Rapists in Arkansas Should Receive Harsher Punishment
Many families of rapists or sexual offenders believe they are punished to harshly because they are never given the chance to attend services like counseling to better themselves before being punished as a major criminal. Many families of rape victims and other citizens believe a rapist goes nearly free compared to what the victim goes through, and believe it is unfair. Although it is true that offenders don’t get the chance to better themselves before being convicted as a hard felon, they should be convicted even harsher and differently than they already are in Arkansas because: they cause their victims to go through a lifetime full of pain, worry, and stress; they currently go to jail or prison for the minimal time sentenced, the payment they make to the city or government doesn’t contribute to helping the victim in any way, and sometimes no action is taken at all against rapists, or they are put on a sex offenders list; there are many unsupervised sex offenders, several are reconvicted, and Arkansas has the 5th highest rate of sex offenders in the nation.
Each criminal of sexual offence is sentenced based on the nature of the offence. As defined by the Police Department University of Central Arkansas, rape is engaging in sexual intercourse or deviant sexual activity with another person by forcible compulsion, of someone who is incapable of consent because he/she is physically helpless, or who is less than fourteen years old (the assailant must be two years older than the victim for this to apply). According to the US Legal website, Sexual Assault of the 1st Degree is engaging in sexual actions with another person by force, or the threat of force, without the consent of the o...
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...to ensure the safety of citizens and victims.
Works Cited
APRI. 2013. State Rape Statute. Web. http://www.arte-sana.com/articles/rape_statutes.pdf. 25 Nov 2013.
Arkansas Statutory Reference to Sexual Assault. 2013. Web. http://www.acasa.us/pdfs/Sexual-assault-laws.pdf. 25 Nov 2013.
Definitions.uslegal.com. 2013. Untitled. Web. http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/sexual-offence/. 25 Nov 2013.
Naturistaction.org. 2013. Arkansas Laws. Web. http://naturistaction.org/StatesFrames/State_Laws_Frames/Arkansas_Laws/body_arkansas_laws.html. 25 Nov 2013.
Statisticbrain.com. 2013. Sex Offender Statistics | Statistic Brain. Web. http://www.statisticbrain.com/sex-offender-statistics/ . 26 Nov 2013.
The PEW Charitable Trusts. 2013. Time Served- the High Cost, Low Return of Loner Prison Terms. Web. http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/docs/Report-Prison_Time_Served.pdf. 25 Nov 2013.
In 1994, twice-convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas raped and murdered Megan Kanka, a seven-year old girl who lived across the street. In reaction to this emotionally-charged crime, Megan's home state of New Jersey ratified a community notification bill - dubbed "Megan's Law" - just three months later. This fall, a national version of the law went into effect, mandating that all fifty states notify citizens in writing of the presence of convicted sex offenders within their communities. Certainly, society has a responsibility to protect children from sex offenders, and many feel that Megan's Law is the best course of action. However, others feel that it is an unwarranted intrusion into the rights to privacy of individuals who have already paid their debts to society.
In the event that a prisoner (particularly a sex offender) does complete rehabilitation, he carries with him a stigma upon reentering society. People often fear living near a prior drug addict or convicted murderer and the sensational media hype surrounding released felons can ruin a newly released convict’s life before it beings. What with resident notifications, media scare tactics and general concern for safety, a sex offender’s ability to readapt into society is severely hindered (554). This warrants life-skills rehabilitation applied to him useless, as he will be unable to even attempt to make the right decision regarding further crime opportunities.
In order to mediate everyone’s views I believe the current situation should be slightly altered. The first thing that should change is the punishment facing murderers and rapists. Currently, 1st and second degree murder charges are have a minimum sentence for life in prison if charged. But for sexual assault, it ranges from 6 months to a max 25 years in imprisonment. Sexual assault, especially aggravated sexual assault deserves to be punished with harsher sentences. There should be fines as well as to compensate the victim and pay for reparation charges. Victims will usually face severe trauma and will need to have counseling done in order to once again feel comfortable and safe. As people believe that the death penalty is most needed for crimes such as murder and rape, there should be harsher environments in where they go to jail. Now, I not advocating abuse or cruel and unusual punishment but a system where these types of criminals will be further punished in order to appease the public, deter future criminals and help society improve could be used effectively. This system would be heavily focused towards paying back society in terms of jobs and labour that could be performed by inmates in exchange for improved
When it comes to the charges different states have different way of charging the sex offender. They can serve a short or longer sentence and still end up getting probation, however; they would have to register on the sex offender list. Back in 2008 South Carolina has passed a new law that sex offenders/ pedphiles have to be 100 ft from schools, daycares, neighborhoods. play grounds and etc. In this article call trial theory mentions “ In South Carolina legislation also change the first offense, failure to report to register, making it a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days, where it had previously carried a mandatory 90 days in jail “(Trail Theory). Now if the sex offenders do not register they would end up getting a second offense which will give them a year in jail. While the third offense is up to 3 to 5 years if they didn't register. If the person is being convicted than that's when they serve some years. The article Steiner has written goes off and states that “first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor will serve between a minor who is 10 or younger, and a defendant of any age. This offense incurs up to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Then when it comes to the 2nd charge Steiner writes “Second degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor occurs when there is sexual penetration between a minor who is 11, 12, or 13, and a defendant of any age. It also includes penetration
There is much debate as to whether a sex offender should be released into the public, this debate stems from the idea that a sex offender cannot be treated and that they are a danger to the public as they are ‘purely evil’ (Burke, 2005), however there is much evidence that sex offenders can be treated and re-introduced into society as a productive member. Sex offender is a general term used to refer to any person who has been convicted of crimes involving sex, from rape and molestation to exhibitionism and pornography distribution. There are many theories which try to explain why people are sexual offenders, these theories along with treatments for sex offenders will be looked at to help explain why people sexually offend and to help evaluate whether sex offenders should be released.
In the United States, as a condition of parole, sex offenders are typically required to register with law enforcement officials when released from prison. These officials notify the public of the offender’s release back into society and provide them with information such as the offenders address, and other personal information. Research indicates the notification system can have an adverse effect on the offender’s life, casting doubt on what the laws intended to protect the public. This paper will explore the background of sex offender registries, the relationship between the sex offender notifications and registration laws, and higher rates of recidivism in the United States. Introduction Sex offender legislation has become a controversial topic in the recent years.
Legally, one might wonder how sexual assault is defined. According to Massachusetts State law, there are two major categories of sexual assault against adults. One of these is rape, and the other is indecent assault and battery. Rape is defined as “sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a person and compels such person to submit by force and against his/her will, or compels such person to submit by threat of bodily injury.” Rape and attempted rape are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
In today’s society, juveniles that commit a sexual assault have become the subject of society. It’s become a problem in the United States due to the rise of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The general public attitude towards sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994). The public reactions in the past years have shaped policy on legal approaches to managing sexual offenses. The policies have included severe sentencing laws, sex offender registry, and civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). This is despite recidivism data suggesting that a relatively small group of juvenile offenders commit repeat sexual assaults after a response to their sexual offending (Righthand &Welch, 2004).
Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.
Some people might say that if a sex offender does their time in jail that is enough punishment. Others may disagree and say that more action needs to be taken because of stories like the little girl Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed by a sex offender. A sex offender who her parents were unaware of because there was no rule or law that stated anyone else needed to know. Soon after this incident happened, some states passed laws that required local communities to be notified when a convicted sexual offender moved to a specific area. These laws are different in every state. In some, the state requires that convicted sex offenders put up signs in the windows of their homes, so that the neighbors can be aware that a crime has been committed by that person. Some offenders are even required to send postcards to their neighbors, informing them of their crime. These specific states would like the neighbors to be aware of who is living near them. Almost as a “beware” so that they can take action by telling their children to stay away from the sex offenders. The internet also provides extremely convenient websites that allow users to locate addresses and photographs of the offender. The websites also include reasons why the offender was convicted. One of the reasons some say that the laws are too strict on sex offenders is because of people like the woman that actually lived with a sex offender. She was upset because she said he had already served his time and it was unfair to tell everyone in their neighborhood that he had committed that crime. Some of these offenders may constitute an unfair punishment, especially if they are the low-risk, one time offenders who have possibly learned their lesson the first time. It may be unfair becaus...
Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a
Even more striking is the effect on the actual victims of the crimes, like Levene's niece. Despite the time that passed, she could not help but cry when questioned about Levene's abuse. Child sexual abuse victims can expect a lifetime of problems arising from the trauma they faced. It can affect their personal relationships, sense of trust and self-worth, and even their mental health in a variety of ways. What good is it for them if their abusers serve such a small fraction of time for the acts that had such long-lasting
Rape is one of the most intimate crimes in the world. According to nolo.com legal encyclopedia rape in nonconsensual sexual intercourse that is forced upon someone that is not wanted. Statutory rape is when a person disregards the under 18 consent law and forcefully has sex with them. According to ular.edu there are many different types of rape such as anger, power, sadistic, stranger, acquaintance, and martial rapes. These different groups show that rape can happen to anyone at any time.
My cousin Nicole Reiser Bennett was raped, murdered and dumped on the side of a road June of 2012. She had three daughters, Lauren 16, Emily 12, and Alli 6 years old now. Losing a mother at such a young age. Their mother was taken from them and little Alli was not even one and barely got to know her mother. The DNA was all found on her and the killer was found. The killer Matthew Burton, pleaded guilty and only got 30 years in prison. This case was just closed five years after she had been killed Wednesday, April 5th, 2017.This disgusts the family, justice has not been served. My family has not seen any remorse in this man. He will only be in his late 50s when he can walk free. He will be on the sex offender list, more than that needs to be done. A murder will be free and could go back out and take another person's life. A person with a family, a spouse, siblings, cousins. We all miss out on getting to know that person, my cousins have to live every day without their mother. Due to Delaware's law, there is no death row or no capital
Second time offenders of sex crimes such as rape should be castrated and emasculated slowly with a dull, rusty knife. The criminal should be revived every time he passes out from pain. This heinous crime deserves this much at the very least. After all, this person has violated another person and taken something away, a trust that can never be fully restored. The victims of these crimes never fully trust again.