Posted on 04/19/2006 9:24:57 AM PDT by Monk Dimittis
PORTLAND, Maine — Convicted sex offenders often expect to be harassed and ostracized for their actions. Until now, many didn't expect to be attacked.
After Sunday's fatal shootings of two sex offenders listed on the state's Internet sex offender registry, many of those convicted of sex crimes say they are afraid.
"It's really scary," said Raymond Roberts, a sex offender who is listed on the registry and lives near the victims. He asked that his hometown not be identified. "I live alone. I live way out in the country and basically I could be here for days, a dead body, shot."
Police say Stephen Marshall of Nova Scotia, Canada, looked up 34 sex offenders on the state's online registry before showing up at the homes of Joseph Gray, 57, of Milo, and William Elliott, 24, of Corinth, and shooting them with a .45-caliber handgun. Marshall took guns and a truck from his father in Houlton before going to the victims' homes, authorities said.
Marshall fatally shot himself Sunday night after police confronted him on a bus in Boston. Investigators hope his laptop computer, which will be handed over to Maine detectives on Friday, will provide some clues as to what motivated him to kill.
The deaths were on the minds of sex offenders at a recent treatment session in Auburn, said Scott Efland, a social worker who treats sex offenders. "One man said, `It's target practice and we're the target,'" he said.
The killings renewed concerns about the public disclosure of sex offenders' names and addresses on Internet registries. Many offenders are concerned that the Maine registry lumps all sex offenders together, whether their cases involved child sexual abuse or a domestic situation, said Kay Landry, a social worker in Augusta.
In Bellingham, Wash., police reviewed their Internet sex registry after a man used it to get two sex offenders' names and addresses, break into their home posing as an FBI agent and fatally shoot them last year. After the review, police stopped listing exact addresses; they now list the block the offenders live on.
State Rep. Patricia Blanchette, co-chair of the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said a panel created by the Legislature to study community safety and sex offender accountability should be reconstituted to examine the issue, and investigate whether some categories of offenses need to be listed.
But right now, there seems to be no call to take down the registry as a safety precaution for other convicted offenders.
"Nobody wants to see anybody cut any slack for pedophiles," Blanchette said.
Roberts, who was convicted 13 years ago for assaulting his nephew, said he thinks people should be able to get off the list if they go a certain amount of time without committing any offenses. Also, registries shouldn't give out addresses or places of employment, and offenders should be notified if somebody accesses their information so they can be on guard, he said.
"My concern is this: Is this going to happen again?" he said.
___
Associated Press Writer Glenn Adams contributed to this report.
As ye sow...
It's too bad I really don't care.
Don't like it when the shoe's on the other foot, huh?
If you can't do the time don't do the crime.
They should have thought about their safety BEFORE they abused their victims!
Good, maybe they will be less likely to repeat thair actions if they're looking over their shoulders all the time.
Where is that "attempting to give a damn" graphic when you need it?
Absolutely not. These people don't get better.
"Shot through the heart,
And you're to blame..."
They're good pedophiles now.....
These idiots are lucky the CAN fear for their safety. If I were queen, they'd be dead already. But that's just me, and I'm kinda hard-assed.
Good...........Be afraid. Be very afraid............
Yes, they've done heinous things but killing someone is worse. Why don't we have a Megan's Law for murderers too?
Many offenders are concerned that the Maine registry lumps all sex offenders together, whether their cases involved child sexual abuse or a domestic situation, said Kay Landry, a social worker in Augusta.
Some states have laws that define "sex offender" very loosely. Not a pedophile, not a rapist. Maybe just a guy accused of having grabbed a girl's butt in a bar, and he pleads guilty to a misdemeanor to avoid the cost. Or a guy accused by this spouse of touching her during a domestic situation, pled down to avoid costs and legal risks.
I've really got no problem with someone plugging child molestors or rapists. But depending upon the way some states define "sex offender", killing is simply not warranted.
Maybe they should go back to jail where it would be safer?
I wouldn't "execute" them the way that guy did. I would "neuter" them with a dull ginsu..........
So? What do they want? Praise?????
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