Ga. Court Nixes Sex Offender Restrictions

[angelmom]

My opinion may be unpopular, but I totally agree with the Court's decision in this matter. This was a common sense decision. The law, as written, literally made it impossible for these people to live anywhere.

You are exactly right. And then they are just roaming, homeless, unemployed, and pissed off. Just what we need!

 

[Nova]

I really do understand that. But by bolding that statement I wanted to make everyone take a step back from the emotions and to highlight part of the problem with this registry. How do we define a sex offender?

ETA: I used an extreme example, but there are a million shades of gray. If we just kill them all, who gets to decide where the line is?

And are they all (regardless of the definition) really deserving of instant death - no appeals, no mitigating circumstances, no nothing?

If that happens, then I'm thinking we live in Pakistan. Or someplace like that. I'll pass, even if it means I have to keep a closer eye on my kids, because one day my kids will be the grownups, and I don't want a false accusation to end in their death at the hands of a lynch mob.

I couldn't agree more, angelmom!

 

[Filly]

They are abhorrent and inflammatory cases but, the abduction, rape, and killing of children by strangers is very, very rare based on any source of statistics available. However, such incidents receive a lot of media coverage, leading the public to overestimate how common these cases are leading to laws such as this one.

The vast majority of sexually abused children are not victims of convicted sex offenders nor Internet pornographers, or whatever is the media story du jour and the percentage of sex offenders who re-offend once released is minimal. It's a myth propagated by sensationalist media crusaders and internet bulletin boards.

One tragic result of these myths is that the panic over sex offenders distracts the public from a far greater threat to children: parental abuse and neglect. The vast majority of crimes against children (90%) are committed not by released sex offenders, but instead by the victim's own family, church clergy, and family friends.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, "based on what we know about those who harm children, the danger to children is far greater from someone they or their family knows than from a stranger."

If lawmakers and the public, including those "venting on the internet" were serious about wanting to protect children, they wouldn't be misled by "stranger danger" myths and instead focus their time and energy on the much larger threat ... inside the home.

Gonzo, I understand your point. I've experienced it. It wasn't the boogeyman that raped me when I was a child. I don't know exactly what the stats are that pedophiles reoffend, but I'm thinking it's pretty high. I'll have to check it out. When it comes to children the "stranger danger" is a tough one. My neighbor may have been convicted of child sexual assault. Are they a stranger to my child? They're not over my house for coffee each day. Yet, my kids might consider they are a good friend for the mere fact they live two houses away. Educating my children certainly focused on the home first, but I also cautioned them on the "myth" that some stranger could also do harm to them. The cases may be rare where a stranger rapes, and murders may be rare, but once is too many. Just one sexually abused child at the hands of a stranger is enough for me to teach kids they can be rude to an adult if they make them uncomfortable. That's weather it's a stranger of someone in the home.

 

[philamena]

There is a semi solution to this problem. All first offenders of sexual kinds should be jailed for 10-20 years. IF they re offend...lock um up for life.
I am freakin tired of reading every day about children being abused and or killed by sexual predators.
When they are allowed to live near children,.....it's like serving this azzholes a child on a silver platter.:razz:

 

[Filly]

Here's an interesting article about sex offenders, and recidivism. Offenders who assault children that is. It goes into the different types of sex offenders and breaks them down. Incest vs rapists. Girl victims vs boy victims. I can only speak of my experience and horror of finding out when I finally told that the freak that raped me had six victims that came forward. Two were grandchildren, one a neighbor, and the other three family friends. In all good faith I don't go by statistics. It's too awful a crime for me to trust stats. I go on the assumption that indeed someone on my block will hurt a kid or maybe someone in my family. There's no evidence of this ever happening, but I don't take chances.http://offenderstatistics.blogspot.com/

 

[angelmom]

Here's an interesting article about sex offenders, and recidivism. Offenders who assault children that is. It goes into the different types of sex offenders and breaks them down. Incest vs rapists. Girl victims vs boy victims. I can only speak of my experience and horror of finding out when I finally told that the freak that raped me had six victims that came forward. Two were grandchildren, one a neighbor, and the other three family friends. In all good faith I don't go by statistics. It's too awful a crime for me to trust stats. I go on the assumption that indeed someone on my block will hurt a kid or maybe someone in my family. There's no evidence of this ever happening, but I don't take chances.http://offenderstatistics.blogspot.com/

That's some interesting reading. I'm with you that if you're the one in ten thousand, statistics aren't very comforting, but it definitely is a different perspective.

I wonder whose perspective it is?

 

[White Rain]

White Rain hasn't authorized me to speak for her, but I don't think that's what she meant. Here in the same thread, some of us are using s.o. in the legal sense, which includes all sorts of silly offenses which shouldn't stigmatize the offender for life.

But others are using s.o. to mean actual child rapists only. I'm pretty sure that's what White Rain meant. (I don't agree with capital punishment in any case, but in fairness to Rain, she wasn't calling for the execution of kids who pee behind bushes.)

yep, thats what I meant. Thanks, Nova.

 

[southcitymom]

I really do understand that. But by bolding that statement I wanted to make everyone take a step back from the emotions and to highlight part of the problem with this registry. How do we define a sex offender?

ETA: I used an extreme example, but there are a million shades of gray. If we just kill them all, who gets to decide where the line is?

I have long thought that the SO registry, which really has/had the potential to be a helpful tool, has been diluted into near-meaninglessness. Of course, I'm not someone who thinks we should kill even the worst child molesters, but that's another issue alltogether!

 

[Filly]

I've worried about it. The registry just like someone said it gives a false sense of security. It was certainly brought about because a dear girl was murdered thanks to the pedophiles living right across the street, but I've seen many people trust others with their children just because their name isn't on there.