Joe Student
English 103 Online
Ms. Serwin
Essay 4
5-5-05
Proposal to Electronically Monitor Sexual Predators and Lengthen Prison Sentences
The cases in the past involving Lawrence Singleton, the abduction and murder of Polly Klaas and the recent murders in Florida of Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Michelle Lunde have outraged me and many other people across the nation. In spite the recidivism rate of these offenders and the heinousness of their crimes, our current justice system continues to re-release these offenders back into our society with no clear cut plan to prevent them from creating new victims. The emphasis seems to be more on protecting the rights of these predators than protecting their victims. The recent Megan’s Law registry is a step in the right direction, but it is still not enough. There needs to be a better way to monitor and track the whereabouts of sex offenders.
Proposal
I propose that in the case of the molestation of children under 12 there should be a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life. Upon release, predatory sex offenders will be required not only to register as a sex offenders, but in addition to probation he/she will also be required to wear a monitoring device for life. This system will use a Global Positioning system to track sex offenders. If a sex offender repeats a sex crime and/or commits a violent crime, this would result in an automatic life sentence upon conviction. Additionally no convicted sex offenders will be permitted to work at any day care, park or school whether they are actual employees of these facilities or employed by outside agencies and/or contractors. These facilities and contractors will be required by law to run background checks in order to weed out sex offenders.
Justification
In 1978 Lawrence Singleton raped and cut off the forearms of then 15-year-old
Mary Vincent, leaving her in a culvert to die. Convicted of the crime,
he served 8 years of a 14-year sentence and was released from prison in 1987.
In 1997 Lawrence Singleton stabbed his 31 year-old neighbor, Roxanne Hayes to
death. Roxanne Hayes left behind three children (Taylor). In 1993, career
criminal and convicted sex offender Richard Allen Davis boldly abducted
12-year-old Polly Hannah Klaas at knifepoint from her Petaluma, California
home. Two months after her disappearance, Polly Klaas was found dead. It was
presumed by police, that she had also been sexually assaulted, but her body was
too decomposed to yield such evidence (Polly Klaas Foundation).
In 2005 the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lundsford
by convicted sex offender
John Couey
outraged her community as well as the nation. The same year, also in Florida,
David Onstott, a convicted sex
offender confessed to killing 13 year-old Sarah Lunde. Sarah Lunde’s partially
clothed remains were found in a nearby fishpond. These are just a few of the
many, many incidences of crimes perpetrated by sex offenders who have been
released from prison and who are allowed to roam relatively unchecked only to
murder and/or rape more victims. Many sex offenders live or decide to loiter
around areas where there are children in spite of their parole restrictions or
legal limitations. Such is the case of convicted child molester
John Couey.
Megan’s Law and The Amber Alert System are both extremely important, but just
knowing where a sex offender lives is not enough. Without a monitoring system,
sex offenders can and often do go where they do not belong, often without
detection until it is too late. John Couey was a registered sex offender, but
failed to notify authorities when he changed residences. He had in fact, moved
in with his half sister who lived just about 150 yards away from Jessica’s
home. The fact that Couey did not notify authorities when he had moved hampered
the search and possible rescue of Jessica Lundsford. Authorities did not search
databases for sex offenders who were living in Couey’s registered address until
one week after Jessica’s disappearance. Only then did authorities check lists
for the names of all sex offenders in Citrus County.
When they checked the home where he was supposed
to be living and found he was not there, they began looking for him to
question.
Furthermore, for five months, John Couey worked as a mason's
helper at Homosassa Elementary School, where 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford
attended class (Conner). It is not known if Couey had contact with Jessica, but
he did have contact with other children at the school while he worked there.
Recidivism rates for sex offenders has traditionally been found to be lower
among sex offenders compared to the rate among other criminals, but these rates
are not accurate due to a higher incidence of victim under reporting compared to
other crimes. Jim Doyle, writer for the San Francisco Chronicle states that a
U.S. Justice Department study conducted in 2003 found only 5 percent of sex
offenders had re-offended after three years. However, a
Chronicle survey of 121 of sex offenders released under the state's Sexually
Violent Predator Law found that about 11 percent went on to be accused or
convicted of new sexual crimes, including rape, child molestation and indecent
exposure (Doyle). In a 1997 legal study conducted by Lee Prentky and R. Knight,
the statistics were much higher. In this study it was found that over a 25-year
period, child molesters had higher rates of re-offense than rapists. The study
took into account the length of time an offender was a risk to the community as
well as the number of offenders in an area. Results showed that over longer
periods of time, child molesters have a higher recidivism rate thus, a higher
rate of re-arrest than rapists, 52 percent versus 39 percent over 25 years (Prentky,
et.al. 635-59).
It is likely that the statistics conducted by Prentsky are more accurate due to the higher incidence of under-reporting of sex crimes. The National Crime Victimization Surveys (Bureau of Justice Statistics) conducted in 1994, 1995, and 1998 indicate that only 32 % or one out of three of sexual assaults against persons 12 or older are reported to law enforcement. A three-year longitudinal study conducted in 1992 by D. G. Kilpatrick, C.N. Edmunds, and A.K. Seymour, of 4,008 adult women found that 84 percent of respondents who identified themselves as rape victims did not report the crime to authorities. No current studies indicate the rate of reporting for child sexual assault, although it is generally assumed that these assaults are equally underreported. The nature of the offense itself, often leads to under reporting as many victims feel shame or guilt. Some other factors that often contribute to under-reporting of sex crimes are fear of further victimization by the offender. The arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of an offender who may be a family member or friend and on whom the victim or others may depend, often prohibit victims from reporting the crime. Many victims fear others finding out about the sexual assault including friends, family members, media, and the public. Then there is the fear of not being believed and/or of being traumatized by the criminal justice system. Truly, this is a crime with many silent victims. As a result, only a fraction of those who commit these crimes are caught. So, when we do catch them, we must monitor them. Stiffer sentences and the use of the GPS or Global Positioning System would be two of the most powerful weapons we can use to protect victims of sex crimes, especially children. The latest tracking device that is currently the most considered for this task is the “Blue Tag” GPS system. The Blue Tag is an ankle device that not only uses GPS technology, but it is programmable as well. Steve W. Logan, CEO of satellite Tracking of People, a Houston, Texas based company, explains that the Blue Tag can be programmed to alert law enforcement if a wearer strays into a restricted area such as a school or daycare center. Quoting Logan: “It’s beyond watching dots on a screen, we can program exclusion zones, and if they go there, an alarm will sound” (Sanchez). Logan says the system will cost about ten dollars a day to operate. Compared to the life of a victim, especially a child, ten dollars is a bargain for the peace of mind and safety it can bring to our communities. It is also possible that as we have seen with many electronic devices, as technology improves, the price of The Blue Tag will likely go down. One way to help offset costs is to charge sex offenders a fee to register. In 2003, Ohio Senator Kevin Coughlin’s bill to charge sex offenders a fee at registration was signed into law by Ohio state governor, Bob Taft. Coughlin’s proposal limits registration fees to $100 annually for sexual predators, $50 annually for habitual sexual offenders and $25 annually for sexually oriented offenders. Quoting Governor Taft:
“The sex offender registration and notification system is a necessary precaution for the protection our children. Yet in light of the substantial amount of time and money required to carry it out correctly, we need to provide some means to sustain it and I don’t believe that burden should be shouldered by law abiding citizens,” Coughlin said. “This measure provides local law enforcement with a means of recouping some of the resources they sacrifice each year in order to keep the system working effectively”(Coughlin).
Perhaps these fees could be increased and applied to the cost of the Blue Tag GPS device as well. For sex offenders who are fortunate enough to be released from prison, one or two hundred dollars a year is a small price to pay for freedom. Donations from toy manufacturers, fast food restaurants, and celebrities may also be used to pay for GPS systems. In 2004 actor Mel Gibson donated ten million dollars to children’s charities. In 2005, Mattel, Inc. made a $250,000 donation to Save the Children for tsunami relief efforts. Mattel employees around the world, through the company's matching gifts programs, have donated an additional $200,000 to relief efforts. Committed to making a difference in the global community by effectively serving children in need, the Mattel Children's Foundation expects to donate more than $5 million in 2005 to address the following priorities: education and learning; health and well being; girls' empowerment; and bringing joy to children (Forbes). Paul Newman donates all profits, after taxes from the sale of Newman's Own products to educational and charitable purposes. To date, Mr. Newman has donated more than $125 million to thousands of charities (Newman’s Own). Obviously these companies and celebrities are committed to causes concerning children and our communities, what cause could be more important than the safety and security of our children and other victims of sexual abuse? Regarding the cost of lengthening prison sentences, The Federal Bureau of Prisons, states that the average cost per year to incarcerate an inmate in the United States is $20,674, the Federal average cost is $23,542, and the State average is $20,261. Annual costs among local jail systems vary widely, from $8,037 to $66,795 (Federal Bureau of Prisons). However, the social cost of letting career predators go every few years is enormous. According to the U.S. and World Report, rapists and child molesters are arrested once for every 30 offenses they commit. So even if every arrest results in conviction, an average of 30 new victims will be created before each serial sex criminal goes back to jail for a while (Leo, 15). Imposing tougher twenty-five years to life sentences is more costly, but compared to the value of a life there is no comparison. Concerning the cost of running background checks on potential employees, public facilities like parks, libraries and schools could be funded with tax money to pay for these background checks. Private contracting companies could be offered tax breaks to help offset their costs to run background checks on potential employees. Clearly the threat of sex offenders re-offending is a very real problem in our society. The current laws and procedures concerning the release of sex offenders are not adequately addressing the serious issue of re-offense. Innocent victims have suffered as a result of practices and procedures that seem to give too much freedom to sexual predators and not enough protection to the public. While this proposal may not have all the answers to all the problems regarding this issue, it is a major step in the right direction. The ability to track the whereabouts of sexual predators or remove them from society through tougher sentences may seem extreme, the senseless raping, maiming and murder of innocent victims, especially children, make these measures necessary and long over due. Nothing is more important and has more value than a human life and we as a society need to do everything in our power to protect our citizens from sexual predators.
Works Cited
Conner, Collins. "Suspect Worked at Jessica's School." St. Petersburg Times 22 Mar.
2005.
"Coughlin.com". Kevin Coughlin, Ohio State Senator 27th District. 5/2/05
<http://www.kevincoughlin.com/districtoffice/news/index.shtml>.
Doyle, Jim. "Public's overriding fear: Will they do it again?" The San Francisco Chronicle
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Federal Bureau of Prisons, Key Indicators/Strategic Support System, Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice, October 1997.
Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N., & Seymour, A.K. (1992). Rape in America: A report
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Leo, John. "Keep Predators Behind Bars". U.S. News and World Report U.S. News
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"Newman's Own.com". Newman's Own. 5/02/05
http://www.newmansown.com/mcdonalds.htm.
"Polly Klaas Foundation." Wikipedia. 01 May. 2005
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polly_Klaas>.
Prentky, Lee R., and R Knight. "Recidivism rates among child molesters and rapists:
A methodological analysis." Law and Human Behavior 21 (1997): 635-59.
Sanchez, Jorge. "Corrections To Review and Report Serious Offenses Committed By
Probationers." St. Petersburg Times 1 Apr. 2005.
Taylor, Michael. "Lawrence Singleton, Despised Rapist, Dies ". The San Francisco
Chronicle. 4/25/05 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
file=/c/a/2002/01/01/MN225792.DTL>.