I see green when I close my eyes
WHEW, PEOPLE!
I just came up for air after a week and a half of being caught in the swirling vortex that was the introduction of a controversial proposed piece of new legislation.
Press conference, media blitz, scheduling nightmare, phone 'n email answering melee.
My boss introduced a new bill he authored that would require all child sex offenders convicted of first or second degree assault to have bright green license plates on their cars.
Every news outlet from here to the UK (Joel did an interview today with Irish National Radio) picked it up including CNN, Fox News and everyone else in between and including local news outlets everywhere. Plus "folks" from all over the country called (ME...the phone monkey) to discuss, express concern for the offenders, tell me their tales of woe, swap recipes and or ideas for harming said offenders and or corraling them all, suggest more bills for plates for everyhting from drunk driving to puting on makeup while driving, etc., etc......blahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Do I sound like I am babbling and repeating myself (or possibly could?)...cuz I am.
Comments
Gaaaa. I have no idea what would work best for this. Wait, yes I do. Castration. Remove the offending hormones completely. Then we really wouldn't have to have nasty green license plates all over the place. We wouldn't have to cringe thinking..."a scuzball is driving that car".
Yep. Castration. It gets my vote.
Oh, man... I hear ya.
Really, though... green license plates? Would they even bother to register them then? Or what if it became "cool" to have one (like some gangster thing - I dunno)? Any legal opinions on whether that might constitute a violation of the 8th Amendment?
Wow... I have not heard of that one -- that's for sure. Makes our "controversial" stuff seem mundane!
Lauri - Just FYI: Men who are castrated have been known to sexually assault people using other objects. Often the issue is not hormonal but psychiatric/control stuff. (Can you tell I'm really not as well-versed on this as I should be? Heh.)
some are raising concerns for their constitutional rights...but mostly folks here are just sick and tired of these predators. Again, these are the minority in the sex offender world (those who have committed violent or forcible assaults). They will account for about 300 people here and are a category of criminal with very high rates of recidivism.
I think those of us in law enforcement/lawmaking type work are trying what we can. Even if the bill never passes into law, at least Joel and those supporting him tried to do something to equip kids and families with something.
The damage that is done to children by these people is almost incalculable in many cases.
And, no one answer (as I hollered out up there "castration") is going to take care of the problem.
But children deserve protection from these predators.
you know what has amazed me L....some of the folks callling in to Joel's office here in the Capitol have expressed concern for the offender's cars...as in who is going to be liable for the damage should some angry citizen say smash all their windows out. ???!!!!!
mind-boggling is all I can say. when children's safety is seen as less valuable than property.
mixed...some of the sex offenders and their support groups have been worried...but I keep telling them this bill is not targeted to the garden-variety perp (sad to say) who may have offended a long time ago and now is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. this is for the violent criminal/pedophile who is loose in the community thanks to old ridiculous sentencing.
this bill seems to bother some people who are anti-govt/big brother type monitoring also.
How about these "warts on the ass of humanity".
I have a sex offender in my family. It happened once and he is sincerely trying to do right now. It still completely pisses me off that it happened and I still have a hard time relating to him, but he is really really trying.
But, these guys that kidnap kids...get released and then end up killing a few before they get caught again. Oh my gawd.
I had an interesting call from an offender and he actually said that there were some things that may have slowed him down in his quest to offend (by the way...he was on a bike when he lured his victim) and license plates were not one of them. His crime occurred 13 years ago and he has not reoffended.
I sat in on a meeting a while back with some experts in the field and they stressed treatment for first time offenders is key, but also pointed out that some pedophiles, those who have deviant arousal patterns and are anti-social criminals will violate repeatedly.
the majority of sex offenders are low to moderate in terms of recidivism, (13 percent have a reconviction rate in the first five years) and the younger they are when they commit their first offense the more liekly they are to reoffend, but the majority of adolescents who have one conviciton do not recommit...only a minority continues on into adulthood.
70 percent of the worst offenses are committed by five percent of the offenders.
We do have special DUI plates in Ohio. They're yellow with red numbers on them. Again, if you're going to be stupid and reckless and repeatedly put the lives of innocent people at risk just so you can drive your drunk ass around, I say a scarlet-letter plate on your car telling the world you're an idiot and they should be extra careful around you is extremely reasonable.
As you say, it's a minority who are likely to reoffend. Those are the people who will not respond to treatment and who, regardless of anything the state does, will pose a risk should they ever be released. IMO paedophilia needs to be treated first and foremost as a mental illness. Offenders should be locked up with psychiatric care not necessarily with set sentences but until it's believed they are unlikely to pose a risk to society. If they are still a risk they should be locked away indefinitely. That way the worst of them would never be released and those less likely to re-offend who are released would get adequate counselling - something that can be neglected in the prison system.
We cannot deter all crime or particularly the most determined criminals, but that does not mean we should do nothing to stop them....even if it means one child is spared.
Wow. My sympathies to you for having to put up with fielding calls about a subject you abhor so much. I'm certain your self restraint has been sorely tested.
As for my opinion, the way you describe it, the offenders this law covers are so heinous, that the fact that they aren't behind bars is an insult to everyone who places faith in the legal system to protect us. In the days of my father this wouldn't be an issue. The person would be dealt with, never spoken of again, and things would be right with the world.
People like this are an embarrasment to the human condition. They deserve to be dropped in a dark hole and never acnowledged again. Not pointed out.
Also... this law seems somewhat redundant... how are these guys going to afford cars? I can't see many employers keeping a guy on once they see the pretty green on their license plate. Of the 300 or so offenders qualifying, I'll bet that less than 10% will actually drive anything.
It is my job to field calls...and I take my work with constituents very seriously as well as from people outside our district and even from around the country who called in with concerns. I was worn out from the media blitz and accompanying attention that followed. Constituent calls and helping people is my number one activity here and priority.
Oh for the days of your father.
Unfortunately, these folks are out on the streets due to stupid sentencing laws that have now been stiffened here thanks to Jessica's Law. Under current law, these predators would be sentenced to 25 years or more.
For those that do drive, families and children deserve the right to know they are in the presence of a dangerous person.
you know what has amazed me L....some of the folks callling in to Joel's office here in the Capitol have expressed concern for the offender's cars...as in who is going to be liable for the damage should some angry citizen say smash all their windows out. ???!!!!!
mind-boggling is all I can say. when children's safety is seen as less valuable than property.
But unfortunately we live in a society that does NOT value children or families much, despite the lip service to the contrary. If we did, we'd have mandated paid parental leave, healthcare for all kids, good schools everywhere, high quality, low cost day cares, and many other things that most other first world countries provide to their families...
Sorry to be cynical, but I think some of the calls you are getting just reinforce how truly devalued the American family and child really are in today's culture. :(