LA- Margaret d'Aquin: Rethink stand on residency restrictions for sex offenders

4-9-2008 Louisiana:

It seems that our new governor, Bobby Jindal, is making it his personal agenda to create sex offender laws that will be so burdensome and oppressive on those who have been convicted of sex crimes so that he will have the image of being "tough on crime" — the new war cry of politicians and public officials. It is generally felt that this helps them get re-elected. Those voters, I'd like to submit, are being brainwashed by the news media to believe that all so-called sex offenders are violent predators and that they cannot be rehabilitated. Neither is true!

Is his purpose to make it so tough to live in our communities that they will consider moving from our state? Did it ever cross his mind that this is the same state that most were born in, where their families have deep roots, and where their allegiance and support lies? And could he not consider that if we helped them rehabilitate their lives, they would gladly become productive citizens of our communities instead of a financial burden by a lifetime of being "guarded" by our law enforcement agencies?


It is well known that mandatory sentencing and laws governing the imprisonment, parole or probation of said criminals do not always fit the crime to which they are accused. That is why there are such groups as Families Against Mandatory Minimums that are fighting to make our courts fit the sentencing to the crime. Has the governor considered that some of the sex offenders might have been accused of a crime that they did not commit? It is not uncommon for vindictive ex-girlfriends or women impregnated by mutual-consent sexual activity to falsely accuse the person of a variety of sexual crimes. Or worse, an irate mother of a pregnant teen will be the accuser. Cases that point to sentencing that does not fit the crime: John Stossel on the ABC news show 20/20 had 10 feature stories on teenage sex called "Age of Consent: Sex Offender Laws Gone Too Far." It will be worthwhile to view them on http://abcnews.go.com/2020/stossel.

State Sen. Jody Amedee, D-Gonzales, has introduced a bill to the present legislative session, SB 513, which will double the distance from the homes of sex offenders to areas in which children might be present such as schools, bus stops, nursery schools, parks, etc. The bill also wants to make this a lifetime restriction doubling already strict penalties for noncompliance.

"The main impact of residency restrictions may be to drive former offenders underground, away from families, police supervision and the help that can stop them re-offending," said Sarah Tofte, author of "Sex Offender Laws May Do More Harm than Good," dated Oct. 13, 2007, and found on the Web Law Professor Blog Network. The author quotes an Iowa sheriff that pointed out, "We've taken stable people who have committed a sex crime and cast them out of their homes, away from their jobs, away from treatment, and away from public transportation. It's just absolutely absurd what these laws have done, and the communities are at greater risk because of it."

According to a lengthy thesis titled "No Easy Answers, Sex Offender Laws in the U.S.," which was found on the Human Rights Watch Web page (www.hrw.org): "Residency restrictions that apply to whole categories of sex offenders should be abolished. This does not mean that limitations cannot be placed on where former offenders may live. Residency restrictions for convicted sex offenders should be determined on a case-by-case basis, for example by courts or probation and parole officers, and be subject to periodic review. The restrictions should be reasonably tailored to such factors as the specific crime the offender committed; an assessment of his or her employment, family and other support systems; the nature of supervision and treatment the offender is receiving; and the length of time the individual has lived in the community offense-free. For former offenders who are not subject to probation or parole supervision, states could create expert panels to undertake similar periodically reviewed assessments to determine whether any type of residency restriction is warranted for a particular individual and for how long."

I encourage you to rethink your stand on residency restrictions on sex offenders and voice your opinions about Senate Bill 513.

Margaret d'Aquin lives in Benton. She is the leader of Shoulders to Lean On Support Group for Families of Incarcerated Persons. ..more..