Sex Offender Banishment Laws
Just coincidentally, the day before news broke last week of the arrest of John Mark Karr in the Jonbenet Ramsey case, I was interviewed by Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi on sex offender banishment laws. We were discussing the wisdom and legality of Greenwood Village's new ordinance banning registered sex offenders from living just about anywhere in the city. His column, Sex-crime Solutions Elude Cities, appears in today's paper. While Harsanyi is no liberal and does not share my concern about how released sex offenders are expected to support themselves if they aren't allowed to live anywhere but Timbuktu, he and I agree on a few points:
There are reasons to believe banishment laws are feel-good exercises with little positive outcome.
...The present system of registering offenders does not distinguish between the dangerous and the formerly dangerous - bundling statutory rape cases with violent pedophiles. Without excusing anyone's criminal behavior, it's obvious such a system is unreliable and unfair.
I give Mr. Harsanyi a lot of credit for honestly trying to work through his feelings on this subject. It's a tough one. As he says, no parent, including him, wants their child around a sex offender. The fact that he even asks this question gives me hope:
If a criminal has paid his debt to society, what right do we have to tell him where to live? Has this sort of banishment law met the constitutional test? "
Comments
Submitted by steve shanbour (not verified) on Tue, 2009-12-15 17:37.
I am Steve Shanbour AND I AM NOT a registered sex offender. Go to the Oklahoma sex offender web site of department of Corrections. Please correct you description of me as a sex offender or I will tkae legal action
Submitted by Cricket (not verified) on Sat, 2009-05-16 17:02.
I have a serious ?... My fiance was lied to about a girls age & is now doing his time. My x husband and I have 3 kids together, I have been hearing that my kids will not be allowed around him, in our home, or even be able to go to our wedding? I am stuck in the mind frame now that I have to choose either my children or my fiance... Any help will be greatly appreciated .. Thanks
Submitted by Sal Rosenthal (not verified) on Sat, 2007-02-24 06:25.
The problem is with the US as a whole. If we spent as much time watching and learning what laws are being passed as we do watching TV this country would be a better place. Here is a for instance, a man who was caught peeing in public behind a bar at night is on the same registry as the same one who exposed him self to children in a park. And the registry dose not explain this. Also you have young teens having consensual sex only a year apart, and 90% of the time your over zealous DA's, just looking for a conviction are nailing the poor kid/kids. Now we all want our children protected but these measures that we either voted on or didn’t stand up and say no to are there by our choosing or lack of caring. Lest we continue to be so mindless as to hear just the beginning verbage of a law and say " well that sounds good, go for it" I say spend some time in having a hand in the country we live in. The less we do, the less we should bitch. In time at this present rate, you or some one you know will be an RSO. And by the way, I am an RSO, since the laws don’t tell you why, neither will I. But you would laugh, so be very careful in what you say to someone today, It could land another notch in the belt of an over zealous prosecutor and land you a spot on the registry.
Submitted by Emiliano (not verified) on Wed, 2006-12-27 16:11.
Americans finally realize the try-before-you-buy works just as well with sex as it does with commodities. Rather than marrying and then shacking up with hot sex coming after the nuptuals, Americans are increasingly putting out before putting on the wedding rings.Women are just as likely as men to get it on before matrimony.
I think this is just the sign of the times. I mean, we like to test things, try them out, before making a purchase. Why should sex and marriage be any different? The stigma associated with pre-marital sex is dead. Long live free love!
Submitted by steve shanbour (not verified) on Sun, 2006-09-24 12:36.
I was convictrted for sending a series of indedecent letters to my ex who was 33 and i have to register as a sex offender. i cannot live wi 2000 feet of a shcool, daycae, park and cannot be within 300 feet of those places no physical cntanct
Submitted by Sheena (not verified) on Sat, 2006-09-09 09:24.
I completely understand how you feel. There are a lot of bad people out there. It's a scary world. But, not all are as bad as the law has made them. My finace will be a registered sex offender. He is nothing like the system has made him out to be. He only made a mistake by being lied to about age. Because of the young girls today who dress act and want to be older, my fiance will not be able to e the father he should be. He won't be able to help me with our children. He won't be able to support our children in school, or any activities like a father/parent should be. All because of stupid young girls and the laws. He is classified with a large range of people who have done very bad things. And he is nothing like them. I believe the law isn't specific enough. And it's not ok to ruin lives the way the have and do. Try to be more optimistic. Not all people are bad. And some people can change. Still becareful of course.
Submitted by Dane (not verified) on Tue, 2006-09-05 06:17.
With all of the talk about Sex Offender Legislation I don't hear any discussions about requiring Rental Property Owners being required to letting new prospective renters with children know that they are renting to a registered sex offender in the same rental property,or next door.
My daughter living in Golden Colorado moved into a duplex with her 17 year old son and 13 year old daughter after finding out that a registered sex offender lived right next door in the same duplex. If my daughter had know that in advance, she would never have moved in.
How about some attention being paid to this scenario?
