Megan`s Law

A Look at Megan 's Law

Issues of crime and punishment are often at the center of controversy . In part , this is certainly because often , the issues raised in matters of crime and punishment do not have easy answers and sometimes , there may not be any solution at all . Certainly , each time a legal matter arises , even with similar circumstances , the resolution to such matters can be complex and can differ with each and every case . We can gain some understanding as to the difficulty in deciding how to view and treat

such matters by considering the case of Megan 's Law

On July 29 , 1994 Jesse Timmendequas , already a convicted sex offender at the time , is believed to have used a puppy to lure Megan Kanka , the 7-year-old daughter of his neighbors , into his home in Hamilton Township , Mercer County , NJ and brutally raped and murdered her (Flanagan , 2004 Vachss , 1994 . Once inside , Timmendequas is said to have slammed Megan 's head into a dresser and suffocated her with a plastic bag before strangling her to death with a belt . Subsequently he moved and raped Megan 's dead body again before dumping the body in a nearby park in West Windsor , NJ

Timmendequas was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for his crime . After his conviction , New Jersey passed a law that has come to be known as Megan 's law . The law was designed to protect a community when dangerous sex offenders move into the community . Some states require notification only for certain types of sexual assaults while other states extended the requirement to individuals convicted of sodomy or consensual sodomy , an act that was illegal in some states even between consenting adults before the U .S . Supreme Court declared such laws unconstitutional in June 2003

Timmendequas ' actions and the subsequent legal proceedings raise questions as to just how such a situation , or any similar serious legal situation should be handled . Was he treated fairly ? Did the Kanka family receive proper legal restitution for the crime ? How should such cases be handled ? We want to use the Megan Kanka /Jesse Timmendequas case to ask four basic questions and seek the answers to similar questions . First , what are the goals of punishment ? Is it actually the "punishment " of the individual who committed the crime , protection of the community , both , neither or more ? Second , in situations of serious crimes of this nature , should offenders be subjected to a lifetime of repayment for their crimes after serving their allotted term of imprisonment ? Third , when considering punishment , are the rights of the victim , the community or the offender more important are all the rights equally important ? Finally , what goal (s ) was (were ) the Criminal Justice System attempting to achieve by instituting Megan 's law

Megan 's Law has been the focus of considerable controversy and heated debate . After Megan 's rape and murder , there was considerable controversy regarding the question of whether the Kanka family may indeed have known that a...