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| If It Saves One Child |
| By Shelly Stow |
| Published: 07/02/2012 |
It would be difficult today to find a person who had no idea what the sex offender registry is. It would be equally difficult to find someone with only a passing interest who didn’t feel that it is a good thing to have. It started in most states as a law enforcement tool identifying repeat, sexually violent child predators. It now has an estimated 700,000 names on it and encompasses acts as varied as consensual teen sex, taking and sending a photo of one’s own breasts, and rape. And even though many with much more than a passing interest, including most research studies and experts in the field, are pronouncing the shaming roster to be an ineffective tool in fighting sexual crime, the battle cry of its supporters still resounds whenever the subject comes up: “If it saves one child…!”
“If it saves one child….” Even though we cannot know if “it” has, that statement is responsible for the abuse and even death of many children. There is no actual evidence that the registry has saved even one child; however, we do know that many, many thousands have had their lives made a living hell because of it. These are the children of those on the registry, some of whom committed violent crimes, but many, even most, who did not. All on the registry, with their families, are subject to the whims of local and state restrictions including, but by no means limited to, severe restrictions on where they may live; denial of access to libraries, parks and beaches with their children; and restrictions barring the registered parent from often even being within a 1000 feet of the school his child attends. Very recently a woman took the picture of a registrant that she printed from the Internet to the school where the registrant’s five-year-old son was a kindergarten student; she showed it around, warning children about this man. His little boy stood and cried. The registry doesn’t differentiate. It doesn’t make it clear to people who threaten, harass, and do physical violence to registrants, their property, and their families whether daddy raped someone or whether he had sex with mommy before they were married when she was a year too young or whether he looked at an illegal image on a computer or whether he was innocent and falsely accused. And, sadly, most don’t really care. The perception is that everyone on the registry has committed a serious crime and that most if not all offended against children. And if they have children of their own who are harmed, as so many have been and so many more will be, it is just collateral damage because the registry might—MIGHT—save one child. “If it saves one child….” Children themselves are registrants on sex offender registries. Nine years old is apparently the youngest at which children have been put on the registry (Delaware; Michigan). (1) Several states, including but not limited to Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, and Texas, register children as sexual criminals at ages ten and eleven. By the time twelve is reached, it isn’t even a rarity. And the fifteen year old who is the child victim for having consensual sex with an eighteen year old partner becomes a predator and registered sex offender when his or her partner is fourteen. In Wisconsin last year a district attorney did everything he could, and bragged about it, to have a six year old prosecuted and targeted for sex offender registration for “playing doctor.”(2) Three year olds caught looking at and touching each other in a daycare bathroom were reported and investigated for “sexual fondling.”(3) Some of these children, after several years of being on the registry and treated as monsters, have committed suicide. The registry didn’t save any of these children; it destroyed them. “If it saves one child….” Children do need saving. According to the Justice Dept. and the CMEC, many thousands are sexually abused and molested every year. We pour everything into the registry, millions of dollars and uncountable hours. State after state has voiced complaints about the cost of keeping up with the ever-increasing expenses and strain on limited manpower hours to satisfy the requirements of the registry. The federal government, knowing this, has offered huge financial incentives to states to bring them into federal registry compliance. However, this is futile; the registry is not the answer. Children aren’t sexually abused and molested by nameless, faceless people on the registry. They are abused and molested by their family members and acquaintances, by those they know and trust and love, by those they see and interact with on a daily basis, often by those they live with. By the most conservative estimates, this is true for 94 out of every 100 children who are molested. The latest figures from the Justice Department's Bureau of Juvenile Justice show these startling facts: for sexual crime against a child six or under, 58.7% is committed by family members, 39.7% by family acquaintances, and 1.8% by strangers; the registered sex offenders who are in that stranger pool are so few that it is virtually incalculable. As the age of the child increases, the figures alter, but only a little. The risk to children ages 12-17 is 94.3% from family and acquaintances, 5.7% from strangers, and, again, the percentage of registered offenders in the stranger pool is minuscule. Keeping the focus on those on the registry keeps us from dealing with these facts. It keeps us looking in another direction, and it leaves us nothing in the way of resources with which to deal with it. “If it saves one child,” isn’t good enough. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, need saving. When and how and with what will we save them?
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"If it saves one live" I guess that is the battle cry today with these sex registry's and all these sex crimes going on today. Yes, man appears to be getting above mortal man in their endeavor to keep people in bondage. With today's computer board's and communicative means' they have tried to be smarter than God it appears. Human nature is always going to be human nature. Could we all say during the Hitler regime "If it saves one life" and predict that it did or did not. I use that as an example but the truth is, The sex registry doesn't have a real foundation to it as those on the registry are a mixed breed of people that have a carnal mind and all people... whether government or not have a carnal nature. I am on the registry myself and if it saves' that police officer that badgered me into this than I have to say it didn't. If one has something tangible than one could say that it saved someone, but if you have something that's induced by these cat and mouse games that law enforcement play than it becomes intangible. Now crime is crime no matter what but when crime is induced with a weapon of sex when one is enjoying his adult pleasure of talking to adults and some kid is in there that has no business to being in an adult chat rooms and one run's over one in his attempts to talk to an adult than its not saving anyone. There is only one reason than an adult would go into a teenage chat room ===and its not to say Susie, its time to come home===but I'm sure the average person knows what I'm talking about. Something that is real taking place is a crime not some pumped up action to justify themselves as in these internet sting operations. Should the registry be taken down because they say" If it saves one life", well I think it doesn't serve any purpose. We did just as good without it. It has only been around since these Megan law's started and the Adam Walsh thing. Sure people are going to cry foul but just think of what the registry has done for the American citizen.....job discrimination, housing discrimination of where they can live, library discrimination, social discrimination, rules and restrictions and its as if this crime is no different from any other crime. Sure I don't like abuse of any type but when human's are being abused by law enforcement that take in into there own hands to induce you and entice you in some way than it is their actions that government should adhere to... I couldn't care one less about my neighbor or his or her past as that is a part of their life. "If it save's one life" are we talking about the then or now or are we just predicting that it save's one's life. Remember Jesus saves', Man doesn't. and I can tell you that these internet sting operations are a bit way off base. God would not set people up. think about that?
In the earlier part of the twentieth century those propagating the concepts of brain size in adolescence “used corpses” to determine size and as such were highly inaccurate. Adolescents are “not children” and cognitive abilities are heterogeneous indeed. The latest data uses scanned brains of the living and are highly accurate. In the most recent studies brain volume peaks at about age fourteen and as one ages “after that point” the brain “diminishes in size” or shrinks. The politicians themselves are using false data to justify the bad law of registries. If one is to argue a point one must use the “most recent data today”. Corpses vary by swelling or shrinkage. The whole basis of the argument is that teens are children to justify the whole root of bad law. One had better prove their theory as a foundation instead of basing such on the lies of faith in Darwinism. Source: Courchesne et al ., 2000
We can protect or children by keeping them from getting any closer than 500 feet of any public school that will groom them into far left propaganda or radical left extremism by a union teacher screaming and yelling how good socialism is and how if you are a male who questions such debauchery as normal then you are "dis-respecting authority" and if your father is a veteran he may be a right wing nut case who needs to be medicated without a warrant if you live in Virginia. First they came for the 19 year old having evil heterosexual sex with a fifteen year old in a romantic relationship and put him on a registry for life. Then they came and took all the children from the FLDS and that was “inclusive” of the good monogamous parents and polygynous parents to be sorted out later. Then the came for the veteran that was not yet understanding that “far left” and “extreme left” in the two parties was a good thing. Masks are dangerous if there is only one ideology driving both.
The more education out there of the truth and reality on this matter the better, obviously. A great deal of ignorance surrounds this topic and your article is informative and thought provoking. Thank you Ms. Stow! Also the commenters have contributed a great deal as well. I realize Mr. Davis' comments seem 'off topic', but if one is VERY WELL READ in the matters as diverse as he speaks, the trail of relationship is seen and understood. I for one appreciate his input, as it 'connects more dots' and gives me other material to research. ....Let's just say the corruption is deep, strategic and expansive. It pushes most of us WAAAAAAY far out of our comfort zones to even begin to entertain as 'likely' ....we prefer to not look at what overwhelms us and is beyond what we can fathom. ....Fred you really have gone 'all over the board' and I could see where Ms. Stow can't even begin to address your questions. Most of us aren't as educated as you are in the diverse knowledge you display or have the type of intelligence to see the continuity...also laying it out with continuity is not your niche shall we say. None-the-less, thank you, and to all of the commenters, for your contributions, I greatly appreciate having this article/comments in my references/library.
Shelly Stowe, what do you think?
Teens are not "children." Up until the alleged "mother of the world" Jane Addams came on the scene (the good witch) embraced by her mobster buddies in the Republican Party in Chicago, young adults had "full rights" under the laws of our land under the fifth and sixth amendments. Is a young adult a "person" under the laws of this land? "No person shall be denied life, liberty or property. Except "kids"? Prior to the mobs of the "progressives" in Chicago "young adults" had a right to a jury trial or speedy trial. The Juvenile Justice System "removed those rights" under that regime we now call parens patraie. By 1960 in many states less than 5% of young adults were represented by counsel. Things only went down from there economically in this country with the rights of young adults being removed. As the "evil" spore of feminism started to take hold and grow in waves the trial lawyers started to get a new third venue for big bucks thus protecting the unions from any encroachment from the skills of the youth. Entrepreneurs were stifled (The Case Against Adolescence – Robert Epstein, PhD.). Minors may be young adults but not always "children." While legally emasculating the civil rights of young adults in their teens, the Republicans gained strength through socialist progressive power. If a socialist wants to skew statistics on child abuse and show it is an epidemic, one only must incrementally keep the age of consent moving in an upward trend. Then the charts will show that those "evil males" are raping all of those children in the home, while the mother becomes savior. We really don't want to get into the charts of abuse and murder of children by those that birth them. It is scary, and that does not count the mother throwing her own child into a trash can or dumping him at Planned Parenthood. Most men sit on their posteriors looking at sports and never say anything. If the feminists want to make us believe we all came from monkeys, that is fine with me. Monkeys stay feeble, but young adults are supposed to mature after twelve years old or a little later. The problem is that males that have been educated in the government school system have taken the bait (educational grooming) and have been imprinted with the feminist lies. They have made monkeys out of themselves and support the idea that young adults are feeble from thirteen to eighteen. If they are feeble, it would be through the jaundiced perspective of the feminist movement, passed down through hypnosis, projected by empathy. If we define everyone as "kids" from cradle to grave, then statistics of child abuse shoot up right through the roof. Then everyone from cradle to grave is a child or chattel of the state. We have almost arrived, thanks to plain Jane. If one wants to show statistics, why can't they be shown without degrading young adults as feeble by perspective? We could distinguish between young adults (minors) and older adults without creating more fear by making adults "kids" from the cradle to the grave. The new adolescent is now twenty-six under Obama. Under the law of the socialist in power today, that will be forced upon everyone. When it happens, try to remember, as our nation goes broke, that it was a former offender who wrote these things. I did my time, and the thought police still follow me around. It never stops. By allowing such perversity of law and putting socialists in the Supreme Court, we now have just confirmed that teens are in a group to themselves and separate from adults or children by law. Kagan is a feminist. How do you expect her to rule on things? She just ruled to deny the civil rights of young adults until eighteen. The Supreme Court still denies rights that the older adult has, to own property, etc. Has she become the new Jane Addams or is it Hillary? Has anyone noticed that the Nobel Peace Prize always goes to a lefty? The money is running out for the progressive and now they will have to pick the pockets of those traditional families even more. They hate patriarchal Christians who believe in authority of the father in the home at the grassroots. They love the oligarchy being the surrogate father. If all fathers are demonized, we can use the sperm and the government can disperse such as the surrogate father sees fit. The gestational carrier would just love that.
What a quagmire has been instituted in the Juvenile Justice System where young adults up until 18 are blended with pre-pubescent "children" on a homogeneous basis for the profit of trial lawyers, the Juvenile Justice System and to keep confusion as the ongoing "adolescent" debate continues based on fraudulent Darwinist data and drawings that totally negate the fact that all young adults vary greatly in cognizance and abilities. Most research today shows full cognitive ability for young adults by 12 years of age and according to Raven's study of intelligence in the British Journal of Psychology in the mean age of intelligence peaks at 13 to 14 years of age. Wechsler, who developed the most widely used intelligence tests, showed intelligence peaking at 15 and declining afterward. A 1972 study (Tomlinson-Keasey) showed formal operational thinking showed emergence around the age of puberty and declining shortly after peaking shortly after puberty. How demeaning is it to the youth of America to be clumped into a box or a group in a homogeneous fashion? No one wants to face the fact that young adults are not feeble as the progressive movement implies. Those archaic laws need to be tossed out with those that implemented such things as change agents for great profit, rather than an agent of change for the betterment of young adults.
Shelly Stowe In the family unit there is a difference between incest by statute and child abuse by statute. If one is not careful one may by perception unwittingly demonize a male father in a two parent family. This data is a few years behind the latest figures. Bring me up to date as of today if possible. Lets check out the larger familial statistics: Sexual child abuse Stepfather 17% Father 2% Other 81% Deadbeat moms 30% Deadbeat dads 10% Source: Dana Russel of Mills college.(sexual abuse of children on father/daughter incest.
Shelly Stowe In your statistics are you applying retroactive law? If that is true is consensual incest through statute possibly being skewed? Do you have data in the statutes in all of the states as to child abuse incest as compared with basic incest where a close relative cannot marry by law? There is no "paranoia" or "offense" in Truth. If data and rational thought causes "fear" then one surely must have an issue themselves, not with the law but their own ignorance. Irrational fear and truth are always opposite in nature. Fear and corrective love are opposites also There are those that "think" everyone is out to get them and have fear. This is paranoia and a sickness. There are those that “know” some are out to get them and that irrational fear drives the ignorance and perpetuates such and that can actually be profitable economically for the uninformed at the top of a culture (the salad bowl) for a time. (formerly the melting pot) Many fearful individuals at the top of the socialist progressive pyramid lack experiential knowledge and they “know not what they do”. They are rote taught. Grace should be given to the uninformed/rote educated at the top of culture also as truth surfaces as well as the homeless and those that are incarcerated. The movie on the screen is real to the progressive mind and they will act out what they believe. The bubble will surface. There are some "people" or "change agents" in ignorance who are either doing their agenda out of a jaundiced perception with a good motive or maybe even doing so to keep many asleep and from waking up to objectivity. Since most laws on incest involve a relative or someone too close to marry there is a reason for that law. It kept the traditional family order intact as well as proper priority of position. It is the glue of all strong families. Common Law puts the approval on this basic principle. It is also economically advantageous also. Case law through precedent and activist judges have incrementally dismantled the two parent traditional family. Remember it was the progressive movement that put residential restrictions first on the black male in Maryland by presenting to the public the alleged dangers of the black male head of his own house. This was done politically in increments and all black males were presented by the media as predators in a homogeneous way in order to keep them away from the uneducated white woman. This ended in 1950. The same applied to the Jewish people in Maryland. They had their own residential restrictions. Hitler presented the Jews as offenders in thought. He had his “own” thought police and his “own” psychiatrists and just the “thought” of a Jew caused groups to fear all Jews. This is called imprinting The followers of his regime simply were too busy saving other families from the Jew that they no longer could see the board in their own eye. Incest is not always even child abuse by statute. We must remember such as we may unconsciously or consciously skew statistics, either by intent or in ignorance. Incest laws were also put in place to make sure the daughter or any other member of the family unit was not in competition or trying to usurp power of position under law. These are called borders. California has no borders or boundaries today (except former offenders who may or may not have served their time) because Common Law is hardly ever used there to prosecute or to defend a client The progressive is always “saving others” as his country is being dismantled from within. That is not patriotic at all. Common law represented the law of the husband/man to a degree. It involved glue for the family unit. It was super glue legislatively. In Maryland there are two statutes on incest. One is listed under the "sexual child abuse" statute and the other statute is where no force or coercion can be proven and thus "no predator." The ancient landmarks of real law is becoming “obsolete” in Maryland and being replaced by activist judges even as I speak. Intent of law is just as important as the law itself. The letter of the law people have no grace and the feeling lawmakers have no logic. This is the “game” of the left and the right politically. Both are hell bent on destroying history and the foundations of this great nation. When one says "sex offender" that "catch all" imprinted "net" seems at first glance to mean "child abuse" coercion or force. Hence a predator comes into the mind of the ignorant. This makes for good "advertising" for those who have become "change agents" to make change (lucre) out of the ignorance of useful idiots, as the oligarchy obviously thinks that all sex offenders must be homogeneous. Why would the media use that phrase in a homogeneous fashion? These are government educated! Maybe it is about “my wallet” in order to keep the war on as long as possible by distraction from the “Causal Factor” by listening to the O’Reilly Factor. Change agents have a different "motive" from those who really want to “save children” and those who just want to make money. Collateral damage means nothing to the money changers. When I was healed from my addiction I was also healed from people pleasing. Those that want to be an agent of truth and real change do not look down their noses at individuals on a homogeneous basis before all facts are presented and all research is completed. Get rid of the main purpose of incest laws under Common Law and the family falls apart automatically and those believing that the Statists do a better job as surrogate parents on a homogeneous basis willingly will sign what is really theirs under common law over to parens patriae and the village will raise them for you. What a deal! The working man had better watch his wallet. We must be consistent. If one does not believe in retroactive laws for the family of others they cannot apply them when those same laws might cause hubby or son to be disenfranchised.
So many good comments on the subject. It is amazing how the laws of men reflect looking to "outward" people rather than adhering to what is right by suffering the pain of the injustice of arbitrary law. The "resentment" toward the system only causes one to "act out" through bitterness. The first thing I was taught when incarcerated was that there is no such thing as rehabilitation but "punishment alone". Instead of becoming "bitter" God helped me to apply my time eight hours a day into assisting other persons in the Literacy Lab and that helped my "esteem" to come from my doing what is "right" in my own "heart-mind" Trapped by the system to "do the time" rather than letting the time "do me I became aware that helping others in my own situation without "enabling" the wrong made me actually look forward to each day for almost seven years. Seven is the fulfillment of His number. After six years the system of the DOC wanted me out of there because i was happy and looked forward to each day. They cannot stand that so the parole board did not want me out so they refused to give me work release for a crime that the state guidelines provided for six months in jail and probation. By God allowing me to do seven years instead of the guidelines I was blessed indeed! Many received their GEDs because of my help in the literacy lab and that made them want to keep me because of my literacy gift. The gift of God will make room for itself whether in prison or out of such God is not bound by bars or the pettiness of the pseudo solutions of men alone. It was not a coincidence that the state forgave me after seven years for all of my debts just prior to being released. Seven years was the minimum that they could hold me accountable to fulfill my debts. After I was released I was not put on the registry until many years later because of the fact that retroactive law was considered unconstitutional before that. However things have changed, and all borders and privacy rights have been violated by those who choose to snuff out every bit of faith that one has in God. It will not work, and eventually even John Walsh will have to stand before God. Only God knows his motivation for tearing the Constitution to shreds with his partners in crime. The amazing thing is how I was released. I prayed about things and the parole board and the corrections department did not want to release me, even though it was recommended that I should have had work release before my incarceration ended. That was only about a year away because I accrued ten days a month for working the offices and for the school. The individual that tried to get parole for me wrote right in his documents that the system was playing politics with me, and that the system had failed to provide me with adequate work stabilization. The God part or good part is that I only had 1 address and that would not be enough in the minds of many. So the parole board turned me down again. But the guy that wrote that I be paroled was vouching for me and God used him. So, after the denial of my parole, I got a little depressed and it was like all of a sudden I realized that I had already served seven years so what was 1 year going to hurt me. I got ready to go to get my denial of parole papers with the rest of those that were getting out, and then I remembered a Christian man of like faith who had just come into the institution and he told me he was a licensed preacher and that I was about to get paroled even though the system denied me. Then he told me this, "If you don't get parole, I do not have the Holy Ghost." So, I went down to pick up my paperwork of denial, and I signed the forms. Everyone else was going home except me it seemed. But, God came through after I signed the papers and started walking away to go back. The woman yelled at me and asked "Where are you going? You are not finished!" I looked down, and she had another paper for me to sign. A three judge panel had overturned the decision of all those who wanted me to stay. I felt God, and realized the seven years were up. I owed no money, and a few years later I met my wife and that is the biggest blessing one could have. Had I made parole too soon, I would not have my property, my debts paid, and my wife. All things work together for good for those that love Him and do not resent the system because that would only block the Sonlight of the Son of God. Have a blessed day.
The bottom line is lawmakers are out of control. Many punishments don't fit the crime and most times the punishment isn't correctly sufficient to deter the crime, which is the point of the punishment to begin with. I, being on the registry and having been through the gambit with the law, believe everyone, no matter their offense, should be given a chance. However, if you blow that chance and commit the same type offense, you should be punished for life. And the whole "can't own/possess a firearm" law is ridiculous when the crime committed has nothing to do with a firearm. The Psych test they put offenders through are ineffective and are all about money. I had a serious problem/addiction to pornography and masturbation. After 4-5 years of struggling through the addiction and overcoming both, one of these "professionals" told me I needed to masturbate more. I refused further treatment and took the matter to probation. They fired him immediately. Bottom line: The "system" is severely broken and needs to be fixed. My recovery and victory has had absolutely NOTHING to due with the "system". They focus on behavior instead of the root issues which are matter of the heart of a person. Change the heart and you change the person. Of course, that kind of change is not in the hands of man, thank God. Behavior is superficial at best and doesn't have lasting effect. "Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny." (UNKNOWN) Jesus says, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.". To affect real change in a life, aim at the heart. The caterpillar doesn't become a butterfly from the outside in, but the inside out. you can't attach wings to a caterpillar and expect it to be a butterfly. None of us can fix the whole world, but all of us can affect those around us every day. Darkness remains dark until light disperses it. Be an infectious light of truth in your world. Only then can we affect real change.
Dear Shelly Stow, thank you for your response. The percentage is even less than I thought: 100 out of 60,000 or 70,000. That makes it .166 to .143 percent dangerous strangers. I have studied the causal psychological factors, enforced by excessive government and laws. These principles are created by fear and anger, and also do create the environment of fear and anger that drives the AWA and agendas like that. The fear and anger are self-perpetuating. I am a history buff and do not expect anyone to understand all that I say. However, in the here and now, by looking to government out of fear and anger for the answers with many laws, parents have lost control of their children, whether they be good parents or bad parents, to the oligarchy in government. Most of the time, when a parent wakes up and finds his wife, her boyfriend, and his son has left town, and that he may never see them again, the emotional person thinks that the law today is designed to keep families together but that is not so any longer. This has been true throughout history in these united States, but things have changed, and the government has provided social workers and babysitters for both parents working while the child gradually becomes more indebted to the system that destroyed his parents. Today, through the welfare state reinforced by family law, the children are brought up to think there is a free lunch. This is not good. However, this is advantageous only to the government when the government is married to and owns all of industry; the Department of Corrections needs more personnel every day to drive the agenda. If I can remember right, Russia and the other countries are behind us with incarceration rates. Fascism is nothing more than government-owned industry. This is why politics will not solve the problem since the programming in the public is so strong. Only facts and education, including data and graphs may wake enough up to realize that the registries have not saved even 1 of those kidnapped children. Both of the parties are locked in to the same mob think. I really respect those that use graphs, data, historical perspective, and true to life testimonies to unveil the deceit.
Mr. Davis, most of what you reference is so far away from the topic of this article and from any knowledge that I have that I couldn't even begin to address it. The only part I can address is your question about the percentage of 'stranger' kidnapping of children versus parental or other. I found this in my research notes, and I believe it answers that portion of your inquiry. “Less than one percent of sex assaults involve a stranger according to USJD: Although incidents of strangers kidnapping and sexually assaulting a child often make headlines, the Justice Department estimates just over 100 of the 60,000 to 70,000 reports of sexual assault filed each year involved an abduction by a stranger.”(http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=163253
Shelly Stowe Do you have the statistics of disgruntled parents "kidnapping" what they might mistakenly believe is actually their "own child" in comparison with stranger danger "kidnapping?" Most do not understand that the laws under Parens Patraie relinquish "ownership" of the "minor" from the parent to the State through a tribunal or "family court". By agreeing to "joint custody" one usurps power from themselves "willingly" to the state. Many parents do not understand that family courts do what they "the state" do what is in the best interest of "the minor" simply because in order to bring egalitarian concepts into law the original family unit of the "ownership" of the minor must be turned upside down. I am studying how progressives "the Statists" dismantled the family unit in Russia and took over "ownership" of the children before they finally confiscated also the land from the "owners" and gave it as an entitlement to the "peasants" Later they took back the land from the peasants at the point of a gun Can one be a tenant on their own "property" under law? From what I see today the minors are "chattel" of the State and "the best interest" of what the arbitrary laws of the state deems fit takes priority of position over even a "good parent". Please tell me I am incorrect. I am studying Blacks Law.
I happened to read these well-written comments a few days ago, and this led me to "catch a predator" type thinking mentality and to analyze a few things. So John Walsh had a child bride. I do use the term lightly since it is arbitrary and can be used in a judgmental attitude if used in a colloquial sense for political purposes. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt. This child bride and he had a heated relationship. It was not heated in necessarily lust or love but a love-hate relationship. This is what is commonly known as a passive-aggressive personality, chronic to severe, manifested by indiscreet use of alcohol. It is obvious he knew of his sin before he committed it. It is also obvious that instead of repenting for violating the daughter of another on purpose, that he blamed her because of the way she looked and her fake id. This is called denial. In addictions programs and in prison institutions, one cannot blame the victim since the victim is always considered to have no responsibility in the incident against a child because her cognitive abilities must be taken into consideration. As far as the law goes, the child bride of John Walsh had no awareness under the law. John Walsh psychologically would be called a shame-based personality, and thus one can feel a certain way and that "feeling" makes it right. I had just recently had a bout with some resentment on the hypocrisy of John Walsh. After that bout of resentment I told the Lord and my wife that God must do something about all this hypocrisy. Then a couple of days later one of the individuals on this site mentioned the documentary and a still small voice said, "take a look at this." Do you resent this man? How could I resent him? I was attracted and still am attracted to young women, but through the years I have learned that substantive women are of more value. I have also learned that under age women can be trouble. This gets onto the love-hate concept of the relationship of Walsh and his child bride. First, she is not that good-looking so his alcohol probably made her look a little better. Drugs always make things look better. But he laughed about this, as if he had done no wrong, and not only had he done wrong, but he laughed about the obvious trauma that the grown man had caused this "child." Then he proceeds to save the children who were mostly "kidnapped" and went across a state line with generally a confused and battered husband who has resentment about the wife taking her son away through family court. I don't know what the statistics are, but they are very high. True kidnapping against the will of a child with stranger danger should be minuscule. All Walsh had to do was create fear through feelings, rather than real statistics, and he won the minds of the feeling Americans while the rest who could still think for themselves knew that feeling-based individuals are con-artists, even though they think they do God a favor. Those pictures of John Walsh make him look like "pool boy"on Mad TV. The feminists and the socialists say dance, pool boy, dance, and pool boy creates arbitrary legislation and promotes new law every several weeks for the feeling masses. Yep, this has solved the problem. Just think had we not destroyed all those families in Hiroshima there would have been more children dead and more families destroyed in the future. If one American child is saved, then it is worth it. Am I wrong? The corrective attempts of sociopathic leaders and their cohorts only do more damage collaterally when the falsity of failed ideology comes home to roost. I am thankful that facts are coming out on this issue, and how these laws and the registry included are not only feeling and fear-based but I am surprised it has taken so long for these well-educated progressives to see the light. When the fourteen year old "boy" is arrested at school and taken away in handcuffs, then the socialists start screaming and yelling about injustice. There is not a mother in the world who thinks their son deserves what he gets. However what he gets could be because of bad law implemented many decades before.
What a lot of individuals do not know is that the concept of adolescence is a new age progressive ideology that is not Christian at all. The "storm and stress" theory is based on the myth of Darwinism. Haeckel used data and drawings that allegedly a slanted forehead made an individual more prone to crime than someone else with a different shaped head. Later these drawings were proven to be "manufactured. Without trials and challenges in life one does not grow spiritually and thus with too much protectionism by government the teen today is isolated entirely from adult responsibility. A good book to study is Robert Epstein Phd The Case against adolescence. It shows where violence is a product of creating a teen culture,separate from adults. This provided a new industry for a third group other than adults or children. Capitalism can be used for greed at times. The first "child labor laws" drove away any competition that might hinder the elite group of politicians surrounding Jane Addams. Her motives were good but the Republicans in Chicago at that time saw how "saving the children" could create a whole new group of "children" with great profit for the creation of the Juvenile justice System. This mob think type of greed mentality put teens in a group to themselves. Adolescence is a modern new age progressive invention. The teen or "chattel of the State" is very popular economically but by over protecting young adults from the job market the elites had no young adults from 13 to 18 who could start their own industries and think outside of the box of the progressive government oligarchy. So comes mandatory public schools with a young adult still sitting on his fat torso with mom until she/he is now 26 with government run and now mandated health care. The breakdown of the family unit is not "bad luck" It was invented for profit and the United States now has a higher incarceration rate than even Russia. The only way one can prevent abuse in the family unit (95%) would be to put drones at all of the windows of families and their friends that still has two parents left. We surely need more social workers. Hull house in Chicago tried this. This drove teens from 13 to 18 years of age into state run institutions with barbaric consequences. Straps, beatings and eventually in Maryland Crownsville hospital the black children were "saved" by the system so well that some were given lobotomies while the rest of the family that was not being "saved" had residential restriction put on all black male fathers (predators) in the family unit in Baltimore. Many of the "saved" were buried as numbers in unmarked graves and they are still, trying to figure our where the "saved" black children are located today, They didn't want the blacks in Baltimore because of the elite so they stuck them in Crowsville State Hospital. Look it up on search. Most teens and black children were put in with the "idiots"who were of full age and many of them sat and ate naked together at the dinner table with the approval of the "child savers" in Baltimore. There is a lot more but Darwinism and the tribalism concepts as such now leaves us with a nation who is so far in debt that the next generation will be working the fields of those to whom the debt is owed.
I am the parent of a registered sex offender. This article brought me to tears. Tears of joy, of relief, of admiration. Save the children, indeed. Save my son, who was arrested as a juvenile on the steps of his high school the first week of school, along with three other boys, similar ages (13-16). Save MY only son, from the true predators he may be locked up with, out of my sight and away from my reach. Save my child, who for the rest of his life has to explain to angry, scared, and vindictive faces how he, along with the other boys, were all victims and were all perpetrators. And save my boy, who can not get financial aid for college, who must register at EVERY institution he wants to attend, who must explain to every girlfriend the limitations inherent in their relationship and the danger it places him in. Goddess bless you for writing this piece and encouraging some rational dialogue and impartial scrutiny of a system that is out of control. I believe a very limited number of people, most of whom are already incarcerated for a long time, merit some type of ongoing monitoring. ANY monitoring falls squarely within the purview of law enforcement and only law enforcement. That's why we give them the police power. Creating and filling a registry is creating and swelling the ranks of an underclass who are excluded from meaningful work, excluded from a decent place to live and excluded from reintegration into society. Putting ANY registry in the hands of the public encourages vigilantism, and I am terrified to think how many more people must be hurt or killed before it stops. Again, I thank you and I admire you for speaking out, for presenting the other side of this highly charged issue, and for your well written and well thought out piece.
What an absolutely fantastic article and feedback. I'm on the registry in NC and have been for 9 years. I spent 2 years in prison for my crime, of which I'm guilty, and 5 years on probation. I went through 2 phases of treatment programs and have organized, participated, and/or facilitated 2 different recovery programs, Cumberland County Green Mile SAA, and Called 2 Conquer which I currently facilitate. First let me say I'm not a "monster" nor do I, or have I ever, wiled away the hours looking for a victim of any type for any reason. I'm a product of many influences and experiences that none of you know about. If you have several days to spare and nothing else to do, you can respond and you can get "The Rest of the Story". I've worked with many men over these past several years and have found no "monsters" among them. Just some really broken people who made some VERY bad choices and decisions. Men who also had VERY bad influences and experiences. Men who were lost in a world of lost people..."the blind following the blind". Don't misinterpret me, I'm not saying there aren't any "monsters" on the registry, I just haven't met one. I'm more concerned about the offenders who are out there that haven't been discovered yet. I mean, the REAL offenders. I'm appalled by the witness I've heard, read, or dealt with where the law has gone overboard and destroyed lives, families, and communities by their installation of fear and trepidation. Some of the witness given here is the same atrocity. And as stated in many of these witnesses, the victim isn't just the offended, but their entire families. My wife just lost her job as a teacher for the second time because of my past. Her most recent job at a private Christian school was ended when one of her fellow teachers found out about my past while doing research for a "computer safety class". She went to the principal to inform her of the information which she already knew from the interview she had with my wife 2 years earlier by our own admission. The principal told the teacher she already knew and that there was no issue because I would not go to the school or participate in anything with the school. Not satisfied with this response, the teacher took matters into her own hands and told others. the result is my wife has no job for the upcoming year at this school. My wife has been the picture of grace and mercy through the entire ordeal, but it's not fair that she should pay for my past when I've already paid for it. Actually, Jesus paid for my sin(crime) and the sins(crimes) of every other human being a long time ago. I agree with the girl in the previous witness. When is payment enough? When do we and our families get to live normal lives? When payment is made, why do they ask for more? When will it end? Here are some better questions that require a LOT MORE FOCUS: - Since pornography seems to be at the root of every sexual crime, what are we doing to combat it? - Since the absence of fathers seems to be prevalent in most cases, what are we doing to ensure that fathers are there and that fathers and mothers are equipped to be the best parents they can be? - Since a REAL, deep relationship with God seems to be the missing link in every case, what are we doing to nurture God into others? - Oh, here's a good one. When it's time to vote, what are we doing to ensure the best leaders, Godly leaders, are getting elected? There are many other issues surrounding this topic but I'm running out of space. My last point is in response to the travesty in Washington. That father couldn't defend himself or his family anyway because he's a felon and felons can't own or possess a firearm. He and his family are left vulnerable to the vigilantes of the world.
I have become aware that the average American today is more fearful of the self educated individual than he is fearful of any former offender. It is a pride issue. If one can present facts,real statistics and no nonsense testimonials of real life experiences,then the average government educated individual is not going to fellowship with someone who can actually refute their myths on such issues. When someone with experiential knowledge, backed by history and psychological analysis and just how those perspectives arbitrarily change with the political culture at hand day by day and are projected by the media, the average politician will find someone else to harass. This is a good article and everyone should do a little research on real life statistics. Everyone is judging today through labels and most do not even know the etymological definitions of their colloquially bastardized jargon. I believe I like to consider myself a restorative person. The more society becomes obsessed with fear, resentment and judgment the more that culture collectively wastes seeing a beautiful butterfly or a cool breeze at night. Judgment through resentment only causes one to see everything on a subjective basis. All laws are not sinful if disobeyed and all sin is not prohibited by the laws of men. Remorse with "tears before men" does not do what letting go of wrong without any worldly remorse but turning away from what is wrong will accomplish.
The problem with the sex offender course they have to take, my grandson, who was falsely accused,refused to say he was guilty,and was told that untl he did, he would not get out. HE WAS NOT FACING HIS CRIME AND SHOWING REMORSE.
The Forgotten Children (Life as a Child of a Sex Offender) I would like to take the time to tell you what it is like to be a child of a Sex Offender. I wake up every day wondering how many signs may be on our front lawn. How many people are going to ride by our house and point and take pictures? How many people are going to watch every move we make today? How many times are people going to call the police because my parent has done something, which for an average person would be normal but because they know a Sex Offender lives here that activity with their child looks suspicious? How many more birthdays will be with just family because parents will not let their kids come to my party. How many parties will I not be invited to? How many more games will my parent not be allowed to watch me play? How many field trips will I not attend because it is too hard to listen to the whispers of the parents? Are we gonna have to move again because my parent cannot find a job to pay for rent? Are we gonna have to stay in the car again; because it is hard to find a place to live, because our government has decided we are Prohibited to live in Low Income Housing???? How many YEARS am I gonna have to watch my parent cry with frustration because they can’t provide even the simplest life for our family. Some kids can’t even have any contact with their parent!! Why is it everyone wants to Protect children but NO ONE thinks about me or kids in the same situation as me?? Can anyone answer that question??? Why do we not count? I was always taught to do the right thing and if you didn’t you would have to pay for it. I did not know that meant you would pay for the rest of your life. I did not know that people would treat you as an outcast forever!!!! The Bible says; you should forgive. The Constitution (which I learned in school) says we have rights, but it seems to me if your parent is a Sex Offender the Constitution DOES NOT APPLY. Otherwise how could they make laws that are Retroactive? Laws that continue punishing the person (and their family) forever. Prohibit us from living somewhere or prohibit us from free travel. Is the Constitution obsolete now??? I know everyone says these are not laws but civil regulations but in my mind regulations are the same thing as a law. They tell you what you can or can’t do and if you DO NOT follow them, you go back to prison!!! So, what is the difference between laws and regulations? I have also noticed that the same laws that punish my parent do not always punish others who have committed the same crime. Is that because they are public figures( Professional Athletes, Government Officials, sons of Well Known Advocates, or people who have tons of money) and society is ok with them committing the crimes????? (I watch the news, read newspapers and research stuff on the internet) This affects my life everyday so I must pay attention. I am hoping someday before it is too late that I too can have a normal life. Not always be a VICTIM of societies unfounded FEAR of all people labeled a Sex Offender. They are not all MONSTERS!!!!! Maybe if people looked into their own lives they would realize they too could be considered a Sex Offender for things they have done. Maybe even if these laws were in affect a long time ago you or someone in your family could be one!!! I cannot give you my real name as I fear it would put us in more danger, so I will give you a name for the life I wish I had. Thank you for listening, Living Free
AWESOME article. Here is a letter I wish would be sent to anyone and everyone maybe if they could see Life through the eyes of an Offenders child they might get it. Please feel free to copy and paste and send it to all!!!! ( This was written after listening to kids of all ages tell me what their lives are like now!) The Forgotten Children (Life as a Child of a Sex Offender) I would like to take the time to tell you what it is like to be a child of a Sex Offender. I wake up every day wondering how many signs may be on our front lawn. How many people are going to ride by our house and point and take pictures? How many people are going to watch every move we make today? How many times are people going to call the police because my parent has done something, which for an average person would be normal but because they know a Sex Offender lives here that activity with their child looks suspicious? How many more birthdays will be with just family because parents will not let their kids come to my party. How many parties will I not be invited to? How many more games will my parent not be allowed to watch me play? How many field trips will I not attend because it is too hard to listen to the whispers of the parents? Are we gonna have to move again because my parent cannot find a job to pay for rent? Are we gonna have to stay in the car again; because it is hard to find a place to live, because our government has decided we are Prohibited to live in Low Income Housing???? How many YEARS am I gonna have to watch my parent cry with frustration because they can’t provide even the simplest life for our family. Some kids can’t even have any contact with their parent!! Why is it everyone wants to Protect children but NO ONE thinks about me or kids in the same situation as me?? Can anyone answer that question??? Why do we not count? I was always taught to do the right thing and if you didn’t you would have to pay for it. I did not know that meant you would pay for the rest of your life. I did not know that people would treat you as an outcast forever!!!! The Bible says; you should forgive. The Constitution (which I learned in school) says we have rights, but it seems to me if your parent is a Sex Offender the Constitution DOES NOT APPLY. Otherwise how could they make laws that are Retroactive? Laws that continue punishing the person (and their family) forever. Prohibit us from living somewhere or prohibit us from free travel. Is the Constitution obsolete now??? I know everyone says these are not laws but civil regulations but in my mind regulations are the same thing as a law. They tell you what you can or can’t do and if you DO NOT follow them, you go back to prison!!! So, what is the difference between laws and regulations? I have also noticed that the same laws that punish my parent do not always punish others who have committed the same crime. Is that because they are public figures( Professional Athletes, Government Officials, sons of Well Known Advocates, or people who have tons of money) and society is ok with them committing the crimes????? (I watch the news, read newspapers and research stuff on the internet) This affects my life everyday so I must pay attention. I am hoping someday before it is too late that I too can have a normal life. Not always be a VICTIM of societies unfounded FEAR of all people labeled a Sex Offender. They are not all MONSTERS!!!!! Maybe if people looked into their own lives they would realize they too could be considered a Sex Offender for things they have done. Maybe even if these laws were in affect a long time ago you or someone in your family could be one!!! I cannot give you my real name as I fear it would put us in more danger, so I will give you a name for the life I wish I had. Thank You for listening, Living Free
Actually McCarthy had some good points but he went overboard like the progressives have done on the left today. Now the Feds can Tax anything at any level to provide heath care will no regard to the borders of States. Just think of all those mal-nutritioned skinny Americans wee can get food stamps to help. McCarthy actually thought most in the progressive community actually knew what they were doing but they were mere useful idiots of the community organizers. Today most of the legislators are just power hungry dupes who would have a hard time being a sandwich artist at Subway. JESUS said: They know not what they do. Do not be hard on the bitter and angry fear based dupes who actually believe that all sex offenders are pedophiles. Yep. In 1950 these same progressive State workers and do-gooders were incarcerating homosexuals and drugging them at Crowsville State Hospital in Maryland. At the same time they had "residential restrictions" in Baltimore Maryland to protect all infantalized white women from those predator black males on a homogeneous basis. This in nothing new. Hitler said that if one can get the minds of the women and children the males will follow. He just created an education system and set up residential restrictions for those Jews who also were homogeneous.
Here is a way to save more than one child and by the way it has nothing to do with a registry. I recently attended a Child Abuse Prevention Conference. It was a four hour event and well worth the minimal charge. You might be asking what does that have to do with the discussion here? Let me explain. The first session was devoted to sexual abuse. The Police Captain was very efficient and covered a wide spectrum of scenarios relating to what he called Groomers and Grabbers. Groomers, of course are exactly that, and they are those who look like Jerry Sandusky. Gain the trust of the parents and the implied mentorship of kids only to sexually abuse them. He also gave very accurate statistics about recidivism of registered sexual offenders as being 5.3% for another sexual offense and the “fact” that the majority of sexual offenses come from within the family and their acquaintances. Then he talked about the Grabbers like Michael Devlin, who he interviewed at length, and by the way Devlin was not on any Sex Offender Registry when he kidnapped Shawn Hornbeck or when he took Ben almost 4 years later. An alert young man reported something he remembered seeing with regard to the truck resulting in both boys being found and reunited with their families. There was also a lady who was a forensic nurse who talked about ways adults could protect themselves from false accusations, how to teach children what is appropriate and what is not and how to react when a child comes to you with an accusation of a physical or sexual nature. Lastly, a Children's Advocate Supervisor gave some very poignant stories about physically and sexually abused children that have come into the county system in the last 3 months. Folks, this is precisely what is needed nationwide. Each one of us cares about protecting children. I will tell you that a statement was also made that families WILL NOT report sexual abuse within their families because of what they have seen with regard to laws, restrictions, treatment methods and what the family goes through. Is this really what the registry was designed to do? Of course not! Even John Walsh, who has promoted the registry for years and was standing at the President’s side when he signed the Adam Walsh Act said on a Biography Channel interview a few days ago that he knew it was illegal to date his wife when they were young and she was underage but, he did it anyway. He said he couldn’t help himself. How ironic it that? If that was today John Walsh would be on a registry for the rest of his life requiring law enforcement compliance checks and registration every 90 days. So, let me conclude this statement with….if you don’t currently know someone on the sex offender registry….you will. Please tell your legislators to do the more responsible things with your money like stop adding more registrant laws and use that Byrne Fund Grant money to educate parents and children about ways to stay safe and truly “save many children by empowering them!” Vicki Henry Women Against Registry
One Doctor must be taking too many meds. "I think sex crimes should get the death penalty" he states. Well....unfortunately almost anything and everything is considered a 'sex crime' in this country. Policy makers have gone absolutely crazy passing one bad law after another. And "A person released after a sex crime should be required to maintain therapy till the therapist says they are cured" he states. Yep, lets keep the ever-growing, expensive treatment factory running so the money can continue to flow for those who conveniently lock in lifelong paying clients for themselves. The fact is, only a small percentage of those on the registry are truly dangerous predators, likely to reoffend. Most are people who have served their time, learned their lesson, and would like to support themselves and their families.
When one pulls a rabbit out of the hat one does not always notice the gorilla in the background passing by because of the focus on what is cute coming out of the hat. In war a distraction can get many more harmed. Gone are the days of personal responsibility and defending self. Nanny government has a hand in everything these days. The one child who allegedly is saved because of these laws will never be found.
I think the registry is useless. The only ones who remain compliant are those we don't have to worry about. I think sex crimes should get the death penalty, but it should be a tougher case to convict someone. The so-called "Zachary's Law" or rape shield should be abolished, so those accused have a chance to be found innocent. As it is railroading of sex crimes is the standard if the accused is poor and can only have a public defender. I'm not condoning sex crimes or this attrocious boy love thing. We aren't ancient Greeks or heads of church. We know that sex is for after 17, or medical complications can arise. We need to educate and make it a private and encouraged act for someone to realize they have an abnormal problem and get help. That's the solution primary. A person released after a sex crime should be required to maintain therapy till the therapist says they are cured. Better, more timely sex education, as in when the child is asking questions, is the preventative medicine. What most lawmakers and JUDGES aren't realizing is 700,000 people is an army. That could be come a real problem because many simply disappear. Will those missing registrants surface collectively one day? I wouldn't want to be a judge or lawmaker that fateful day.
I appreciate this article and the conversation that is happening in the comments a great deal, and have important news to share for anyone concerned about these issues. I am 33 years old, and have been a "sex offender" registrant for 12 years due to a consensual teenage relationship. I am also a documentary filmmaker who is currently in the fundraising and development stages of an ambitious project: the very first full-fledged feature-length documentary on this topic to hit film festivals and theaters by the end of 2013. I want to invite anyone interested to check out my fundraising page at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200414682/american-sex-offender-documentary-trailer. There you can see a video of me giving more details and a thorough explanation of the project. I believe that the time for America to hear this story is NOW! Please spread the word!
FRHR, Please read more carefully. No one I've read here is arguing that there shouldn't be a registry, but as it stands the registry is more diluted every day with people who pose no danger. So the lady on the next block dated a younger boy when she was in high school...how does that threaten you? Her name is taking up space on the registry, law enforcement has to monitor her, and our taxes pay for all of this. A useful registry would be one that focuses on those "seriously dangerous" people you refer to. And with all of that, 85-95% of sex crimes are committed by family members, teachers, church and scout leaders...PEOPLE KNOWN AND TRUSTED BY THE CHILDREN. Jerry Sandusky wasn't on the registry, but he abused little boys for years because PARENTS TRUSTED HIM. If you care about the safety of your children, look closer to home than the SOR.
To FRHR: you are so right. "Law enforcement can't keep up with them all now." However, the reason they can not keep up with them all now is because there are so many on the registry who are not dangerous and pose no threat to anyone. I don't think anyone that has posted here would deny that there are a few dangerous offenders that should be monitored. However, the current registry allows those truly dangerous people to get lost among the 700,000 + on the registry. You cannot tell who the dangerous offenders are by looking at the registry. Millions of dollars are being wasted because law enforcement can't keep up with the dangerous offenders because they are required to devote the same amount of resources to the thousands who are not dangerous.. The current system is not working. It does not protect children. It is time to do away with it and find a better way that would protect a child.
I feel like I have wandered into a Twilight Zone episode. Everybody posting on here is obviously either a sex offender or a family member of one. You people, and the writer of this article, are acting like everyone on the registry is either some little kid or a hormone-driven teenager. People, there are seriously dangerous people on the registry. There a people who rape and hurt kids and adults. You can't just let those people out without keeping track of them. How is the public supposed to protect itself if you do away with the registry? Law enforcement can't keep up with all of them now, how would they ever keep up with them if there wasn't even a registry, if they were just dumped out of prison and set free to prey on more unsuspecting victims. You people need to rethink all of this.
Superbly written and full of meaningful statistical data. It is too bad that policy makers aren't confronted with this kind of research on a larger scale. How can we get them to understand that present policies are doing little more than to divert the nation's attention away from the very serious problem of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse? How long will the registries continue to serve as our national elixir of inaction and indifference?
You are so right! People are so easily led astray when the target is to instill fear of something might happen, but usually does not. The politicians jump on this bandwagon creating mass hysteria in their wake. If it saves one child. Reminds of me of McCarthy-ism, or what was done to the Asian people living in concentration camps before WWII, and what Hitler did to the Jews. There is not that much difference. The statistics consistently prove that this is a useless expenditure of funds with zero return. However it feeds on the fear of every parent, so the battle to change legislation will be long and hard. That said, there are those that should be on the registry, but with the growing numbers on the registry, implementation of safety measures cannot be met by a decline in public servants and lack of funding. In it's wake, this legislation has left many homeless, unable to support themselves and demoralized, dehumanized and feeling worthless. Thank you for stepping out in faith to write that which needs to be said. I will send this to the counselor, the probation officer, and keep copies handy to pass out to all I know! I'd like to point out a fact that people seem to overlook. What about those not on the registry who have committed crimes? I taught at a local high school for almost a decade. While I was there a man was removed from his job because he came on to the girls. Several years later, we moved and guess who was our neighbor? Registered? NO! Punished? NO! Bless you for this letter and the truth!
Shelly you have written a wonderfully prepared article that is very clear on the issues and challenges registrants and their families face and the fact that registries "save no one". I urge all the readers to step up to the plate, join the fight to help reform the laws, and if every voter who knows a registrant were to write to all of their legislators, take the time to visit them in their offices, show your concern and help spread the word, it would help to make a difference. We all need to be working very hard this session to be heard. On behalf of my foster son who is serving 10yrs for a consensual relationship with a younger girl, 14 & 19 yr olds, I thank you for your help.
Over the past decade, numerous articles been written about the nightmares caused by the SO registry. Numerous articles have lamented the unanticipated cruelties that these registries inflict on innocent people. In her article, Shelly Stow does an excellent job of relating the sad tale of SO registries. She illuminates their ineffectiveness and their nightmarish unintended consequences. Kudos. I will add that I think of SO registries as a failed social experiment. They’re analogous to failed public health/medical experiments. Moreover, they have been a very high-priced failed social experiment. It’s no secret that this registry experiment has been costly in terms of wasted resources. More importantly, and tragically, this failed experiment has been costly in terms of damaging innocent people’s lives. Of course, the hope all along has been that SO registries would protect people (children and adults) from victimization. A worthy idea. Who could be against that? Unfortunately, after years of this social experiment, there is still no credible evidence that it has been successful. There is no evidence that SO Registries have ever protected anyone from victimization…or anything else. On the other hand, there is abundant evidence that SO registries have hurt a lot of people. It’s easy to find evidence that SO registries have caused lots of misery for innocent victims. There is abundant evidence that SO registries have backfired, and they have hurt thousands of innocent people who certainly didn’t deserve to be hurt. If you think about it, the failed registry experiment is really not different from a failed public health/medical experiment. You could imagine vaccinating people so that they wouldn’t get schizophrenia. Not a bad idea. Indeed, a worthy idea. And imagine further that you try your vaccine on people for a decade…hoping it will work. But after years of vaccinating people against schizophrenia you can’t find any scientific evidence that it really works. And in this analogy, let’s imagine that, instead, you do find widespread evidence that your vaccine is hurting a thousands of people. It’s not helping people, but it’s causing horrible damage. You find that your vaccine is causing terrible side effects, like grief and misery and heartache, like liver disease, cardiac problems, and blindness. Destroying people’s lives. Hurting innocent people. And not doing any good. If you were an ethical, responsible researcher, you wouldn’t perpetuate your blunder. You would put an immediate halt to your failed experiment. You’d take steps to find a better way to protect people from schizophrenia. You’d probably conclude, “Maybe we need a different vaccine…one that doesn’t just hurt people…one that actually helps people.” I think it's clear that we need to do the same thing with the SO registries. We need to stop what we’re doing. Modify our thinking significantly. We need to find a much better way to achieve our goal of helping people. And we need to do that NOW. George V. Parker, Ph.D., LSOTP
Over the past decade, numerous articles been written about the nightmares caused by the SO registry. Numerous articles have lamented the unanticipated cruelties that these registries inflict on innocent people. In her article, Shelly Stow does an excellent job of relating the sad tale of SO registries. She illuminates their ineffectiveness and their nightmarish unintended consequences. Kudos. I will add that I think of SO registries as a failed social experiment. They’re analogous to failed public health/medical experiments. Moreover, they have been a very high-priced failed social experiment. It’s no secret that this registry experiment has been costly in terms of wasted resources. More importantly, and tragically, this failed experiment has been costly in terms of damaging innocent people’s lives. Of course, the hope all along has been that SO registries would protect people (children and adults) from victimization. A worthy idea. Who could be against that? Unfortunately, after years of this social experiment, there is still no credible evidence that it has been successful. There is no evidence that SO Registries have ever protected anyone from victimization…or anything else. On the other hand, there is abundant evidence that SO registries have hurt a lot of people. It’s easy to find evidence that SO registries have caused lots of misery for innocent victims. There is abundant evidence that SO registries have backfired, and they have hurt thousands of innocent people who certainly didn’t deserve to be hurt. If you think about it, the failed registry experiment is really not different from a failed public health/medical experiment. You could imagine vaccinating people so that they wouldn’t get schizophrenia. Not a bad idea. Indeed, a worthy idea. And imagine further that you try your vaccine on people for a decade…hoping it will work. But after years of vaccinating people against schizophrenia you can’t find any scientific evidence that it really works. And in this analogy, let’s imagine that, instead, you do find widespread evidence that your vaccine is hurting a thousands of people. It’s not helping people, but it’s causing horrible damage. You find that your vaccine is causing terrible side effects, like grief and misery and heartache, like liver disease, cardiac problems, and blindness. Destroying people’s lives. Hurting innocent people. And not doing any good. If you were an ethical, responsible researcher, you wouldn’t perpetuate your blunder. You would put an immediate halt to your failed experiment. You’d take steps to find a better way to protect people from schizophrenia. You’d probably conclude, “Maybe we need a different vaccine…one that doesn’t just hurt people…one that actually helps people.” I think it's clear that we need to do the same thing with the SO registries. We need to stop what we’re doing. Modify our thinking significantly. We need to find a much better way to achieve our goal of helping people. And we need to do that NOW. George V. Parker, Ph.D., LSOTP
I don't know if it is appropriate to comment on one's own article or not, but I have to say how humbled and honored I am at the way my article is being received. Thank you all. In addition, FaceR, your comment reminded me of something I had come across while researching this topic; I put it into note form for myself; it is based on information from a 2002 DOJ report, but I can't imagine that anything would have changed dramatically in ten years. Based on a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Throwaway Children, for the year 2002, 40 children nationwide were taken and killed by definite or probable sex offenders, some registered, some not. 40 is 40 too many, but that same year 1296 children were shot by someone else 145 were stabbed to death 89 were strangled 37 were burned alive 17 were poisoned. The greatest majority of the above deaths were committed by family, usually parents. 603 shot themselves 559 hanged themselves 6132 were killed in traffic accidents. So, in 2002, Your child was 1500% more likely to shoot himself than be killed by a sex offender. Your child was 3200% more likely to be murdered by firearm by you than by a sex offender. Your child was 15,300% more likely to be killed in a car crash than snatched and killed by a sex offender.
This is a great article!!!So very true of the injustice & suffering as a result! There is no evidence that this registry has saved one child. This registry is putting labels on entire families that end up suffering for many years. After the registrant has paid the assigned debt to society, he continues to serve by having to look over his shoulder not only to protect himself but his innocent family members. The registry should not be open to the public to allow some vigilante to target the offender or his family. What about these children that are being placed in harms way! What more tragedies have to happen before our legislators pay attention & use some common sense. Thank you so much for the voice of reason & common sense and for the printing of this article!
This article took my breath away. It is perhaps the best I have read on this subject. Every person in the justice system in Texas should be required to read it. AND every member of the legislature.
There will come a day when people look back on the sex offender registry period in American history with the same revulsion we now feel for Joe McCarthy, the Salem witch trials, slavery, and the attempted eradication of native Americans. Anyone studying mass hysteria and the resulting legislation will look at this era as a terrible testament to the gullibility of the American public.
What a great article! Well said. I am one of those falsely accused while I was going through custody battle during my divorce. My ex hired Dr. Myra Burt to get my 7 year old daughter to say daddy's touches are bad touches. When Dr. Myra Burt learned that there was an ongoing custody battle and my ex had a history of domestic violence, she did not retract. It has been 13 years of misery, my family was destroyed. When my kids turned 18, they said they know it was wrong but if they told the truth their mom would go to jail. The sex offender registry does not work, it is a place where predators hide in the forest of innocent people on the registry. Here is my story: http://youtu.be/Q0cBZcc6FmI
Thank you Ms. Stowe for writing such a well written, articulate article on such an exaggerated, mis-represented topic. My son was also convicted at the age of 17 on sexual crimes for having a younger girlfriend, whom also lied about her age. She was 14 at the time. We had to wait for over 4 years to go to trial. She was pregnant with another boy's baby and the courts did not want her testifying while pregnant, "as it would sway the jury's opinion of her."Prosecutor's own words) My son was then 21 years old at the time of trial. He is serving a 10 year sentence and a LIFE time on the registry as a CHILD molester and sexually violent predator. He was no more than a child himself when he was arrested and taken from our home. My four year old daughter witnessed her brother handcuffed and put in to a police car. To this day, she will not sleep in her own bed. She hugs herself at night before going to sleep and says, "I love you Bubby." In her prayers she always asks GOD to bring him home. My heart breaks and tears well up every night, because I too feel her pain. My husband and I have filed bancruptsy and have lost all that we have worked so hard to build in this life. Our retirement, equity in our home, our cars and our family. We did this to free our son and would do it all over again to prove his innocence. Not only is he a victim of these laws, but so is our family. I only hope that we can clear his name before he is released so we don't have to face public ridicule and harrassment. I can only pray that lawmakers and enforcers will read this article and the comments. I pray that they will help change the laws to protect all of society and correct erronious laws. Thank you again for your thoughtful and well stated article. May GOD bless you!
This is one of the best articles I have read concerning the sex offender regostry. This is is an ill conceived system that has gone awry.We need every lawmaker to read this and I plan on printing it and sending it to them. This insanity must stop!! Kudos to Ms.Stow for stepping up and exposing the truth.
Thank you for a wonderful enlightening article. I have a grandson,19, currently serving 10 years for having sex with his underage girlfriend. He lost his college schlorship, his right to vote, his ability to get a job, etc., He was unable to attend either of his younger brother's high school graduation ceremonies. No one knows how it affects the families. My grandson was not allowed to attend Church with me while he was out on bail, even before he was sentenced. Since he and his brothers were in the foster case system because they lost their Mother at a very young age, this is just doubly hard for him and for them. His two brothers are now in college and only see him when we visit him in prison. Hardest to take are the little things he mentions like not hearing a song on the radio in 3 years. Takes courage to be on the side of common sense and this author has it in spades. CONGRATULATIONS. Belva
If it was truly about saving "one child" then we would have registries for gang violence, drunken drivers, domestic violence, drug dealers, child abusers, animal cruelty, gun violence, all threaten the safety of our children. If our children deserve the protection of our community to all those people who expose them to harm, then the registries would be expanded. Evidence is clear about the link between animal cruelty and child abuse ( http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/abuse_connection.php/ ) . Several Midwest states have instituted domestic violent registries ( www.courts.state.nh.us/district/protocols/dv/c17.pdf ) and the numbers are growing. ( http://www.domesticviolencedatabase.org/cat_detail.asp?catID=46 ) In 2009, 5700 children died from guns and 34,000 children were wounded. You would certainly agree that our children must be protected from guns. I have known 3 friends who lost children due to repeat drunken drivers who lived near school zones and were drunk when they drove home. In 2006, there were 1,794 child car fatalities, 306 (17%) occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes ) http://www.kiplawfirm.com/texas-law/dallas-drunk-driver-accidents-faqs.php ) What about establishing drug offender registries ( http://www.operationawareness.com/index_23.html ) and gang affiliation registries( http://www.gangstersout.com/registry.htm ). Its not about protecting children, its about political advantage. PaulI
I will definately be sending this to my state reps. What a great article! What ever happened to common sense? My husband has to register for LIFE. He was 17,"victim" was 16. His label is :sexual assault to a CHILD! He and our family live with this stigma. My children are also hurt, he can not pick them up from school or go on field trips. What makes me sick is the case of the 6 year old being prosecuted. That attorney needs to have his sanity evaluated.
A strikingly common sense article by Shelly Stow! I believe it was Thomas Paine who spoke on common sense. There comes to mind a famous quote by him “Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing”. Shelly Stow, you have brought a refreshing common sense look at this issue. Your thoughts and considerations on this issue are the pinnacle of common sense. You are thinking this through! My only wish is that our leaders could too.
Sorry, left out my appreciation for this article. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST AND CONCERN FOR THIS SUBJECT AND FOR PUBLISHING A MUCH NEEDED AND INFORMATIVE ARTICLE.
I'm printing this article and sending it to my representatives.
Awesome article! Thank you for such great information. I am an S.O. and have been on registry since 1998. I was 21 and he was 16. Not saying I am innocent but I'm not deserving of the humiliation Texas puts us through. He lied of his age and now I sit with all these restrictions. My daughter has to be raised by my father who 'hates' me. I havent seen her since 1998. She is treated great but I feel her mother,me, would have been better to raise her. Texas has no care for us. And truely none for our children. Thank GOD we have advocate groups to support us emotionally. Keep up the great work Shelly!
I Think ~ Politicians have carried this way to far, they are continuing to make New Laws concerning the SO. There has been 2 New Laws in the last week that have been either signed into law or proposed that I know of and probly more that I havent heard about yet. ENOUGH ALREADY!
My husband is required to register on the public sex offender registry FOR LIFE. His conviction is related to an isolated incident that happened over 20 years ago stemming from an accusation by his former stepdaughter. Lifetime registration for people who are not a threat to anyone is asinine! We have two children and live in a small town. I met my husband years into his recovery and we have a happy life together. His picture on the S.O. registry is always there - mostly a whisper but sometimes a scream. And, yes, family members are innocent victims of the crazy S.O. registry laws. It's time for the pendulum to swing back toward some semblance of sanity!
Awesome article! Thank you for such great information. I am an S.O. and have been on registry since 1998. I was 21 and he was 16. Not saying I am innocent but I'm not deserving of the humiliation Texas puts us through. He lied of his age and now I sit with all these restrictions. My daughter has to be raised by my father who 'hates' me. I havent seen her since 1998. She is treated great but I feel her mother,me, would have been better to raise her. Texas has no care for us. And truely none for our children. Thank GOD we have advocate groups to support us emotionally. Keep up the great work Shelly!
A very insightful, well written article. Your points are very well listed, adn the information is sound. Thank you for posting i and hopefully the proper people will read this!
It is indeed a travesty, a horrible miscarriage of justice, that children are put on the sex offender registry, usually for life, for nothing more than normal sexual exploration. It is even worse that the children of sex offenders are made to feel as though they have done something wrong. We really do need to do something about this. We need, at the very least, to take this out of the public view. It does no good and does much to harm innocent bystanders. Thank you for this article.
Very well written article. Here in Texas, policy makers often tout the ever-so-popular phrase "If it saves one child". This phrase has played a part in the passage of many policies which cost the taxpayers millions of dollar and do not provide the intended public safety benefit. In fact, Texas brags about 'protectiong the children' while, at the same time, they place children as young as ten on the public sex offender registry. Imagine that! I guess lawmakers choose to protect some of the children and throw the rest under the proverbial bus.
Ms. Stow, every legislator and voter in the country should read your article. Maybe enough would care and something would be done to correct the tragedy and travesty of sex offender laws.
Sorry; I hit the wrong thing. I am crying as I read this. I was one of those children whose dad was on the registry, and I can't even begin to tell the torment we suffered, and, as this is a positive article, I won't. All I could think about, other than my own experiences, was those two little boys in Washington State whose dad was murdered by some vigilante because he was on the registry. Now those children will grow up with no father. At least I had my dad with me, and he loved us so much, and the people who felt we all deserved to suffer and even die were never as damaging as having my father's and my mother's love were redeeming. Thank you for printing this article.
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