IL- Do sex offenders have rights?

3-2-2009 Illinois:

Sex offenders in Illinois are punished in a variety of ways but the most substantial takes place in the branding of their identity. Unlike other criminals, sex offenders have to report their every move. They're told where to live and where they can and can't go because their crimes elicit so much disdain from the general public.

As proof, it took about 30 seconds of Internet searching to pull up the number of sex offenders residing in Normal along with their addresses, photos and details of their crime.

New bills in Illinois are raising questions about how much segregation is too much or if there is such a thing. The scope of these new bills' reach is what we find a cause for concern.

While some bills seem to be obvious like banning sex offenders from working in holiday settings and dressing like Santa or the Easter Bunny, others seem to lend a Big Brother feeling like the monitoring of their movements via GPS for the rest of their lives.

Most cringe at the idea that their neighbors may be among those branded for one of society's most unforgivable crimes, a crime that is considered "especially heinous." While this cringe is indeed warranted, it is also the result of the stigma that lawmakers are working hard to keep in place with this new legislation.

Some other ideas being proposed involve banning offenders from Internet dating sites, nursing homes and parts of public libraries.

While we admit that our perspectives place us at a disadvantage in examining these new laws, there is no shortage of angles and ethical questions that need to be considered.

We aren't parents, victims or perpetrators of sex crimes but we are human beings who align our views with those of the American Civil Liberties Union, who claim these new restrictions are unconstitutional and provide the offender with no choice but to start living life "off the books."

While in the case of sex offenders there is no guarantee they won't commit the same crime, it seems somewhat unreasonable to place umbrella restrictions on sex offenders when the nature of their crimes can be very different.

To even consider reforming sex offenders, the facts would need to be considered on a case by case basis. For instance it isn't known if the crime was the result of an innate flaw that provides the propensity to be a repeat offender or if the incident occurred due to statutory rape laws during an otherwise consentual act.

The disparity between types of sex crimes is enormous and the severe range of control within the new bills are as well. We need a more efficient way to classify the variety of sex offenders.

Sex offenders will always have a hard time finding any job, residence or trust from society for the rest of their lives. We say increased restrictions, such as GPS tracking, are not appropriate in every, or even any, situation. ..News Source.. by Daily Vidette Editorial Board