Sex Offenders?

Question

We are debating in my criminnal justice class about wherther or not convicted sex offenders deserve a second chance at freedom? I say they don't deserve to get out of prison. What do you think? Do you think sex offenders (Child molesters, rapists, etc.) should be paroled? Why or why not?

Answer 1

they should all get daeth penaltys
uh,,,,,,thats just sick

Answer 2

We need to reform the sex offender registries in the states, because there are a large number of people on the registries that if these lists had existed 20-50 years ago, our parents and grandparents would be listed as "sex offenders." The problem is that they include so many people that the true molesters and rapists are hidden in all the other offenders. (The reason there are so many is the states get additional federal funding for listing additional names.)

As for your question - if the child molester was a true molester (adult with child and not 19 year old with 17 year old or 20 year old with 16 year old), then they should be allowed one chance with some heavy counseling, lie detector tests, restitution, etc. If they re-offend and there is solid proof (not some two year old saying the neighbor touched them under the stars as that little girl on the East Coast said and her father killed the neighbor) but a true case, then they should be jailed for life.

As for a rapist - there must be DNA evidence, rape kit, other physical evidence. No "he said, she said" mere accusation stuff. Some mens' advocates say the rate of false rape claims is 40 percent; feminists say 2 percent; it's probably somewhere in the middle. That's tough, because there is date rape, frat boy stuff in which everyone is drunk and there is the serial rapist. (I was once the near victim of a serial rapist.)

These are such touchy issues that I really think you need to go on a case by case basis and not lump all sex offenders in the same group. Certainly people don't like to be prejudged based on a certain criteria, and I think that is true of sex offenders.

Answer 3

I was just discussing this in another forum, and was quickly accused of going on a witch hunt because of my angered response to their light sentences.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the disorder itself, for the people who struggle with a sickness that makes minors sexually appealing. I'll continue being sympathetic as long as that person NEVER acts on those urges. The second they do, I lose all sympathy.

Then they are handed some ridiculous sentence that roughly equels a slap on the wrist, and they have their name added to a sex offenders registry. They pay for their act for a few years before finding freedom again, while the victim pays for the rest of their life. Yup ... that's justice all right.

The problem lies in the fact that SOME do manage to rehabilitate. However, it's a very small number. California Department of corrections states that half of released sex offenders return within 6 monthes, and more than 77 per cent return within 2 years.

So what is the answer? To risk the general population on the basis that 20 per cent of so could possibly manage to rehabilitate? That doesn't make sense either.

It's come to the point where I've decided that a second chance should be given, AFTER a fair sentence and not a slap on the wrist .... HOWEVER, if they reoffend just once, no more chances. At that point they've shown their lack of respect for civilized society and should not be granted the priviledge of being part of it. Lock them up for life, drop them on a deserted island with the rest of the sex offenders, or play a game of russian roulette with them .. forgetting to remove the extra bullets. I really don't care, providing they no longer have the opportunity to rejoin soceity and create more victims.

Answer 4

I think sex offenders should be chemically castrated. I think they should be chipped so we know anytime they are near a school or other areas where children gather. I think the state should protect children better then we currently are. I think that if a person violates another persons Constitutional rights, that the offender should have their rights removed. Many offenders were at one time abused or molested. This I feel has created a profound chemical change in the persons brain. I think the only proper thing to do is to take charge of their chemistry and render them sexless. I feel that any second offender should be physically castrated, rendered brain dead by the state and have their organs put up for research or donation to people in need of them.

Answer 5

I am a victim of a Child Molester it happened to me and my 3 younger sisters for years ,I was 5 when it began he was my uncle and a Police officer for all the years we endured horrible things he only received 2 years for each of us and 4 years for running adding to 12 years and only actually served six ,You can not imagine the damage this does to a person years after,I am 24 married and have children of my own and it still affects my daily life and Him all he has to do is register as a sexual offender and go on with his life to Probably Molest some other innocent child,So no i do not believe they deserve a second chance at Life .

Answer 6

Do you attend a college or university? If so, they should have access to scholarly journals. I have done research on this topic, and I can tell you that there are MANY scholarly, peer review articles on this topic. They show that sex offenders have a very high recidivism rate, meaning they are extremely likely to commit another sex crime. This is a major reason why they need to be in prison, and they do not deserve a second chance. If you find these articles in your library database, you can use these in your debate, and no one can argue with tons of scientific research conducted by PHDs and MDs!

Answer 7

No, I don;t. Of all the sex offenders I have read on, and followed their trials through the years, they will always offend again, if let loose. This girl in Florida, that lived next to a sex offender, got kidnapped and raped by that same man. The thing about was that the family knew that the girl was underneath their trailer and did not tell anyone. Finally a few days later the police found out that this man was a sex offender and questioned him and he told the truth, he also said that this was not his first one, after coming out of jail.
A sex offender will always be that., a sex offender, they do not changed, the like little girls and little boys, and that is how they get their kicks. If you have the chance to catch him and put him in jail ......leave him there.Never again to get out. You see sooooo many here in Florida that it is sickening.

Answer 8

Despite what some people are proclaiming, these types of offenders can change if they want too.

Here we have a program where a study performed on it found that only 10% of the participants went on to reoffend. I dont know what the difference could be, but maybe it is voluntary here and not so there.

Should there be harder penalties, I think so, but should they all be locked away forever, no.

iloveee: I do go to university. I am looking to go into this area. I too have done a lot of looking into the subject.

Maybe it is the difference in countries, or a difference in how such programs are run, but sex offenders here have the LOWEST recidivist rates. Rehabilitation programs have the HIGHEST success. And these were done by people with their PhD's (or for their thesis) and some were done by lecturers of mine.

Answer 9

I don't think they deserve a second chance. To me, rapists and child molesters are about the scum of the earth and deserve all the nasty things that come their way. When your are raping someone or molesting a child, there is no way you cannot know what you are doing. Thats a cold blood kinda thing to me. Just an opinion though.

Answer 10

Child Molesters would include 18 year olds that are dating a someone a year younger than them as well so they should be locked up for the rest of their lives. Some of them there is no hope for but each case is different. HigSchool sweethearts that are two years apart yet have known each other all their lives get caught when one is 19 and the other is 17 and the older one needs to spend the rest of their lives in prison by your theory.

Answer 11

I personally hate child molesters, rapists and repeat sexual offenders. It says something that most inmates also despise child molesters. Most child molesters in prisons go to great lengths to hide their record. My husband has been in prison for 26 years, and has nothing but contempt for them.

But!!! About the time I decide they all need to be castrated, something happens to show that it isn't always black and white.

Here's a scenario for you:
A young single man I know was dating a married woman. He got tired of the adventure and moved to another state, got a good job, lived with a relative, forgot about her. In the meantime, her husband found out. So the wife told the husband that she had been raped, not that she'd been dating the kid for six months.

All of a sudden, the kid's being arrested, lost his job, scared his relatives to death, and about to be extradited back to Texas to face rape charges. He has no money for decent legal defense, and is not overly bright.

So this kid could get convicted, have a record, lose everything. He could be coereced into pleaing out, and still have the record.
She's of age, but it can easily go wrong. THAT, I know. And we're talking about Texas, Intolerance Capital of the U.S...... so there's something else for your debate....