Stronger Laws Concerning...

[fleabassist1]

I feel that there should be stronger laws against people who Rape children.

Today in Psych class, we heard a story about a man who got off scott free due to an Insanity plea - he raped a little girl.

I think that Pedophiles should have stronger penaltys - almost death penalty.

[Pujo]

Remember that when someone gets off on an insanity plea for a serious crime, there's a good chance they'll spend longer in an institution than they would in prison. The insanity defense is WAY overused and lets people avoid criminal responsibility when they shouldn't, but there are cases where a person really is too insane to know what they were doing. They need to be separated from society forever, but holding them criminally liable doesn't help anyone. In general, however, yes, laws protecting children should be strengthened.

[fleabassist1]

Originally Posted by Pujo

Remember that when someone gets off on an insanity plea for a serious crime, there's a good chance they'll spend longer in an institution than they would in prison. The insanity defense is WAY overused and lets people avoid criminal responsibility when they shouldn't, but there are cases where a person really is too insane to know what they were doing. They need to be separated from society forever, but holding them criminally liable doesn't help anyone. In general, however, yes, laws protecting children should be strengthened.

My original post was going to be on Insanity Plea's, but I felt that this is a stronger issue for me. I realize that there are people who are to insane to know what they were doing, and that is not their fault - however, I agree with you - it is over used.

[DropKick]

Originally Posted by fleabassist1

I feel that there should be stronger laws against people who Rape children.

Today in Psych class, we heard a story about a man who got off scott free due to an Insanity plea - he raped a little girl.

I think that Pedophiles should have stronger penaltys - almost death penalty.

I agree. Several times a week the nightly news talks about people who haven't registered as sex offenders in the towns they live in. It sickens me when the descriptions of these people list MULTIPLE offenses. Why are they even given a second chance, let alone more than two?

[BelichickFan]

A legit sex offense against a minor should be life in prison with no chance of parole. End of story.

[DarrylS]

Originally Posted by BelichickFan

A legit sex offense against a minor should be life in prison with no chance of parole. End of story.

I agree completely, but know for a fact that the insanity plea is oft tried, but seldom successful. The burden of proof is completely on the defense, and it usually comes down to one professional's opinion against another's.

From my point of view, someone who spent 30 years behind fences and razor ribbon as a professional, mentally ill people are on the rise in prison(there are minimal state institutions to care for them), their care is costly, they do not fit real well into the corrections modality, can be very dangerous to the CO's and they are extremely needy. There needs to be some middle long term ground for pedophiles who commit crime, recently there has been a trend for those who are released from prison to be placed in institutions as they have been determined to be incompetent.

http://www.ncsconline.org/wc/FAQs/MenHeaFAQ.htm

How many people are acquitted by reason of insanity?
Carmen Cirincione and Charles Jacobs (1999) contacted officials in all 50 states and asked for the number of insanity acquittals statewide between the years 1970 and 1995. They received data from 36 states. Few states could provide information for the entire 25-year period, but the following results were obtained:

The median number of insanity acquittals per state per year was 17.7.
California and Florida had the highest annual averages (134 and 111, respectively); New Mexico (0.0) and South Dakota (0.1) had the lowest.
Most of the acquittals were for felonies rather than misdemeanors.
Source: Wrightsman, Lawrence S. Edie Greene, Michael T. Nietzel, and William H. Fortune. (2002). Science of the insanity defense: how successful is it?” Chapter 11 of Psychology and the Legal System, 5th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

[fleabassist1]

Originally Posted by BelichickFan

A legit sex offense against a minor should be life in prison with no chance of parole. End of story.

At least.

Everything they own should be sold and the profits given to the family of the minor, or the minor - perhaps for a college fund.

[Pujo]

Originally Posted by fleabassist1

At least.

Everything they own should be sold and the profits given to the family of the minor, or the minor - perhaps for a college fund.

The only problem there is that the sicko sometimes leaves behind their own kids & family, and it's not their fault their father turned out to be a monster.

[Real World]

Sex offenders are scary souls. I agree that there should be really stiff penalties for legit offenders. One thing to keep in mind though, is that some offenses are not as aweful as they may seem. A firend of mine is an attorney for the state of MA, and his job deals directly with sex offenders. He says some of them make you want to piuk, and others you almost feel pity for. Did you know that pissing in public (might be in a school zone) is a sex offense? I didn't either till he told me.

[Pujo]

Originally Posted by Real World

Sex offenders are scary souls. I agree that there should be really stiff penalties for legit offenders. One thing to keep in mind though, is that some offenses are not as aweful as they may seem. A firend of mine is an attorney for the state of MA, and his job deals directly with sex offenders. He says some of them make you want to piuk, and others you almost feel pity for. Did you know that pissing in public (might be in a school zone) is a sex offense? I didn't either till he told me.

Yup, I know someone it happened to, they were charged with indecent exposure and would have had to register as a sex offender but the judge just gave him a continuance without a finding. It's the violent sex offenders you need to watch out for, people doing stupid but non-sexual things shouldn't be lumped in.