Sex Offenders

Sex Offenders

There is no doubt about it that the presence of sex offenders causes parents nightmares . The thought of a sex offender living near your precious children can strife fear in the heart of any parent . As such it is the right of the community to know if a sex offender is living within the neighborhood . Households should be given this information so that families can act with full awareness of the situation , and from there be able to make informed choices that are important to the well-being of their loved

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Louis Jones once wrote in his book that among all ex-offenders , the group that evokes the most fear and loathing are the group of pedophiles , child abusers and sex offenders . In fact , the negative reaction is so strong , that many people are more willing to have a murder living in the community than a pedophile (Jones 33

This collective outrage all across the country has resulted in the passing and amendment of laws that affected the situation of ex-offenders , after they have served their time and have been released from incarceration . This change in the post-release status of sex offenders and those guilty of crimes against children has brought some issues on human rights

While some states have mandated sex offender notification , it did not gain wide acceptance until after 1994 , when Megan Kanka , a seven-year old girl was found dead in a park near her home . Investigation revealed that Megan was raped before she was killed , and the man arrested had been living next-door to Megan 's home . Later it was found out the man had two prior convictions of child molestation . No one in the community knew of the man 's past . Megan 's family and the public blamed this lack of notification for Megan 's violent death (Shoop 48 ) On hindsight , had they known , Megan may still be alive today

Megan 's Law was formally signed in 1996 by President Clinton . This law mandates that the community be notified if an ex-offender is living in the vicinity . Aside from sex offender notification , the law also requires that all convicted and released child abusers be registered in a central data base . While the state has the freedom to design the general rules of the notification system , the basic requirement is that a system of disclosure must be in place and properly enforced

This law has some human rights activists up in arms in defense of the sex offenders . Some may contend that this law creates a stigma that by labeling them , society does not want to give them a chance to change This argument does not intend to make light of their valid claims and indeed it deserves careful study . However , this contends that unless a better system is designed , notification is better than not having notification at all

Sex offender notification makes a community more vigilant . The presence of an ex-offender galvanizes the neighborhood and gives them a sense of collective purpose . This...