An Iowa law (article below) restricting convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or day care centers is working its way through the court system.
Frankly, I have VERY mixed emotions about this.
While the idea has merit and we DO need to protect our children as best we reasonably can, how far could this type of legislation go? Could a convicted burglar who's served their time be denied housing in an upscale neighborhood for the same public interest? It's a question that should be asked before we go overboard.
Most areas already have sex offender registration laws. The violators of these laws wouldn't pay attention to their proximity to schools or day care centers; they're already violating the law in the first place. And those who DO comply are readily identifiable as offenders.
What we really need are better laws to put away sex offenders. If, as these laws imply (and as MANY studies have shown), there is little chance of repeat sex offenders being successfully rehabilitated, then the answer is as simple as it is humane: they should not be allowed to see the light of day again. We owe it to our own children and their past victims to assure them that, once convicted of a serious sex crime such as this, they will not be allowed back on the streets. And we owe it to the criminal (oddly enough) to assure them that the controls they are either unable or unwilling to place on their behavior will be placed on them by society.
But before we reform sentencing, we must reform the prisons. Make them a place where someone with something to contribute who is unable to live in an open society can still contribute something. Give them privileges (WITHIN the walls ONLY) commensurate with their willingness to contribute to their own support; for instance, if they EARN cable TV, they can HAVE cable TV...but not unless they WORK for it, like the rest of us.
I'm not saying we should make the prisons into country clubs. A prisoner should have to wake up every day and be reminded that they are, in fact, in prison. But I AM submitting that a "life without parole" sentence, without the potential for a certain degree of self actualization within the walls, is no different than a death sentence protracted over several years.
By TODD DVORAK, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago
IOWA CITY, Iowa - As communities around the country move to restrict where child molesters can live, legal experts are closely watching the fate of an Iowa law working its way through the federal courts.
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The Iowa law, one of the most restrictive in the nation, bars convicted child molesters from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care center.
In April, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, saying the restrictions on sex offenders' freedom to live where they choose were "narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest" — public safety.
The ruling marked the first time a federal appeals court anywhere in the country had taken up a sex-offender buffer-zone law.
While the ruling is binding only in the court's seven-state Midwest region, it could be a persuasive precedent elsewhere. And because the case is further along than any other such challenge, it could wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The Iowa law should be a good test case for this type of regulation because it's a broad restriction and a significant one," said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law professor who specializes in criminal sentences and policy.
At least 14 states have laws prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, day care centers, parks or school bus stops. Earlier this month, Miami Beach, Fla., created a 2,500-foot buffer zone, covering nearly the entire city. In May, Hamilton Township, N.J., and Davie, Fla., adopted similar measures.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more communities giving this type of legislation a go because sex offenders have become the moral monsters of the day," Berman said.
In April, a federal judge refused to block a state residency restriction from taking effect in Ohio. The law gave prosecutors authority to evict sex offenders living within 1,000 feet of schools. In Illinois and Arkansas, state judges have turned back lawsuits challenging residency restrictions.
The Iowa Legislature borrowed from Alabama in approving the 2,000-foot restriction in 2002. The law was challenged in federal court a year later by the Iowa Civil Liberties Union.
A federal judge ruled that the law improperly singled out offenders for additional punishment and left them with too few places to live. The federal appeals court disagreed. The ICLU is asking the full appeals court to reconsider.