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My Megan’s law in Tennessee is TCA code 40-39-217 (Community notification system). This statute is what legally allows the Tennessee bureau of investigation, a sheriff, or chief of police to notify the community when a sex offender is integrated into that particular jurisdiction. This is a state law that meets the political characteristics, as it’s a justifiable source of criminal law (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Specificity is present in the statute as it explains in great detail the requirements to implement the notifications of a sex offender (Bohm & Haley, 2011). For example, this law states very specifically that the legislative body of a county, municipality or metropolitan government can apply this notification system with a 2/3 vote.
Saunders states that Rape Shield laws are in place to protect victims of sexual assaults and rapes during a criminal trial. They prevent defendants to bring fourth evidence of the victim’s sexual history, orientation or past relationships (Saunders, 2014). Rape can be a very emotional and embarrassing ordeal; it’s very private and personal and can be hard to deal with for years to come. As with many victims of crime especially sexual offenses there are advantages and disadvantages to each new law that is implemented. This paper is designed to analyze the advantages and disadvantage of the Rape Shield Laws.
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.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act clearly defines the terms, communities have struggled in how to address those victims in relation to immunity. According to Dysart (2014), those with the perspective that children who are prostituted are delinquent will inadvertently re-victimize, which is not congruent with federal and state laws that have been put into place to offer protections. This mindset proves to be a barrier to the rehabilitation and progression of child victims. Due to the negative thought processes, the Attorney General has sought distribution to personnel best methods and practices in addressing victims of minor sex trafficking that is directly connected to grants for assistance in strengthening progressive programs (Dysart, 2014).
Rape Shield Laws Facing with much criticism from women’s group with the legal definitions of rape and how rape cases are being processed in the legal system, the government is forced to pass a Rape Law reform in the 1970s. Rape law reform urging courts to treat rape case the same as other crimes, rape law reforms modified traditional rape laws and ratified evidentiary reforms in every state in the United States. The most common and widespread changes occurred in three areas. First, rape was redefined so that there was no longer a single crime of rape.
The Author of, To Have and To Hold: Marital Rape Exemption and the Fourteenth Amendment, first explains the history of why in the earlier days marital rape was not considered rape. There were certain traditions that are concluded in the article, where women, traditionally gave up their “identity” and replaced it with their husbands. Having taken their husbands identity, they became property of their husbands. I understand the reasons why women had no voice in society many years ago because society was not developed to have women part of it, but for my inquiry paper I can use this information as an advantage. I will
In the United States approximately 397,122 children are living without permanent families in the foster care system. Many of these children grow out of the foster care system and are not prepared with the skills and abilities to face real world problems. The situations that most of these children get into, end chances they have at living a normal life. For most of these children they just want to be like the other kids they know from school, have a home to go home to in the evenings and enjoy spending time with family. This brings up the case Roe vs. Wade. The case against abortion resulted in the legalization of abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The decision in Roe vs. Wade was correct as it defends women’s rights. Women have the
In Tennessee, Megan’s Law is formally known as the "Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification and Tracking Act of 2004." Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) § 40-39-201(TN.Gov, 2014).
This paper will assess arguments that scholars, especially Catherine MacKinnon and Reva Siegal, offer in support of the view that the doctrine of equal protection is superior to the Supreme Court’s doctrine of privacy related liberty as the constitutional basis for abortion rights. The United States Supreme Court held in Roe v. Wade that the right of privacy also includes a woman’s right to get an abortion. Abortion policy implicates women’s privacy and equality (Seigel 1992). A constitutional analysis of abortion that draws on the language from the Fourteenth Amendment of “liberty” and “equal protection” would work well with the reality that many of the key concerns behind what personal privacy arguments are like. I think
Perception is not reality. The common assumption that the court system often treats female sex offenders differently than male sex offenders, the punishments of female sex offenders are more lenient than men who commit the same types of crimes, and the differences between male and female victims are all perception and not reality. Objective considerations to additional factors make the perceptions baseless. These additional factors solidify the factual differences between male and female sex offenders.
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.
Although they may be out of jail, they cannot be considered free. They are unable to make their own decisions: where they can work, where they can live, and how they can live their lives are all under control of the government. These people look the same as everyone else, but underneath the mask, lay a title they cannot shake. These people are sex offenders. A sex offender is defined as anyone who has committed a sexual crime. These crimes range from serious crimes, like rape, to minor offenses, such as urinating in public, or under age consensual sex. All sex offenders are placed on the registry and are required to follow a careful protocol. Registered sex offenders are paired with a Community Corrections Officer (CCO) who oversees and supervises the offender's actions. Many restrictions are placed on the offender, and although the laws can vary from state to state, there are some basic restrictions that apply to every offender. Some of these restrictions include: a sex offender cannot move without the permission and approval of their CCO, they can only live and work in certain areas, they cannot own any firearms, their personal computers are monitored and controlled by their CCO (many websites are blocked, including pornographic content), they are not allowed to take or consume any mind altering substances such as drugs or even alcohol, and they are required to get regular counseling (“Rules”). Currently there are 747,408 registered sex offenders in the United States. Some states such as Delaware and Oregon have a higher concentration of sex offenders (500 per 100,000) where as Pennsylvania has the lowest concentration of sex offenders (94 per 100,000) (“Sex Offender Statistics”). Due to the inefficiencies ...
The petition stated that a state law be passed informing the citizens of their community that such people live amongst them. This isn’t a rare request. In fact, there have been numerous attempts to bring this law into affect. This should have been done from the beginning, but some people actually think these sex offenders have rights. Well, the people of Hamilton Township didn’t agree.
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...
Martin, R. (1996). Pursuing Public Protection Through Mandatory Community Notification of Convicted Sex Offenders: The Trials and Tribulations of Megan's Law. The Boston Public Interest Law Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 29
The acts that are considered Tier III are: any new offense perpetrated by a Tier II sexual offender, most sexual assaults, sexual acts where force was used on the victim or the victim was under duress, sexual acts where the victim is rendered unconscious or impaired through the use of drugs or alcohol, sexual acts where the victim is under the age of 12, sexual acts where the victim is unable of consenting to the act due to mental impairment or disability, sexual acts where the victim is unable to physically decline the act, sexual acts where the victim communicates their unwillingness to participate in the sexual act, and any plans to commit or attempt to commit any of the above” ("What is a Registered Sex Offender?"). Once you become a sex offender your life is swept beneath you. Every single movement is watched and alerted, such as “if you are a local sex offender and you move into a new home in a new community the police notify the public and/or if they think the offender poses a risk of reoffending” (Dirr). The worst case scenario would be if you knew you lived next to a sex offender, but you did not know if they peed at your