A Closer Look at Jessica's Law

I think if the system spent more time trying to understand the minds of sex offenders and pedophiles we could probably come up with better solutions at preventing them from doing such things. It is obviously an illness in someone's brain that would make them want to harm a child. Simply throwing someone in jail, or putting them on lists, without any psych treatment doesn't prevent it from ever happening again if the offender is let back out on the street.

John for Dallas City Council

I am curious about how those convicted of sex crimes are actually addressed in Texas. Do we still have a one size fits all standard for registering, being reported publicly as, and the regulations regarding lawfull actions of sex offenders?
I personally am concerned that a 20 year old who has sex with his 17 year old girlfriend not be lumped in together with a 30 year old who molests an 8 year old. To me these are two very different crimes.
My concern is less with the 20 year old, than with the overwhelming number of registered sex offenders. I would like to be able to look at an individual and know whether they are someone I need to be concerned about with my young child or not. Not I guess that you can ever really know.

Prisoner of hope.

Considering it was Republicans who slashed CHIPS, and taxed the hell out of Texans while allowing schools to continue and fall farther and farther down the 50 state rankings, it is fair to say Dewhurst, or Republicans in general,do not have CHIPS and tax policies for better schools as legislative priorities.  They should, but they don't. 

I believe Jessica's Law, with the revisions, is something Democrats can pick up this session and really champion.  It is Dewhurst's pet issue but if Dem's pull the rug out from under him on this it will be a strong bullet point for Democrats running for re-election to the legislature in 2008.

Steal the legislation, Democrats!

TMH

TMH 

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

One of the leading experts on sex offender policy had this to say:
"If these ordinances worked, I'd be all for them," said Kim English, a national expert on managing sex offenders and director of the office of research and statistics for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. "They are emotionally based and not based on any of the evidence of what works and what doesn't. The best protection we can have is to know where they are at and who they are hanging around with." . . .
Since these two people are experts, I come to you using their words to describe what I have tried to explain in my layman's terms.  Todd, I can tell you are a thinking man who has given this subject the utmost consideration.  I appreciate that your attitude toward GPS has changed.  Please try to keep your personal experiences out of the picture when promoting this law of banishment.  Thank you.

Now, for the good part. Thanks for a great comment, this is exactly what I was asking for in my comment. I think the best way to protect children is to not treat someone who had consensual sex with a teenager only 3 years younger than them (not that, that should in any way be ok,) the same as someone who assaults a 7 year old. I think pre and post pubescent sex crimes should be differentiated against, ( actually I think perhaps they are), but the details of the crime should taylor the punishment. This would not only be fair to the offender, but more importantly, would reserve the strictest monitoring and laws for those who are truly the greatest danger.

Prisoner of hope.

The bottom line is, Dewhurst is going to push Jessica's Law through the senate because it is his baby and the law is flawed.  We need to make sure the law is right, not wrong, period.  He is going to champion in his next campaign, likely for the US Senate, as a badge of honor.  When in reality it is a disservice to the criminal justice system and will not curb predatory attacks on children. 

The three angles I bring up in this post are the closest to bi-partisan support that will strengthen the law itself and likely result in passage of a law that will protect children.  As to adolescent consensual sex between two willing partners, that is a different story, and one that I'm not as moved to focus on at this point.  I encourage you to do so though as to show another angle of Jessica's Law that must be addressed.

TMH

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Traditionally, Sol's have existed only for murder and certain other capital offenses. To begin extending them for other types of crimes (as heinous as they may be) goes against the purpose of an SOL.

Any psychologist or doctor will confirm that people's memories change with time. Many times, our minds take memories from our past and make them better than they actually were. The same for negative memories. Additionally, our memories are not always accurate. Remember the study that was conducted that showed four individuals that saw the same auto accident though had four different versions?

Though evidence may not lie, people sometimes do (or as in above, simply have changed the circumstances of the situation in their own minds.) The Sol's for crimes exist because of these "human" limitations. And since crimes of a sexual nature often involve only one person's word against another, could not a persons attitudes, opinions or even honesty about a given situation that happened years ago change through time?

Additionally, any divorce lawyer will tell you that in today's child custody suits, the child sexual abuse card is used (or insinuated) in many, many cases where none actually existed. For those falsely accused (and there are many), the thought of having to live under the constant threat of criminal action until your death is, in and of itself, cruel and unusual punishment.

Sexual abuse of children is a terrible crime - there is no doubt about it. But in forming criminal laws, we must use our logic and think about ALL the ramifications of such changes - not simply form our laws based on our emotions about a subject.

Yes, of course there are false claims made, as there are with many crimes in Texas and around the nation.  People, including politicians, clergy, entertainers and otherwise, abuse the system.  Claims are investigated and should there be enough evidence to demonstrate truth then obviously they move forward, if not the charges are dropped. 

In the case of my sister, the assailant accussed my brother and I of assaulting my sister, not my grandfather.  The police investigated and came to the conclusion rather quickly that it was a false claim with absolutely no evidence behind it.  The system worked in my case and I'm obviously very thankful. 

Bottom line is that a law will never be created that accounts for all scenarios.  There are folks who unfortunately fall through the cracks.  But we must look at the risk and reward factors here.  We take a huge risk by not getting tough on child molestors, Texas is one of the weakest states on this particular crime.  The reward is getting predators off the streets and allowing victims to come forward in an easier fashion, coupled with the proper counseling to rehabilitate a victim. 

Children represent the future and we have a responsibility to provide them an environment to grow physically, mentally, and emotionally.  That means putting as many predators behind bars that violate a childs individual rights. 

TMH

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi