.
I agree with Randy that those who we know can’t be trusted in our communities shouldn’t be released. Perhaps high-security mental hospitals. I don’t know.
But, if we know what we’re doing (do we?), once they’re released. . .they get chased from community to community by panicked vigilantes, thanks to the offender registration lists. Sounds like a great rehabilitation plan to me!
The Scarlet Letter has been updated for the 21st century.
There’s not a single issue that’s safer for a legislator to get tough on than sex offenses. Now, how about getting tough on something else, like political corruption and ethics violations?
Rage, rehab doesn’t work for sex offenders. The underlying personality disorder can’t be treated effectively with therapy or meds. Sexual predators have to be monitored to keep from acting out, either in jail, some institution, or in the community.
Damoon, read what I wrote, again, until you understand it.
Okay, that probably wasn’t fair.
My point is that if don’t believe these people can behave themselves, “offenders for life,” as it were, then the shouldn’t be released into the general population.
But if we do, treating them like hunted animals gives them little incentive or even the means to lead normal lives. Nor am I completely convinced that all of them are condemned to reoffend, period. Recidivism is higher for sex offenders than other crimes, but it’s nowhere near 100%.
Yikes! Outdid myself with typos this time. . .
I don’t have the answers either, Rage. But I know that pedophiles and other sexual predators have a very srong compulsion to act out. It’s not something they easily control. They depend on external controls to stay in line because the internal ones are all but non existant. They have severe personality disorders that rarely, if ever, respond to treatment. The only thing that works is to remove them from society or monitor them very closely. If not contained, you can bet they’ll continue to act out.To be honest, I really don’t care if they ever get the chance to lead a “normal” life. Some people are just evil. I feel no mercy for them.
Let Kline have his way we will have the court system so cloged with cases that the really bad ones will be running the streets with no leash.I say either execute them or banish them to and island with other of their ilk.