Should murderers have to register as sex offenders do?

4-7-2011 Illinois:

SPRINGFIELD — Convicted killers who have served their time would have to reveal their addresses and even Facebook pages to the public under a bill the Illinois House approved Tuesday.

The bill, which passed 97 to 1 with four voting present, would establish a public registry for the nearly 500 people convicted of first-degree murder who were released from prison after at least 10 years.

The bill, now bound for the Senate, would place such convicts with child murderers, sex offenders and arsonists as people who have to submit their addresses to a state-operated registry.

“I think it would serve to allow all of our communities to know who resides there, who our family members are associated with, who our children are dating … so that we know where these murderers live, that we are able to track their movement,” said Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst, the bill’s chief House sponsor.

The bill is called “Andrea’s Law” after Andrea Will, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Justin Boulay, on Feb. 3, 1998, in Charleston, where both were attending Eastern Illinois University. Upon release from prison, Boulay, still under parole, relocated to Hawaii with another woman he married while in prison.

Patty Rosenberg, Will’s mother, argued after the House approved the bill that criminals such as Boulay should always be held accountable for their past actions.

“First-degree murder, if you have to live with that for the rest of your life as a perpetrator … should you just be able to walk away?” said Rosenberg, of Batavia. “I don’t feel it should stop at the prison gate. I don’t think it should stop after a couple of years of probation.”

But the lone “no” vote warned that a registry would make it harder for ex-convicts to get a job, education or housing. Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, said unlimited registries for ex-convicts increase the likelihood that they would commit more crimes.

“It’s a slippery slope, ladies and gentlemen,” Davis said during debate.

“If we keep making registries for different crimes and convictions, where does it stop?” ..Source.. by Sephen Di Benedetto