Posted on 04/18/2006 3:18:29 PM PDT by Ellesu
Some legislators want 25-year minimum term
If Louisiana legislators have their way this session, anyone caught inappropriately touching a child the first time would go to prison for a quarter century, minimum.
And if sex offenders ever get out, they would be monitored for the rest of their lives.
Lawmakers say the public has demanded harsh penalties and they’ve delivered 35 proposals that give just that.
But many bills present punishments so draconian that even some prosecutors have asked lawmakers to back off a bit.
The legislation, if passed into law, means sex offenders could not:
- Attend church or swim in a public pool.
- Wear masks at Mardi Gras or give out candy at Halloween.
But sex offenders would have to:
- Move if someone opened a daycare center too near their residence.
- Get castrated after a second offense.
Plus, their elderly parents could be prosecuted for not keeping up with their adult sex offender children, even after going to a nursing home.
Sue Bernie, the assistant district attorney who heads the sex crimes division in Baton Rouge, said such stiff mandatory sentences “would have an adverse impact upon the prosecution of these cases.”
Prosecutors want flexibility.
They want the ability to throw away predators with repeated crimes under their belt, she said. But they want elasticity so that every case does not turn into a titanic struggle at trial.
They have been able to modify some of the legislation coming out of the House of Representatives.
But a new passel of bills is scheduled for debate before the Senate Judiciary C committee this morning.
Few defenders
Some of the bills being considered by the Legislature plug holes in the law that requires sex offenders to register and mail neighbors postcards warning of their presence. Other measures attempt to better define the process for deciding just who must wear expensive global positioning satellite monitors for the rest of their lives.
But, by far, the measures that have attracted the most attention are those that stiffen the penalties against offenders.
“A lot of it is grandstanding because a good number of the bills say the same thing,” said Cathy Guess, a Baton Rouge human-rights advocate. “These legislators want to come out in election year being tough on crime.”
Few want to go on record defending child molesters, including Guess.
Even the head of Louisiana COPE, the prisoner rights advocacy group that is monitoring the sex offender legislation, refused to comment publicly.
Four different sex offenders listed on the state’s registry refused to publicly discuss the legislation or its possible impact on them. All described the difficulties of sorting out the myriad of reporting requirements and of finding jobs that pay enough money to cover the monthly fees, which top $100 in some parishes, necessary for reporting.
Blame the media
Fueled by radio and television talk-show hosts who repeat in angry tones the gut-wrenching stories of children kidnapped, molested and murdered, the voting public in Louisiana and across the nation is demanding harsh and costly sentences, said Rep. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, on April 6 when his House Criminal Justice committee held hearings on 17 of the bills.
George Stiemel, who lobbies for the Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, also blames the media.
Martiny and Stiemel don’t agree on much but both say people react emotionally to the disturbing images of police searching for youngsters stolen from their families. But cases that involve predatory strangers are rare.
They do not reflect statistics compiled by the U.S. Congress that show 85 percent of the child victims knew and trusted their attackers. Nor do they reflect U.S. Department of Justice statistics that show people convicted of sex crimes against children are a third less likely than other criminals to be rearrested after their release from prison.
“I’d like to think they’re doing the right thing regardless of whether it’s an election year or not,” Stiemel said. “But if they think giving someone a 25-year sentence is going to somehow solve the problem of molestation of juveniles, well, they’re just living in wonderland.”
Even the main sponsor of the House’s offering to increase sentences for sex crimes against children under age 13 said he was surprised at the lack of opposition.
“It’s like voting against apple pie and motherhood. Nobody can get up much sympathy for child molesters,” said Rep. Charles McDonald, D-Bastrop.
His House Bill 4, which was joined by the sponsors of four identical measures, passed the House unanimously on April 11.
McDonald said he agreed to amend HB4 after district attorneys raised concerns that his original measure restricted their flexibility.
HB4 would raise the minimum sentence for people convicted of sexually abusing children. But the legislation was amended to allow prosecutors the option of pursuing a 25-year-to-life sentence, rather than a locked-in 25 years.
Most offenders are family
That choice is a practical necessity in the real world of litigating cases, said Bernie, the Baton Rouge sex-crime prosecutor.
Proving beyond reasonable doubt that an adult molested a child is often difficult because the prosecution’s only witness usually is a minor. Other evidence that suggests a crime has been committed may be enough to push a guilty adult to confess, thereby saving the child from the trauma of having to testify before adults to accuse an adult.
“But if we’re talking 25 years to life, then the defendant may decide to roll the dice,” Bernie said.
Still, some sex offenders need to be locked up for a long time, said Hugo Holland, the assistant in charge of the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s sex-crimes unit. The serial pedophile, the one who repeatedly preys on children, “he should be in prison for as long we can get him there,” Holland said.
However, most offenders are family members, he said. No matter how repulsive their offenses, there’s a difference between the drunken uncle who fondles the breast of his niece through her shirt and the serial pedophile who preys on children, he said.
“If the Legislature criminalizes (convicted sex offenders) handing out Halloween candy, well, we’ll enforce it but they’re not going to keep any children from being molested,” Holland said. “I’m much more concerned about who’s helping the children count the candy in the living room.”
Sex offender prohibitions around the nation: NEW YORK: Can’t sell ice cream. ILLINOIS: Can’t play Santa Claus ILLINOIS: Can’t pass out candy FLORIDA: Mandatory 25 years to life sentence. MISSISSIPPI: Reregister every 90 days Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
Current sentences for molesting a child under the age of 13 years: - $10,000 fine - 5 to 15 years in prison - Registration on a state Internet site for 10 years Source: Louisiana revised statutes
there’s a difference between the drunken uncle who fondles the breast of his niece through her shirt and the serial pedophile who preys on children, he said.
There is nothing more destructive to a child's well-being than to sexualize them at too early an age. These pedophiles need to be put away for a long time. I support this.
Why give them a chance to hurt a second child, neuter them the first time. The cant castrate them all because all child molesters are not men.
- Attend church
BAD idea.
I find this fundamentally wrong. I do think the pastor needs to be informed a convicted sex offender is attending the church
This whole article sort of disturbs me because they are seemingly taking a very complex issue and putting it into a very rigid system for the sake of garnering votes
Is the penalty the same for an 18 year old getting too frisky with a very mature 13 year old (unknown to him) and a 38 year old taking advantage of a 14 year old because she is looking for love in all the wrong places?
No way you can tell from this article
The first guy needs to have his ass kicked for being stupid, the second guy needs to be shot.
Pandering for votes on the back of a serious issue like child sex abuse reeks of demagoguery
There is a prison ministry group who developed a protocol for bringing sex offenders into a church community. I saw it once: it included confession, monitoring, informing the church, and other things I've forgotten.
"Prisoners for Christ" or something like that.
You sure know how to spoil a good witch hunt!
Sorry about that.
It's real easy to be cynical about our politicians.
Now that child sex abuse is a "hot" topic, just where the hell were the "legislators" when sexual perverts of all types were reeking havoc on child?
This is also happening in your schools - from 5 yrs old up - in the guise of "sex education" = and the emphasis is on acceptance of homosexuality...and the curriculum largely developed BY the homosexual groups.
That's my problem with these laws too.
We want to put authentic pedophiles away forever (or, as I'd prefer, put them to death). But we need to be clear on who is and isn't an offender, and the degree of their offenses.
A serial rapist of five year-olds is different than someone like, for example, Deborah Lafave. I'd like to see the former, as I've said, put to death, but I could care less about the latter (save that I wouldn't turn down an evening with her).
Pedophiles ought to get the death penalty. They're fundamentally incurable and, because they're driven by some bizarre psychological deformity. I doubt if they're deterable either.
There's still innocent people locked up from the daycare witch hunts and the "Satanic Ritual Abuse" witch hunts, but some yahoo screams about "the children" and the mob wants blood. It's chilling.
The problem lies with the nature of how our legal system works. If a person is judged of the wrong-doing: you perform a horrible action on them as justice, but find out that they did not do that crime? How would you repay someone who was castrated for a crime that they did not commit? Honestly I know that I would be seeking some serious revenge.
The problem lies with the nature of how our legal system works. If a person is judged of the wrong-doing: you perform a horrible action on them as justice, but find out that they did not do that crime? How would you repay someone who was castrated for a crime that they did not commit? Honestly I know that I would be seeking some serious revenge.
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