Dominic T. Hicks, DOB 05/01/77 is a known Registered Sex Offender that lives in Unit 6 and was a possible match to the suspect description given by the victim. On 06/24/15, I conducted registered sex offender address verification checks and contacted Hicks at 109 Lake St. S. #6 which is his registered address. At about 0900 hours, Cpl. Crocker and Detective Lansing contacted Wehrman at the hospital.
On July 29, 1994, New Jersey resident Megan Kanka was lured into the home of Jesse Timmendequas, a convicted sex offender, with promises of seeing a puppy (Corrigan, 2006). Once she entered his house, she was raped twice, strangled with a belt, and suffocated with a bag (Corrigan, 2006). Timmendequas was arrested soon after and confessed to this crime (Corrigan, 2006). This event outraged Kanka's parents and the surrounding community (Corrigan, 2006). They used this tragic death to create Megan's Law as an addition to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children Violent Offender Registration Act, which required sex offenders to register within their counties (Welchans, 2005).
It is known that some individuals listed do have repeat offenses, but some offenders are reformed and live successful lives. One minor incident could haunt someone for years and impact his or her career, relationships, and community involvement. A person who wants to live a better life and be a better person may have trouble escaping the label of a sex offender (The Law Office of George Gedulin, 2017). Another major criticism is that it affects the family members of those on Megan’s Law. It might degrade the whole family's reputation, because one member is listed.
This is certainly a conflicting issue. While it is fair to value the welfare of law abiding citizens over the welfare of convicted felons, placing restricting on felons presents the issue of those felons lacking the ability to become a contributing member of society. Like you mentioned, that can provide the push needed for them to return to crime rather than working towards a steady life of their own. Further research into the costs and benefits of such restrictions is necessary to determine whether these types of restrictions actually do benefit society overall like they intend to.
Chapter Eight of the book Flawed Criminal Justice Policies, authors take the closer look at the laws and faulty policy regarding the sex offenders. According to the book policy makers started the myriad laws to protect the public from the sex offenders with increased prison sentences, and restricting the residences to the violators. Today we have very similar situation when it comes to treatment of sexual offenders. The process starts with the sex offender being committed to the prison sentence, and lastly to being registered as a sex offender on many public websites, so that the people could distinguish who the sex offender is and where he/she lives. In this chapter we can learn about a lot of different statues that were made to protect people from the sex offenders.
Your paper was clear and interesting to read, you provided a number of points and topics to include. It is safe to say that through the observation I had involving the prediction of sex offender recidivism, the offenders that undergo treatment are faced with pros and cons meaning that treatment is necessary when an offender is actively participating. On the other hand, the cons involve an offender that receives treatment but isn 't willing to change the behavior and mindset to re-offend. Moreover, you provided an imperative reasoning for the scenario choice, you provided clear motive, history and background, and professional observation.
Sex offenders come in all status, all colors, creed, and background. But, they still have certain unalienable rights. All persons have the right to be tried in civil or criminal courts and proven guilty. This takes us to the uniformity act in our judicial system. I agree that if a person is young or old, rich or poor, black or white, the law should be enacted and due process enforced.
Megan’s Law was enacted under the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994, which required sex offenders to register their offender status with law enforcement agencies (Tewksbury, 2005). Both laws converged to create what is now referred to as “Megan’s Laws” which operates on a state level and requires both the registration of sex offenders and notification to the public. The states themselves decide what information will be posted for the public to see, but typically includes their full name, date of birth, nature of offense, and current photograph of the offender. The law enforcement agency that is in the jurisdiction of where the offender resides is responsible for the distribution of the information to the public. Some agencies prefer to use the old-fashioned method and distribute flyers, pamphlets, or newspapers, while others may take a more technological approach and make Facebook posts as means to notify the public.
Additionally, California has a law that allows citizens access to a CD-ROM with detailed information on sex offenders living in the state. The Pam Lyncher Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, called for a national registry of sex offenders, which allows state officials to submit queries and determine whether a job applicant at a day-care center is a registered sex offender in any of the participating states. Overall, communities have the right to be informed about the presence of sex offenders and take measures to protect themselves, such as avoiding contact with the offender or limiting their access to certain areas. However, it's worth noting that some states have more stringent laws than others when it comes to community notification and that the effectiveness of such laws in reducing the risk of recidivism among sex offenders remains a topic of
The punishments vary widely, between states, from fines and counseling to life in prison. Sex Offenders can be categorized into three tiers according to federal law. A Tier is a level in which a Sex Offender is categorized based on his/her sex offense.
Sources: Department Of Corrections, Washington. Sex Offender Management Assesment And Planning
Should Sex Offenders Name be Public? It is debatable if sex offenders names should be public, some people believe is a invasion of there private life, “There is a real danger of vigilantism and publicizing their names (and the info required goes far beyond just their names) is an invasion of privacy of the wives, children and families of these offenders, which is an invasion of privacy no other class of criminal faces”(debate.org) . Others believe this is not even debatable, that Sex offenders name should be public, period, “Once somebody commits a sexual crime, they have given up their right to anonymity.
In my opinion, I believe the Greeks valued intellect too highly, but cannot say I consider the same for Socrates. The Greeks are presented stern, and the type of individuals that rely on the information from previous generations. Change scares them and they did not like their knowledge or way of life questioned. I deem the idea that people throughout this society had a one track mind and were not open to new ideas or thoughts.
I believe that any individual who does not stand in compliance with the law does deserve consequences and should serve their time without question. However, i do not believe that any individual should be prosecuted more than once for the same mistake. This being the main reason that I also believe that sex offenders should be allowed to live wherever they want after serving their time. Criminals, no matter what the crime at hand may be are people. I find it saddening that people who consider themselves civilized beings do not find it appropriate to treat sex offenders as human beings.
I feel that the sex offender registry is has gotten out of hand. I feel that it should be for certain offenders that have been psychiatrically evaluated over time while they are in prison and in regards to the type of crime they committed. The registries now are so cluttered with "offenders" who would never repeat offend due to the situation such as a statutory rape conviction which is usually one person over 18 and the victim within 2-3 years age difference. It ruins that person's life sometimes only due to a pissed off parent of the victim. I also feel we shouldn't allow offenders out of prison without treatment FIRST.
