What to do with sex offenders?

[CatWoman]

We've discussed this here before, however, the recent developments in Florida call for another discussion, IMHO.

These "men" are getting out of jail, having served their time, only to murder innocent young girls.

What is society to do with them?

[Maddy McCall]

1. Put their nuts in a blender.

It will make would-be offenders think twice before raping children.

:shrug:

[Occulus]

2. What if the kid set them up for the charges? n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. There would be a trial

And I think before anything as drastic as castration would be done, it would have to be conclusively proven (via DNA, for example) that the person accused was innocent.

What these offenders need most is constant supervision and psychological help.

[Occulus]

21. Yeah, that's what my hubby got after his stepson

got him convicted for- get this- touching his "groin area" whilst sleeping on the couch.

The kid crawled up on the couch with him, the back of my hubby's hand flopped over onto the kid's groin (FULLY CLOTHED, mind you), and the mom- who my hubby had already been having trouble with because of the step son- walked in and saw money and power in her stepson's crotch.

The guy lost everything except the shirt on his back- literally. She filed for divore while he was in jail for the sex "offense" and waltzed away with a car, house, credit cards, BIG comic book collection... everything.

The kid, by the way, testified to how it happened on the stand- mentioning that his stepdad was asleep when it occurred.

Tell ME the system isn't broken. No, better yet- tell my man. HE'S the one who has to register for the next 20 years for something he. Did. NOT. do.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

38. that's awful

but didn't he appeal? It would seem he had grounds for appeal.

[ooglymoogly]

44. i'm confused how could it be her stepson and his stepson.?

[coloradodem2005]

3. Maybe. God, I just don't know anymore.

[CatWoman]

4. The last time we had this discussion, I openly called for castration

but was corrected by some, as that it's not about "sex" but rather "control".

A castrated sex offended will still kill, IMHO.

[Maddy McCall]

11. But it's one hell of a deterrant.

[LisaL]

31. Yea, some feminist came up with this idea,

and I see a lot of people parroting it. But I think this idea is a complete nonsense. And in fact, in Europe, I believe chemical castration prevent most rapists and pedophiles from re-offending.

[nonconformist]

40. I did too and got a lot of flack for it. nt

[Catherine Vincent]

12. I don't think that would work.

The country has the death penalty but people are still murdered. I think they should send them to prison for life.:shrug:

[CatWoman]

15. good point, CG

:hi:

[mattclearing]

46. Somehow I have a feeling that isn't constitutional. n/t

[amber dog democrat]

5. Keep them locked up I suppose.

There are some things that one does not recover from.

[LostinVA]

6. Life without parole

I'm serious. These mean are scum. And yeah, they are usually men. I am not being sexist, guys. I know 99.9% of all men aren't like this. But even when women do things to minors (Mary Jo Latourneau, etc.), they don't tend to torture and murder them.

And, for the record, I am 100% anti death penalty.

[Occulus]

7. I'M serious, too.

What if the kid set them up for the charges?

[CatWoman]

9. UM,

these girls are DEAD.

[Maddy McCall]

16. There's always going to be one or two people...

who try to find flaws with solutions based on the exceptions to the rule.

[Occulus]

22. And that wouldn't be a problem, IF the law

bothered to make rules accommodating exceptions. As far as I know, in MI, there aren't any.

He got shafted by his stepson and has to live with it.

[Occulus]

17. I realize that.

It doesn't apply in this latest case, BUT- it does happen.

[LostinVA]

18. Then hopefully a trial would show that

I kinda think that is there is evidence of sexual assault, the kid didn't steal someone's semen and smear it in their mouth and vagina. And I kinda think Sarah Lunde, etal didn't set up the guy and then rip off their clothing and drown themselves in an isolated pond.

[serryjw]

13. Agreed,,,,,,,,,,last time we discussed it

and still believe this is the only answer. Until we can figure out what causes a serial rapist or pedophile we have to protect the citizens.There is no way to rehabilitate them.

[Spencer10]

28. I wish your percentages

were right, but they're not. Unfortunately, the problem of sex offenses is growing exponentially. Most women who have been sexually molested grow up to be victims and most men who have been molested grow up to be offenders. This rule is by no means a hard and fast rule, but it is a good rule of thumb. Certain statistics point to one sexual offender who molests boys saying the offender will molest 300 boys in his lifetime. If even 50% of those boys go on to also be offenders, then you can see how the problem is growing exponentially. Even given these horrifying statistics... and even having gone through years of sexual molestation as a child... I still don't have an answer for the problem. Part of me knows that there is very little hope these men can be reformed so a lifetime in a minimum security prison seems like a good answer. It's a grim problem affecting so many people from every walk of life... and still there are no real answers. If eventual lifetime imprisonment ultimately turns out to be the answer, I don't see that happening in my lifetime. Just look at the fiasco that is the Michael Jackson trial to see how desperately people don't want to believe it's true. Someone could have given me $10 million dollars for therapy when I was 14 years old (the year the molestation stopped), and still my life would have been filled with 30 years of therapy, untold heartache, blame, shame and filth. Nothing really erases the memories and nothing short of a fight for your life relieves you of the shame their nasty hands wipes all over you.

[newyawker99]

45. Hi Spencer10!

Welcome to DU!!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Monitoring

constant monitoring...hey, they can do it to Martha Stewart, why not these creatures?

Also mandatory psychological counselling, with, perhaps, chemical castration, if it is deemed to be helpful.

I'd agree that castration may be an answer, but I fear that such people, who are sick to begin with, might just go out and kill anyway. If there was any evidence that such a procedure would stop the behavior (and there have been sex offenders who have been voluntarily castrated while in jail), I'd say that might be the route to go.

[LostinVA]

20. I'm afraid they would still rape and murder people

You don't need a functioning penis to rape. And most of them get a thrill out of torture and murder, and they can do that even with their balls cut off.

[LisaL]

32. It's not true. Their testosterone level would go down,

making them less violent in any case.

[LostinVA]

47. I suspect it is true

Most are sociopaths, which doesn't necessarily have a link to testosterone. Many women are sociopaths; however, they just manifest the "badness" in different ways.

[LisaL]

33. The European studies support the idea that castration

stops them from re-offending. But I think involuntary chemical castration would be considered cruel and unusual punishment in US.

[murray hill farm]

35. Yes..monitoring is the answer!

i am a retired psychologist, i it is accepted in the profession that no amount of counseling will change a sex offender..sometimes a "born again" religion will control the problem...as with many sociopaths, but i believe that monitoring is the only way to track these sick men and keep this from reoccuring.

[slor]

14. Make room in jail...

by removing the people that were caught with cannabis, and keep those perverts in there!

[LiberalFighter]

23. Make it strictly a federal crime

And lock them up in one prison?

Have the prison in one cold state?

Have the prison in the desert?

[Crazy Guggenheim]

19. The ones who kill, put them in the prison's general population.

See how long they last. I did a paper on Child Abuse in college and I was never so angry in my life.

[ooglymoogly]

24. release the thousands of harmless pot smokers

put child rapers in cells and throw away the key; child sex murderers hung from the nearest yard arm.

[undergroundpanther]

25. The big tip off

Is with people who have no consience.These criminals can fake having oner but if you observe you will see they have no sense of shame.
If they don't feel guilt or shame over what they do,if they do not
regret if they do not love anyone and just want to win dominate and abuse...KILL THEM.

People without a consience are a real danger.Often these sociopaths are glib charming popular and can win trust.. but they wear a mask of sanity..

http://hometown.aol.com/do058/dangerous.html

[sandnsea]

49. More than that

They love to relive their crimes by retelling, under whatever guise they can come up with. That's the real tip off to these sick wackos. I noticed it in a couple of books I read on interviews with serial killers. They really love what they do.

[hlthe2b]

26. 1st time: prison + counsel and electronic monitoring after?

--repeat sex offenders: castration + lobotomy?
--sex offenders who kill: life without parole (along with chemical castration??????????????

While I agree that castration may not stop the mental illness that causes them to want to assert power over others perceived as weak, it is also true that testosterone does increase aggression, so I'm not totally sure it does not have some place.

[in_cog_ni_to]

27. Recidivism rate is too high with sex offenders.

IMCPO.....as a mother, they should be locked up for life. I certainly wouldn't want a sex offender in MY neighbor and wouldn't expect anyone else to open their arms and welcome them to their communities either. The only answer....LIFE IN PRISON.

[DaveinMD]

29. life in prison

should be the sentence for any sex offender.

[LisaL]

30. Castration-I wish they could be castrated.

And no, it's not going to stop every one of them, but I bet it would stop most.

[RC]

34. Maybe instead of thinking only of punishment after the fact,

if we worked on eliminating the conditions that caused these people to be prone to doing those acts in the first place. It will take a few generations, but it can be done. With the La-La Fantasy land view this country has of human sexually, we are turning out more and more sex offenders.

[mitchum]

36. A very sensible solution...

I admit that I can be as bloodthirsty as the next human (and that these monsters should be punished), but it is imperative that we reduce the conditions which form many of them

[ooglymoogly]

43. that is sadly the truth but ain't goin to happen in our lifetime

the mukin taliban will see to that. if there were no murkin taliban there would be a realistic acceptance of sexuality and an end to the depravity.

[LostinVA]

48. Unfortunately, many are true sociopaths

And, from everything I've read, true sociopaths are basically born, not made.

[sandnsea]

50. I don't think so

People are born with temperamental inclinations, but early trauma definitely plays a part in sociopathy. The brain can change over time as well, which makes it very difficult to say someone was born a sociopath. I know there's studies on this, but I've never seen anything conclusive.

[neebob]

37. Use them in place of animals for research?

I'm only half kidding.

[nonconformist]

39. Life in prison for child molesters.

And mandatory minimum 30-50 year sentences for aggravated rape of adults.

But in the case of pedophiles, they need to be removed from society. They've given up the luxury of a "second chance"... we have to err on the side of safety. Studies have proven that rehabilitation isn't very effective in the case of child predators. If you want to fuck little kids, you have no place in a civilized society.

Drug users get harsher sentences than these monsters and it's a travesty.

[Maestro]

41. Hard to say

I would like to say that criminals should be rehabilitated, but it seems that people who want to have sex with kids are very difficult to change. Lock them up without chance of parole.

[Swamp Rat]

42. Solitary confinement in prison for life

There is no cure for child molesters, therefore we must protect ourselves from them. Physical mutilation of others, no matter what their crime, does not advance nor contribute to civilization.

[Cleita]

51. We have a mental hospital my my county

that takes in sex offenders from all over the country. One of the social workers is in my local Democrats' club. He says they are very, very clever, and often seemly sane, but can never be trusted around a child.

Maybe we need enclosed facilities for these people to spend the rest of their lives in after they've done time. I don't necessarily mean a place with bars, but a place they can live in, go to work in and even play in as long as they are kept away from children.

Maybe we should build an impregnable fence around some of our old military bases and convert them into "towns" for these people. Just keep them in and the kids out.