Sex Offender Reformation

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A. Bryan English 111 02 December 2011 Reformation of Sex Offender Registries Child molesters, sex offenders, and rapists are seen to be at the bottom of the invisible, but ever so present, human food chain. At this lowest point individuals convicted of such crimes endure violence, ostracism and isolation. Throughout the United States, there are strict registration laws that make it almost impossible for a recovering offender to find a better path of life. Yes, at one point the many individuals convicted acted upon aggressive, fantasy like impulses, but not every sex offender desires to act on those impulses a second time. In many states, registration covers everyone convicted of a sexual crime. These registries are bad because they impose the same punishment on a wide range of sexual offenders, from people stopping to urinate, to rapists...even kids exchanging nude photos on their phones find a spot on these lists, FOR LIFE. Such a blanket punishment is decidedly unfair, because it punishes the lightest offenders as strictly as the highest ones. Since punishment should be fair (i.e. it should fit the crime), these registries should be discontinued. The rapists might deserve a lifetime of social censure, but must the person who peed in a public place also undergo a similar fate? Sex offender now refers to a class of people virtually without rights and whom it is difficult to defend as citizens deserving respect. I believe that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and make our society less compatible with parents who feel their children are in danger with recovering offenders. One could argue that sex offender registries help parents see if there are any registered sex offenders that live near them. They let concerned individuals know if there is anybody in the area who they need to watch out for. In an article
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