Plan gains to publicly identify accused
An Ohio legislative panel yesterday rubber-stamped an unprecedented process that would allow sex offenders to be publicly identified and tracked even if they’ve never been charged with a crime.
No one in attendance voiced opposition to rules submitted by Attorney General Jim Petro’s office to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, consisting of members of the Ohio House and Senate.
The committee’s decision not to interfere with the rules puts Ohio in a position to become the first state to test a “civil registry.”
Ah, here’s the real reason!
The concept was offered by Roman Catholic bishops as an alternative to opening a one-time window for the filing of civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse that occurred as long as 35 years ago.
There is nothing else to say but BS!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of sex offenders, but what happened to due process?!?!? This VERY right slanted state (Ohio) of which I am a resident is just going too far. You can’t call someone a sex offender regardless of fact, then ruin their lives for six years.
I can see the jaded single mother/ex-girlfriend getting peeved at the boyfriend who slept with her best friend causing some major issues with this one.
*Sigh*
I think its time to move.
This would never withstand a court challenge.
As a greater problem though, is the view society has taken of sex crimes. Because they are so detestable, no one wants to defend them. Yet, there is only a small minority of sex offenders that are untreatable. The rest are tagged for life with something totally undeserved.
Let’s see, you become a sex offender if you get caught urinating in public. It doesn’t matter how far away the nearest washroom is or how badly you needed to go,…
If you are 17 and your girlfriend 15. If the parents don’t like you,…
You meet a woman in a bar and go to her house later. When she wakes up she discovers you aren’t really as good looking as last night,…
You take some pictures of your kid in the tub,…
As a joke, you bare your butt out a car window,…
add your own idea to this list, there is probably someone sitting on a registry for having done the same thing.
I don’t think this is a good idea because of the potential for abuses that 1 and 2 mentioned. I think that due process has to take place before a person is placed on the list. I also agree that this probably would not pass a legal challenge.
This is a joke right?
That is REALLY lame. I guess if it saves the Roman Catholic Church a few hundred million paying for their pedophile preists’ actions, that’s good enough for Ohio, huh?
They have something similar (not “innocent until proven guilty”) in St. Paul MN; they post photos of men and women ARRESTED for (but not convicted of) prostitution related crimes http://tinyurl.com/18ro
I suppose most of the people will be found guilty as charged, but still. So much for civil rights in America.
#5 arrest reports are a matter of public record. You have to petition a judge to have them sealed and have gag orders issued to keep them private until trial. This is rarely done, and then usually to protect a party other than the accused.
We already have the means of dealing with law breakers. “Lists” are means of targeting people for pursecution by the community. It won’t stop with sex offenders. Before long there will be a nationwide list for anyone convicted of a felon. Then they’ll add anyone convicted of drunk driving. Then vandals and drug users.
“They” will always have some rational, civic-minded reason for adding to the list. And, of course, employers will dutifully scan the list just to make sure none of these “undesirables” are on the payroll.
#7, Smith, you bring up a very good point.
About a month ago a woman was telling me about a job her husband lost because of a felony conviction almost 20 years ago. It turned out he knew about a crime and didn’t say anything and was convicted as an accessory at 19 yrs old. He has led a good life since but was turned down for a driving job because he might have to cross the border into Canada and couldn’t be bonded with a felony record.
The stupid part is this man supports a family. He pays his taxes. He contributes to society. He coaches softball. He even donates his farm tractor to pull a float in our fall parade.
Yet he can’t vote. He can never go deer hunting. The choice of professions is limited. He can’t serve on a jury. He can never serve as a Police Officer. He can never join the military.
There comes a time when we, as a society, must realize that we have to forgive and help one get on with life. It cost society a lot more to keep someone locked up in a prison then to have them contributing to society.
Being “turned down for a driving job” is not the same as losing a job.
By stating he can’t vote you’ve limited the states in which he lives to be very few. Florida? There is a progam in Florida to bond ex-felons.
There is also a federal program.
http://www.bonds4jobs.com/
Ohio BTW, the topic of this story, is nearly the most generous state in the nation when it coms to felons and civil rights. Rights are suspended only while the felon is under sentence, then immediately restored.
#6 – Arrest records are a matter of public record, but putting full color photographs of the alleged johns and hookers up on a web site, with their age, height, weight, addresses, make and model of car, and license plate numbers, seems to be displaying a little more enthusiasm for making this information available to the public than the crime warrants.
I blame this all on Bush. Or maybe Rush Limbaugh. Anyway I blame all the conservatives who have so little faith in and respect for our constitution that they believe the only way to catch terrorists or lock-up pedophiles is to do it outside the law.
First we get fascists in the White House and Pentagon and now the Roman Catholic Church is influencing the passing of laws.
Are we going back in time? Sounds like Europe in the early 20th and 2nd centuries.
May I take this opportunity to nominate Ted Kennedy for listing.
I also wish to thank President Bush, The Holy See, and Don Rumsfeld for this opportunity. And I wish to thank all the little people who had a hand in it.
H.Fusion: You make many good points but this astounds me: You cant VOTE if you were convicted of a crime twenty years ago?? Surely, if you pay your debt to society then the idea is that you are reformed to start a fresh and carry on as a normal civilian. What kind of “democratic” country is that? That’s screwed up. Ok, if you’re convicted you’re statistically likely to again, but TWENTY YEARS??
Again, as much as *actual* kiddie fiddlers need to be castrated, until convicted you could be anybody at the end of this 21st centuary male witchhunt.
#15, Richard, After reading C0D3R comments, I did some checking. It appears that this man may get back some of his rights. He must, however make an application to the Parole Board. The application process is difficult and requires a lawyer to process. Between the application fees and lawyer’s fees, this is an expensive deal for most people. That does not expunge his record though and he would still not have gotten the job and would be prohibited from many professions and endeavors.
Consider for a moment that if news organizations where prohibited from reporting anything about any accused or victim until after guilt had been demonstrated in a court of law.
That is, only a prosecutor would be shielded from slander and libel – and only then within the courtroom. The police and press would be accountable for any public report, which proved to be inaccurate, or to the detriment of an accused or a victim. All that is needed is a change in civil law. Fear of civil liability would be enough to keep false accusations in line.
News organizations could report on the occurrence of the crime, enlist the public in recovering facts and solution of crimes, but report on the guilt of an individual only after a trail had completed. The press could not name an accused – just as in some circumstances they cannot name a victim today.
It would be the end of media circuses like the OJ trial, rumors of crimes in North Carolina, or blow by blow accounts of recovering wackos from Thailand. Indeed, since the press could also report on which crimes have NOT been taken to trail, pressure on the state to solve a crime would be increased – rather than pressure to come up with sound-bytes for the evening news – such that it may appear that prosecutors had done their job.
The tabloids would all be out of business. Maybe, just maybe we might become a less litigatious society too.
2.
continued…
Walking out of the shower, NOT knowing the wife invited the neibhor over, and SHE dont like that sort of thing.
Neihbor is peeping tom(this is true) comes over to VIDEO you and wife, and finds you in INTERESTING position, takes film to cops…You are arrested and sent thru the courts and Jail…NOt the peeping tom.
Kids walk into the bed room and you and wife are HAVING FUN, this gets spread around school, and teacher reports you(true).
Just the mention of molestation, is reason to RUN like hell.
Im sorry, but I think about ALL the kids should spend about 3 years on a working farm. WOW look at that HORSE. WOW the puppy died that I LIKED, YOU DO WHAT to that cow??? Whats that 4 foot long GLOVE for, you STICK IT WHERE??? on the COW??? Ewwww!!!! you lost your watch in the Manure pile?? GO GET IT… babies are BORN HOW??? OUCH??? Poor cow…
When in HELL are these people going to GET A HINT about nature..