Love + Sex

Monday, December 14, 2009

Do sex offenders deserve our sympathy?

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Getty Images


I'm sure you've all read the news today regarding the US Supreme Court's 5 to 4 ruling that when it comes to child rape, sentencing the death penalty is unconstitutional. Just to brush up on your history, the Court struck down a law allowing the death penalty in cases of adult rape way back in 1977, but five states still allow execution when a child rape had been committed. Says the New York Times:

"The court overturned a ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court, which had held that child rape is unique in the harm it inflicts not just upon the victim but on society and that, short of first-degree murder, no crime is more deserving of the death penalty."

"Justice Kennedy, while in no way minimizing the heinous nature of child rape, wrote that executing someone for that crime, assuming that the victim was not killed, violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, which draws its meaning from 'the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.'"

Okay, there's a fair argument.

"But, as Chief Justice Roberts observed when Kennedy v. Louisiana was argued on April 16: 'This is quite different. It is focused on the nature of the offense.' Indeed, a theme that ran through the argument was that, while the death penalty is a punishment like no other, the rape of a child is a crime like no other."

Exactly. Now don't get me wrong, I am no big advocate of the death penalty. But I think I can understand where the dissenters on this issue are coming from. Personally, if I was the Queen of the Universe or whatever (luckily for all of us, this is not the case), two pieces of societal scum would undeniably be candidates for cruel and unusual punishment: child molesters and those who abuse helpless animals. But I would be a little more creative about it. For example, in one of my sickest revenge dreams, I would "fight" Warren Jeffs and Michael Vick and sell tickets to the event. Um, I have some alternate versions of this fantasy as well, but I digress...

I'm only half kidding, but I'm curious to know where you stand on the issue. Are we too easy on certain criminals?
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Comments 1-10 of 425
  • siri's Avatar
    Posted by siri Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:21pm PDT

    Yes, we're way to easy on ~ the cooperate, political, rich n famous criminals. Especially if the judge is a friend of a friend of a friend etc...

    Or you can afford a nice army of the highest paid attorney's.

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  • siri's Avatar
    Posted by siri Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:22pm PDT

    And by no means do I feel sympathy for anyone who violates a child.

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  • lm's Avatar
    Posted by lm Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:34pm PDT

    Why do you think they let known viloent criminals out on the street?

    Jail "overcrowding' is liberal puke.

    Tents can be erected to hold the non violent criminals but liberal ways have said thats too cruel.

    Yet out men and women in the military service live in them while protecting our country.

    Once again, think, why do we let known viloent criminals back out on the street.

    I will answer you later after I see some of the repsonses to that

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  • Don's Avatar
    Posted by Don Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:47pm PDT

    NO DEATH

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  • Beth's Avatar
    Posted by Beth Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:03pm PDT

    I think that crime justifies a death penalty. To me it is much worse than someone committing murder. I have no sympathy, except for the guys that get labeled as sex offender because they were 18 or 19 at the time and had sex with their 17 year old girlfriend. Those laws really need to be revised.

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  • Fawnlily's Avatar
    Posted by Fawnlily Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:21pm PDT

    MY daughter was raped by a repeat offender when she was 13,,it has destroyed our lives..my daughter was a bright and ambitious girl full of self esteem and hope she loved to read and loved to dream and fantatise about the most wonderful things.we were so close and adored each other,until,one day a man who had already raped two other young girls and done "HIS" time.RAPED my baby, my baby and i hardly speak she is a drug addict, and a theif she has several pchological issues and was a changed girl imediatly following never the same again.our lives will NEVER be ok.he has taken my daughters life and mine also though im surviving in hell..i say kill the SOBs. my daughter is now 19.shes dateing a paroley who is 35,,,all the counseling, drug courts.probation officer,social workers all the money the govment and i have paid and she is gone for 5 years i have fought to get my girl back..she is gone...the man who raped my daughter david gene wilson attacked another girl after mine and bit of her nipple in ashland oregon,,when hes done with his 6/11 years he will come to calif for what he did to my girl hes looking at 25 to life. hell probly do 10 and be released a 6th time to do it again...kill the s.o.b.s

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  • fool4love's Avatar
    Posted by fool4love Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:48pm PDT

    Science tells us that child molesters come from being molested themselves as children. The statistics show that 95-98% of child molesters will offend again upon release. They usually don't get caught but once out of several offenses. Even chemical or surgical castration does not work because they find other ways of sexually assaulting children. Their impulse is to sexually violate children, not necessarily to have personal penetration using their own penis. If they get out they will offend again and their victims will many times become offenders themselves. It seems that if they are put away for life with no parole or executed in extreme cases ( they all are in my opinion) we could see a dramatic decrease in these types of crimes. Why would someone who is supposedly a compassionate person ever let a child molester out of prison when they know these people WILL continue to ruin the lives of innocent children? Anyone who advocates leniency for child molesters should be ashamed of themselves. They should be shunned by society. The liberal elitist and the ACLU have been screwing up this country for years by using liberal judges to rewrite the constitution from the bench. The ACLU is supposed to be defending the constitution but has actually been turning it into so much soiled toilet paper. Liberals have been advocating criminal's rights over victim's rights because they know these people will never make their way into their neighborhoods.How did these people get so much power? because the poorly educated, poorly informed members of the voting public will vote for a liberal politician who stands next to a poorly educated, poorly informed celebrity that they like to watch on television. When those liberal politicians go to Washington they confirm liberal judges and block the confirmation of conservative judges who do not have the same affinity for playing magic tricks with the original intent of the constitution. And when they elect a liberal President he nominates liberal judges for vacancies on the Supreme Court. Please think before you vote.

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  • Fawnlily's Avatar
    Posted by Fawnlily Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:56pm PDT

    put them down

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  • NiaSTI's Avatar
    Posted by NiaSTI Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:58pm PDT

    all molesters should be in prision 4 life and some should get the death penalty

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  • fool4love's Avatar
    Posted by fool4love Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:05pm PDT

    By the way, how did the death penalty become defined as cruel and unusual punishment for heinous crimes? It wasn't conidered cruel and unusual when the constitution was written. That definition was rewritten by liberal judges. It was not even voted on by legislators. It was not called for by the people. And why is it that killers who had gotten the death penalty before it was overturned did not get their original sentence reinstated when the death penalty was reinstated. Charles Manson. Enough said.

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