Life Sentences and Sex Offenders

861 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Labelling theory and sex offenders

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).

Ohio state laws define a sex offender as one of three: a person who committed a sexually oriented crime, a habitual sexual offender, or a sexual predator. All sex offenders are required by law to notify the State Bureau of Criminal Investigations or local Sheriff Offices within three days of entering any county or changing their address. Sexual offenders are required to submit their fingerprints, photo, DNA, vehicle information, and criminal history. Certain individuals are eligible for a written notice about all sexual predators and habitual sexual offenders. Those individuals are local law enforcement patrons, all residents within 1000' of the offender's residence; the director of the public children services agency; the superintendent of each board of education of a school district; the director of each preschool program, and the administrator of each child day care center. These regulations, as harsh as they may seem, were creat...

... middle of paper ...

..." Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. .

"'America's Worst Pedophile'? - The Week." The Week Magazine: Political News and Cartoons, Current Events and Entertainment Online. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .

Hall, Gordon C. "Sexual Arousal as a Function of Physiological and Cognitive Variables in a Sexual Offender Population." Archives of Sexual Behavior 1991st ser. 20.4 (1991): 359-69. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

Marshall, W. L., and H. E. Barbaree. "An Outpatient Treatment Program for Child Molesters." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Article First 528.1 (2006): 203-14. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

"Ohio State Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification." Klaaskids Foundation for Children. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • Sex Offender Registry: Does Not Proctect our Children

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sex offender’s registry plays on parent’s emotional instincts to protect their children instead of really protect them. It gives parents a false sense of protection. The regis...

    Read More

  • Risk-Needs-Responsivitiy Model

    2728 Words  | 6 Pages

    Worling, J .(2012). The assessment and treatment of deviant sexual arousal with adolescents who have offended sexually. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 18(1), 36-63. doi: 10.1080/13552600.2011.630152

    Read More

  • Sex Offender Registration And Notification In Texas Case Study

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    The following research will display an overview of the process in Texas on how sex offenders are registered along with the notifications that are followed after registration. Texas, as many other states, has a procedure which requires sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agencies at the time of their discharge. In addition to registration, they must also comply with further probation regulations. Research has concluded that there are four basic phases of registration and notification. Beginning with offender notified, following the offender registration and community notified and ending with public notification

    Read More

  • Megan's Law - Protection More Important than Privacy

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Megan's Law

    2818 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment

    2292 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Female Sex Offenders: Perception is Not Reality

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vandiver, D. M., & Teske, R. (2006). Juvenile female and male sex offenders a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(2), 148-165.

    Read More

  • Sex Offender Recidivism

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sex offender legislation has been encouraged and written to protect the community and the people at large against recidivism and or to help with the reintegration of those released from prison. Nevertheless, a big question has occurred as to if the tough laws created help the community especially to prevent recidivism or make the situation even worse than it already is. Sex offenders are categorized into three levels for example in the case of the state of Massachusetts; in level one the person is not considered dangerous, and chances of him repeating a sexual offense are low thus his details are not made available to the public (Robbers, 2009). In level two chances of reoccurrence are average thus public have access to this level offenders through local police departments in level three risk of reoffense is high, and a substantial public safety interest is served to protect the public from such individuals.

    Read More

  • Background of Sex Offender Registries

    2351 Words  | 5 Pages

    There have been numerous laws enacted in response to sexual offender crime. Do these laws really work to help minimize re-offending, or do they give the public a false sense of security and cause recidivism? In several studies, researchers found no evidence of sexual offender registries being effective in increasing public safety. Some studies have found that requiring sex offenders to register with law enforcement may significantly reduce chances of recidivism. However, the research also found that making registry information available to the public may back fire and lead to higher levels of overall sex crimes Background A sex offender is a person, male or female who has been convicted of a sex crime.

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Sex Offenders

    312 Words  | 1 Pages

    Treatment approaches consist of cognitive behavioral and multisystemic therapies (Fanniff & Becker, 2006). Juveniles that are convicted of sex offenses may be placed on sex offender registry, occasionally a permanent status (Salerno, Stevenson, el al., 2010). It is unlike a sex offender to adhere to the appropriate sexual and social behaviors; thus the goal for adolescents is to understand the complex world to overcome the typical characteristics of a sex offender. This paper will consist the common characteristics of juvenile sex offenders and the treatment that are considered to be effective. Additionally, academic research is acquired that focus on offender registration and recidivism

    Read More

  • Sex Offender Rehabilitation

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, there is not enough research to prove that community notification prevents reoffending. Registers can only deter and trace already convicted sex offenders. However, research on reoffending patterns of sex offenders suggest that most sex offenders have not previously been convicted and released, so registration cannot protect the community from the majority of sex offenders. A Department of Justice study in the United States suggested that sex-offenders have a recidivism rate of 3-5% within the first three years after release. A New Zealand Department of Corrections study in 2008 revealed that over a 15-year period, 73% of sex offenders had not been charged or convicted for further sexual offending. International studies suggest that sex offender recidivate less than drug, property and burglary offenders. Ideas perpetuated in the media argue that sex offenders are different, they cannot be cured and they have high recidivism rates, however these conclusions are based on sensationalised media reporting on high profile attacks. One of the main purposes of a sex offender register is to reduce recidivism, however these studies and more show that sex offender recidivism is not as high a rate as it is perceived to

    Read More

  • Sex Offender Registry Essay

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    That’s why people argue that the sex offender registry does more harm than good. They paint a picture of these people that’s sometimes not accurate. When people see an offenders name on the list automatically they change the way they view you as a person. For example, Ed Gordon was a man convicted of a sex crime because he was 30 years old dating a young teen that was half his age. He was charged with statutory rape.

    Read More

  • Rehabilitation of Sex Offenders

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several identifiable psychological factors that increase the likelihood an individual will demonstrate deviant sexual behavior. One of the most important contributing factors is physical or sexual abuse endured as a child. According to Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012), sex offenders are twice as likely to report being sexually, emotionally, or physically abused as a child in comparison to other offenders. There are also other factors besides abuse that must be taken into consideration. A recent study on female sex offenders by Roe-Sepowitz and Krysik (2008) states, “the data reveal that many of the 118 female juvenile sex offenders came from chaotic and disorganized families and had poor parental supervision and serious school and mental health problems”. As Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012) discuss further, there are also personality traits that sex offenders are likely to possess, which makes it possible for psychologists to distinguish general characteristics of sex offenders. These personality traits can be identified using the Five Factor Model, which scales an individual’s level of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

    Read More

  • Canada Should Focus More on Rehabilitation and Less on Retribution

    3232 Words  | 7 Pages

    Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.

    Read More

  • Recidivism of Sex Offenders

    2497 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Life Sentences and Sex Offenders

Open Document