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Found this on another website and thought I should bring this to the atttention of the Paizo community as it's an important issue and could do with increased attention.
Please read the link and, if you wish to, sign the petition. Also, can we keep the party politics out of this thread. I'd hope both parties would agree rape in the military is a serious concern, no matter how common or rare it is.
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I'm very much against rape for obvious reasons, and am all in favor of the military investigating more thoroughly and prosecuting appropriately.
That said, I'm very much against the registry lists because they go against the idea of time served and release upon rehabilitation -- the lists are permanent, and mark the people on them forever. In many cases, it's easier to get on a list than it is to be convicted, and that really, really bothers me, too -- there are examples of deals like "Look, just agree to be on the registry and we'll drop the felony charges, and spare everyone a messy trial..." which is the same as saying "sign on the dotted line to sentence yourself to house arrest and loss of work for life."
The idea of putting whole segments on these "lists" seems like a very big step in the direction of the totalitarian states in Orwell's 1984. I'd submit that the petition is obviously being put forward for the right reasons, but is ultimately pushing for a very, very bad outcome, and would encourage people NOT to support it in its current form.
Are such lists even constitional or do they interfere with the right to a fair trial by pressuring people to aviod it and be put on a list?
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Are such lists even constitional or do they interfere with the right to a fair trial by pressuring people to aviod it and be put on a list?
I'm pretty sure that 50% of the Patriot Act is unconstitutional -- but we keep letting it get extended, and we, the people, have yet to stage a rebellion to remove it, so there it is anyway. Some of the stuff that's been ruled "contitutional" brings to mind some of the added "clarifications" to the rules written on the wall in Animal Farm.
In short, I feel that the U.S. is trending hard in a totalitarian direction already, and don't agree that we necessarily need to petition it to be more so.
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These lists are too broad-based. If they just contained names of rapists, that would be one thing. However, "sex offenders" paints with too broad a brush and there are people charged with minor offenses that spend the rest of their lives on these things. In some states, public urination is a sex crime. People convicted go on the list. Statutory rape, consensual or not, is a sex crime. The convicted again go on the list. An 18 year old who sleeps with their 16 year old partner should not be consigned to a list and lumped together with rapists and child molesters.
These lists are too broad-based. If they just contained names of rapists, that would be one thing. However, "sex offenders" paints with too broad a brush and there are people charged with minor offenses that spend the rest of their lives on these things. In some states, public urination is a sex crime. People convicted go on the list. Statutory rape, consensual or not, is a sex crime. The convicted again go on the list. An 18 year old who sleeps with their 16 year old partner should not be consigned to a list and lumped together with rapists and child molesters.
That I agree with. Although if public urination is a sex crime than gas stations charging to use the restroom incentives sex crimes.
I think sex offender registries should include details on the crime.
Some guys end up with lifetime black marks because they were 18 and got some from their 16 or 17 year old GF and that's not a sex crime.
If a 2 year difference ain't a sex crime when I'm 29 dating a 27 year old, it sure as hell ain't a sex crime when I was 19 dating a 17 year old.
If I looked up a sex offender and found that was the case, I'd go over and buy the guy a sympathy beer for getting a bum label.
I'd say the lists are cruel and unusual punishment.
I echo that such people should just get punished harder at time of sentencing.
I think sex offender registries should include details on the crime.
I'd rather just limit the lists to actual rapists. Or better yet, revise the sex crimes laws entirely, maybe so that forcible sex and sex with prepubescent children are capital felonies (no list needed, as there would be no parolees), but the other stuff is misdemeanors or civil offenses (no list needed, as not felonies). I'm sure there's other stuff I'm not thinking of that would have to get corner-cased in between, but my imagination when it comes to that sort of thing is pretty limited.
Death penalty for habitual sexual predators? I'm down with that.
See, I wouldn't even mind a full "criminal registry".
But I'm kind of an anti privacy kind of guy.
I think if everything about everyone was known about everyone, the world would be a better place.
I suspect there are quite a few sex crimes that should fall in between the death penalty and misdemeanor.
I notice you didn't name any, though...
But, seriously, like I said, I'm sure there would be some, but it's not really my idea of a good time to sit around thinking up hypthetical sex stuff that should get someone thrown in the slammer, but stop just short of it being better for the state to just off the guy and be done with it. Molesting a horse or something, I guess.
Kirth, I'm not saying that you're at all wrong, in any way, shape or form. I think it is very telling that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a policy in the military, and therefore we never talk about the incidence of rape. (This is much more an issue of military standards than one of civilian law.)