BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Civil Rights Sex Offenders and their Civil Rights

In my article entitled " Civil Rights, Child Molesters, Pandora, and Her Box ," I mused whether from a civil rights point of view, the treatment of convicted sexual offenders under the law is questionable at best and unjust as well as illegal at worst.

Wondering further if individual cases of sex crimes warrant different punishments or should sex offenders be assured their civil rights or should they be considered as someone who has chosen to leave human society in favor of unspeakable evil and thus no longer qualifies for civil rights, I was not surprised to receive some email response.

One in particular stood out. Without going into detail or giving away any identifying details, the writer told about a conviction he has on his record which was part of a plea deal that involved underage drinking and some "making out." According to his statements, he did not rape anyone, but because of his taking the plea deal, his life is now a living hell and his children are the ones suffering because of reporting requirements, etc.

Do you have any ideas about how to deal with sex offenders, their civil rights, and the current laws? Do you feel that things are going well the way they are or do we need to overhaul the system?

Frankly I am not worried about sex offenders rights, I am worried about the rights of children to grow up and not be interferred with sexually. Thats where our concentration should be. If you don't want to be in jail or have to report or register, then don't sexually abuse a child, its that simple.

I feel NO SORROW for someone who has knowingly entered into a plea agreement that forces him to register as a sex offender. I don't buy for a moment that his original crime had NOTHING TO DO WITH a sexual crime against someone. If he didn't want to register, he should have chosen jail instead or better yet, not commited the crime to begin with.

Frankly if it were up to me, people who are convicted as a sex offender would NOT BE ALLOWED to live in the same house with people under 18 years of age no matter what.

I love it when adult men pick up females they don't know, have sex with them and then cry foul when they find out the girl is only 14. Well here is an idea, have a little more self control then an alley cat AND DON'T SLEEP WITH PEOPE YOU KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT.

What do I think should be done about sex offenders?

It should be legal to shoot them.

What about those who did not molest a child? What about those who took a plea deal after partying with their girl friend who later on worried about what dad would say and pressed charges? What about those who are unjustly accused and convicted in the minds of those who are watching the TV coverage - only to be proven innocent of all charges later on (in some cases much later)?

Each state has a different law about the age gap, if your too old to be with someone below the age of 18, don't be with them, it won't matter what their Father thinks if they are over 18. If a girl is young enough to be worried about what her Father thinks, you have NO BUSINESS partying with her, they should include supplying controlled substances to a minor in the charges against you.

As for being convicted in the minds of the public, that happens to just about anyone who is charged with a crime. Are you suggesting just so we don't hurt anyones feelings, these people shouldn't be charged?

I am sick to the back teeth of hearing men cry after they have behaved irresponibly that they were not treated fairly. Thats how they got where they are, they want to blame their mistakes on everyone else rather then face who they are. Society needs to let them know its not going to work and hold their feet to the fire. If you prey on people who can't protect themselves, your life is going to be hell, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

You misunderstand; I am not making excuses for anyone who messes with a minor. Additionlly, it has nothing to do with "feelings."

What concerns me from a civil rights perspective is the willy nilly way that individual states try to get rid of the problem of what to do by changing the rules and then hope to pawn off the problem to a neighboring state.

From a legal point of view, it bothers me that plea deals with something as serious as molestation are even offered. If the DA has the proof, IMO, s/he has the duty to go forward and try the person and not offer a plea deal. Conversely, if there is not enough to go on, offering a deal is not serving justice since getting the person to seve time for "something" is not better than nothing.

Last but not least, do not forget that women have responsibility in the arena of "making out" as well (we're talking consentual here); while the guy should know better than to hook up with his underage girlfriend, she should know better than to hook up with an underage guy (or any guy for that matter). Yet if the law were to be enforced honestly and truly, then our high school would be mostly empty.

I hate to be playing devil's advocate here, but in cases where there is no forcible rape or child molestation involved, there is an awful lot of grey area.

I hate the system of plea deals as well. I don't think people should be charged with crimes they did not commit. I can't imagine anyone would be charged with a crime that included a sexual component when their original crime did not include the sexual component.

As for women who are molesting children, they deserve the same fate as men who are molesting children.

I have often pondered laws that are passed in a certain state when the one next door is more lax on a given topic. While I understand states rights to make their laws, I agree with what your saying that when one state has a more strict law on sex offenders, it does encourage the offenders to seek a more relaxed state. I think the answer in the case of sex offenders is to make more laws that are the same in all states.

oooooh Lisa you better stop. You sound like a Republican.

Find sex offenders in your neighborhood go to
familywatchdog.us
familtwatchdog.com

I'm NOT a Republican, I am a concerned Mother trying to raise a daughter on my own to adulthood AND keep her from being harmed by one of these sick people. As a Mother I consider it my duty not just for my daughter but for any child.

In Long Beach they had houses where scores of sex offenders lived together and the battle lines were drawn with residents who wanted them out of the neighborhoods. Probate officers wanted them clustered together because it was supposed to be easier to keep track of them that way. What is the answer? (details are in this articleBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!