Sex is every where these days. Whether it’s a sexual act, phrase, or action, sex has consumed most of our society. Consequentially it has begun to affect many younger children negatively. Whether there is a sexual act on TV, in video games, or within the media, it’s broadcast-ed for pretty much anyone to see anywhere. In most cases, it ends up being seen by the wrong audiences. These images are being seen by younger and younger generations of children; what may not be seen as harmful, but are indeed leading to harmful acts by curious minds. As a result there has been a highly increasing rate of teenagers and younger children being accused and prosecuted for many various sexual offenses. The question in class was brought up that if a child, of course under the age of eighteen, were to commit a crime such as that of sexual molestation on another child, or rape should they be help accountable for their actions and be prosecuted as an adult? In many opinions, I would believe that most of the class agreed that yes, some type of punish should be enforced and the child held accountable for these sexual acts. Although I believe that many factors should be brought into the case before as a society we deem it necessary to through an accused child to the “wolves”, so to say. One factor is the age of the offender. I believe that age has a huge role in whether or not a child should be prosecuted as an adult or as a juvenile. Typically the offender is of a teenage, age, and I believe that as you enter teenage years you have a pretty good understanding of what is right and wrong. Whether or not, their parents raised them to know the difference from right and wrong, they should still be influenced by their peers and educators within the edu... ... middle of paper ... ...mits the crime of raping or molesting a child should be castrated. This suggestion seems drastic and ridiculous. Mostly unnecessary, when the proper help and guidance can do wonders on young minds. Physical alteration should never be an option for crimes commit by children or adults. Sex crimes, such as molestation and rape, unfortunately will always be apart of our society, but labeling and charging kids at an early age is not a solution. Holding minors responsible for adult sex crime standards is both unfair and unhelpful for both victim and offender. Judging cases on a case to case bases and considering all possible possibilities on different way to help troubled children who commit these crimes is a better solution in my opinion. For all of the reasons listed above, I believe that labeling minors as sex offenders and charging them as an adult is a bad idea.
The United States of America has always supported freedom and privacy for its citizens. More importantly, the United States values the safety of its citizens at a much higher level. Every year more laws are implemented in an attempt to deter general or specific criminal behaviors or prevent recidivism among those who have already committed crimes. One of the most heinous crimes that still occurs very often in the United States is sex offenses against children. Currently, there are over 700,000 registered sex offenders and 265,000 sex offenders who are under correctional supervision. It is estimated that approximately 3% of the offenders who are currently incarcerated will likely commit another sex-related crime upon release (Park & Lee, 2013, p. 26). There are several laws that have been in place regarding sex offenses for decades, including Megan’s Law which was enacted in 1996.
It is typically thought that sex offenders are the type of individual that needs to be tried in our courts and then sentenced because there is really no hope for an individual that harms the most innocent of our society. But there just may be an exception to this way of thinking. Juveniles who at one point themselves may have been victims, and as they have grown into adolescence not knowing why they are thinking the way they are, turn around and abuse others. Then what happens is that these adolescents once found out, are then tried in our courts as adults because in the mind of the court they are committing an adult crime. But there are alternatives for these juveniles that are being placed in our court system. Because at this stage in their development they are more receptive to treatment options and there are treatments available with valid research to substantiate them. Our judicial system just needs to recognize these options in order to try to lessen the amount of trauma inflicted on these already potentially traumatized individuals.
A 40-year-old serial rapist, a 12 year old young boy having consensual sex with his girlfriend. What do both of these individuals have in common? They can both be subjected under the Canadian sex offenders registry. However, when a rapist suddenly slides off the map and commits more crimes under the radar, one begins to question the effectiveness of the registry, and what can be done to develop it’s quality and accuracy. Another question which seems to badger Canadian society today is that relating to whether a minor should be a registrant at all, no matter what their crime, Canada has a strong belief in rehabilitation. Rehabilitate, and develop, both of the utmost substance when observing the ways in which a sex offender registry are and can be beneficial to society, whilst respecting the criminal code.
Davis, Kent F., Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Whom? Advocating the Imposition of Penile Plethysmography and Chemical Castration as Conditions of Supervised Release for Habitual Child Sex Offenders (April 18, 2012). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2041769 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2041769
The government made the registry with good intentions but it has backfired and only created more victims and more discrimination overall, and that is why it should be abolished. The citizens that are on the sex offender registry have already been punished for their crimes and have dealt with the consequences of their actions, there is no reason that they should continue to be punished for the rest of their lives.
If children are too young to vote, drink alcohol, drive, and go watch rated R movies, why should they be tried as adults? It has always been an issue if whether an adolescent, under the age of eighteen, convicted of violent crimes should be tried as an adult or not. There are children as young as eleven years old that are being sent to adult prisons (Krikorian 2003). In such cases the jury does not take into consideration the fact that they are too young to stand trial, their brains are not fully developed, and that they are capable of rehabilitating.
Multiple surveys have proven that 65% of the most ridiculous mistakes made by an adult were made in their teenage years. Adolescents are known to make mistakes, but when punished correctly, instead of repeating, they learn. Most people believe the harsher the punishment the less likely a child will act out again, but through research and analysis of the brain this was proven to not be true. When a teenager goes as far as committing a crime, judgement should still be based on the fact that he or she is still a minor. As a juvenile, doing something wrong , no matter the severity, should be resulted in a punishment that requires them to learn from their mistakes. Charging them as an adult does not have the same effect as sending away an adult to do jail time.
Human Rights Watch, a world-class independent organization, state on their site: “Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world” (Human Rights Watch). In 2007, they published No Easy Answer, which deals with how sex offenders are affected by being registered as sex offenders. They claim that it is injustice to “label” a person for their entire life for a bad decision they made as a child. I could not agree more, but what the good people at Humans Rights Watch are forgetting is that those are not the only people on the sex offenders’ registry; there are those with unspeakable crimes. Individuals like Dr. Earl Bradley, a pediatrician who sexually abused more than one hundred victims whose ages ranged between six months and thirteen years! (The Week Magazine).
I believe child molestation is one of the worst crimes to commit. The crime effects children mentally and physically. Child molesters should be punished for their crimes. However, I also believed they should be treated and educated. According to the Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute, child molesters may have mental problems or personality disorders. In these cases, the person who committed the crime should serve their sentence while being treated. After the court given sentence is served, the caseworkers should decide if the child molester is ready to re-enter the community. If the caseworker approves the release, then they should be released back into society with restrictions. If the caseworker believes that the person has not changed, then the child molester should stay in a correctional
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
"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time." -- David Grusin and Morgan Ames Much controversy exists on the question of whether a juvenile criminal should be punished to the same extent as an adult. Those who commit capital crimes, including adolescents, should be penalized according to the law. Age should not be a factor in the case of serious crimes.
It doesn’t seem to matter if the crime was the first and only time or if it was continuous. What usually matters is the fact that a child was involved and harmed in the process. According to O’ Grady, Ron (2001), “Even hardened criminals accept an unwritten code of relativity by which some crimes are more acceptable than others” (p.123). What could a child possible do to deserve the nature of the crime against them and how much of a coward the offender must be to truly believe it is fine to have sexual intercourse with a child is disgusting. Many people go through extra measures to report people that are sex offenders in their area or try their best to let it be known that they are not welcomes. Even in the prison system, the most hardened criminals will frown upon a child molester. O’Grady states, “Once in prison, the child abuser is the most despised of all and is often persecuted to the point where he has to be kept in solitary confinement for his own protection” (p.123). I personally understand why these criminals need to be away from general population for their safety; however I do not agree with that motion. The offenders should be just as scared and as tortured as their victims. Depending on the crime that was committed and how many victims were harmed and the totality of the circumstances, it should be required they be released in the general
... on the best interest of that child and put them into rehabilitation programs. Should all juvenile crimes be handled alike? That is, should the criminal's age be considered in certain crimes such as shoplifting compared to rape. Will publicizing juvenile crime deter other juveniles from committing crimes?
Bills have been across many senators desks since 2006 and some have been voted down (Dudley, 2008). Monitoring is set up to watch activity during school hours (Dudley, 2008). When a sex offender is caught, he or she is imprisoned and can have psychotherapy and seek spiritual healing (Dudley, 2008). However, some people believe that child molesters should be executed (Dudley, 2008). Of course there is psychotherapy for the victim or victims as well. If the victims were abused by their parents or guardian, the victim may be placed into another home where it is safe (Dudley,
The glamorous side of sex is everywhere; music, tv shows, movies and social media. To a mature adult, it is easy to ignore the sexual messages in those outlets. However, to a teenager, going through mental and physical changes and peer pressure, it is extremely easy to fall for what is shown to “cool.” Everyone has fallen for half truths to be cool in their teenage life. It just so happens that teen pregnancies and STDs are not one of those things that one can simply walk away from. Babies and STDs leave a lasting effect on everyone involved. The National Conference of State Legislatures states: