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March 12, 2006
Is capital punishment for repeat child molesters constitutional?
We will soon discussing in my sentencing class the Supreme Court's 1977 decision in Coker, which declared the death penalty unconstitutional for the crime of adult rape. That case left open the question of whether child rape might be a death-eligible offense, and this article details that Coker's limits may soon become a very big question in Oklahoma:
Sponsors say a bill to permit repeat child molesters to be executed is neither cruel nor unusual, but experts say it could make matters worse for victims of sex crimes. The measure by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, flew though the Senate last week, 40-7. It goes on to the House, where it is sponsored by Rep. John Carey, another Durant Democrat. "I anticipate it will come out of the House with flying colors," Mr. Carey said....
Legal scholars say that although myriad capital crimes are still on the books in many states, the Supreme Court has effectively limited the nation's ultimate punishment to murder cases. Mr. Gumm says the Supreme Court has changed so much, "I feel confident this bill would be upheld."
"I consider this to be the most horrible of crimes," he said. "I think it is every bit as bad as murder, if not worse, because the ripples of child of child sexual abuse goes through the victim's life."
Even those who feel as strongly as Mr. Gumm about the seriousness of sexual offenses, however, are not as sure such legislation would pass constitutional muster. "I would be a little bit surprised if the Supreme Court approves of that, but I have been wrong before," said Wes Lane, Oklahoma County district attorney. "Nobody around here has any sympathy for child molesters," added Mr. Lane, saying he would gladly enforce such a law if it were upheld by the Supreme Court.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., said that Louisiana passed a similar law several years ago, and that one man has been convicted under it and sent to death row."
UPDATE: A helpful reader has suggested that folks interested in this topic might want to check out this recent article on SSRN by Corey Rayburn entitled "Better Dead than R(ap)ed?: The Patriarchal Rhetoric Driving Capital Rape Statutes."
March 12, 2006 at 09:39 AM | Permalink
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My suspicion is that such a punishment is constitutional, although I find it abhorrent that a legislature should be looking to apply the death penalty to other crimes than those in which death results from the criminal act. Coker limited its analysis to the proportionality of death as a punishment for the "rape of an adult woman" and expressly distinguished that crime from a rape in which the victim ends up dead. It was the magnitude of the harm caused by the rapist -- the rapist who does not graduate to murderer -- that led the Court to strike down Georgia's death penalty for rapists.
The death penalty for child molesters lies halfway between the rule that rape is a constitutionally excessive punishment for those who rape adults and the rule that death is not a constitutionally excessive punishment for those who kill children. Is repeated child molestation a crime so heinous that the only reasoned moral response can be the penalty of death? Does that reasoned moral response stem from the magnitude of the harm caused by the molester? Life is not over for the molested child, just as it is not over for the raped woman. And yet the Coker Court made room for the possibility that legislatures may ultimately judge that the harm caused by a child rapist is greater than that caused by one who rapes an adult, so that death may be an appropriate punishment for a child rapist.
Do the states identified by the Coker Court as having the death penalty for child rapists still allow for it? That's something I'd want to know.
Posted by: keith | Mar 12, 2006 11:08:29 AM
Unless there can be shown a rehabilitation method that yields irefutable results, then I think repeat child molesters should just be done away with. Get the scum out of the gene pool.
Posted by: Jay | Mar 12, 2006 5:50:04 PM
I once thought that the death penalty was constitutional for child rapists but, now when I think about it, no I do not. My reasoning is because if the rapist knows that there is a chance that he could get the death penalty, what do you think he is going to do? He will kill his victims, so no they should not kill them. It would be nice if we could be assured that they would not kill the children, but many rapists will think, hmm...I am going to be put to death if they find me, so I will just kill this child so there is no chance of them telling on me.
Posted by: Melissa | Apr 9, 2006 8:02:08 PM
I am a 21 year old college student and I have 8 nephews and 7 nieces. There is a 1 in 3 chance that one of my nieces will be raped or molested and a 1 in 6 chance that my nephews will be raped or molested. It may be unconstitutional to put these people to death, but isn't unconstitutional to rape and murder a child who isn't even old enough to know what has been done to them? What do would you say if it was one of your own children? Would you not have the urge to kill the person yourself? How would you explain to a five year old that they were molested or raped when they don't even know what it is? Something has to be done to protect these children and to show that we are not going to stand for it. People who take advantage of children are disgusting and monstrous and should be put to death!
Posted by: veronica | Apr 18, 2006 8:11:00 PM
I think they should be put to death. If they commit the offence more than once then the chances are high that there will be another victim. Save a persons respect, dignity, mental health, and all around well being. An event like this will hurt a person the rest of there life. I say we put them to death.
Posted by: Will | Oct 3, 2006 11:23:10 PM
Check out the Nightline for October 10, 2006*. Check out Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."# The victims of child molesters are children. Children think differently from adults. Adults may feel increased satisfaction in putting child molesters to death, but that outcome doubly victimizes the children who have been horribly victimized already. No one who truly cares for the well-being of children, particularly those who have been molested, would ever support the death penalty for child molesters. (*A child waits ten years to tell her father that her priest had molested her, because he said he would kill anyone who hurt her, and she knew that people who kill go to prison, and she didn't want to lose her father). (# Because her uncles killed the man who had molested her, words from her mouth had caused the death of a fellow human being, and she didn't speak another word for years - she became what's called a voluntary mute). I am a middle-aged womanan adult who works in early childhood education.
Posted by: Mary Fitzhugh | Oct 11, 2006 12:15:36 AM
The ratio of children being molested in this country is too high. Its usually a person the child knows and trusts. I have been thru this before and I would like to kill the guy myself, but what’s worse is when I tried to tell my mother, she wouldn’t listen: that is another problem. There are children that try to tell their parents, but they wont listen to them, and then the child is continuously getting abused until it takes a teacher or a nurse to call the authorities. Mentally, I still have that barrier because of what happened to me, then when I turned 18, I was walking home from work, because my mom refused to pick me up, and I was raped by a guy who I refused to give my number to. A woman’s life is shattered because she refuses to give a guy her number because she is not interested, so she gets raped and/or killed. Then you got trifling molesters 97% of them are men-go to jail for 2 years and gets back out again to damage another child. I don’t know how people can be so laizze faire for people who like to force children to have sex with them, perform sex on them, etc. The kids don’t know any better and then they are threatened if they tell someone they will kill them, or a family member. They pry on children because they most trusting and kindest people, innocent and cant defend themselves physically.
But its up to the parents to teach their children certain touching is not appropriate NO MATTER WHO IT IS WHO IS !
Posted by: Jus Money | May 15, 2007 2:00:19 PM
In other countries, men are automaically killed for raping a child who cannot defend themselve and rapists. ther is no sypathy for a peron who damages a child, or woman.
Posted by: Jus Money | May 15, 2007 2:05:58 PM
I find some the posts supporting the death penalty for child molesters disturbingly laughable. While I in no way support child molestation and think as a crime it should be severely punished, dont you people think you're taking it a little too far? What could killing these people possibly solve? Imprisonment is just as good a preventor as death would be, except without all the death. I'm seeing a lot of talk about "what you would do if it were your kid" and the repugnance associated with the crime. You simply cannot make such a normative decision based on emotion of any kind. When looked at objectively (the only way it should be looked at in this type of dicussion)it is obvious that killing these people only causes more harm than good and is inherently immoral.
Posted by: | May 24, 2007 8:06:55 AM
I am a victim of rape when I was a child. I know what it is like, what I thought about, etc. I don't feel the same as you do at all. My thoughts is to make habitual child molestors pay for their crime with death. We are not talking about the first time offender to get death. I mean, what happens if he/she was falsely accused yet served the time? No, I am talking about a person (male OR female) who commits the crime more than once should be considered a capital crime and should face the death penalty. My life will never be the same. I cannot have children because my pelvis was misaligned during the rape. So letting this habitual offender off with a few years is not going to work. And if this person got life, now I am paying with my tax dollars to house the offender, feed his sorry ass, cloth him, etc. I don't think so. If he does the crime, then he should do the time... fitting the severity of the crime. The severity of the crime is noted so this should be a capital offense fitted with the death penalty.
P.S. I am a sophmore in college.
_________________________________________________
Regarding:
"Posted by: Will | Oct 3, 2006 11:23:10 PM
Check out the Nightline for October 10, 2006*. Check out Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."# The victims of child molesters are children. Children think differently from adults. Adults may feel increased satisfaction in putting child molesters to death, but that outcome doubly victimizes the children who have been horribly victimized already. No one who truly cares for the well-being of children, particularly those who have been molested, would ever support the death penalty for child molesters. (*A child waits ten years to tell her father that her priest had molested her, because he said he would kill anyone who hurt her, and she knew that people who kill go to prison, and she didn't want to lose her father). (# Because her uncles killed the man who had molested her, words from her mouth had caused the death of a fellow human being, and she didn't speak another word for years - she became what's called a voluntary mute). I am a middle-aged womanan adult who works in early childhood education."
____________________________________________
Posted by: Nina Anne | Oct 18, 2007 5:01:54 PM
I have a 5 year old daughter who I just found out a few weeks ago was molested by her step grandfather and because they found no physical evidence, the detective is not sure how the case will turn out, even though she has given us very descriptive details... now what five year old should know these kind of details between a GROWN man and a woman??? I need to know if that SOB will spend any time behind bars or is he going to be free after this????
Posted by: Maria | Mar 10, 2008 1:08:45 AM
I need more info on the current laws punishing child sex offenders. I also would like to know what people could do to help.
Posted by: Jessica | Apr 11, 2008 10:53:03 AM
i think people saying it will make the victim feel worse is laughable, at best...
make the victim feel worse??? its not a question of that and it doesnt matter what it does to the victim, because the truth is, their life has been destroyed, regardless of all the counseling or therapy you send them to. When a child undergoes such an ordeal, it is so powerful, that natural human self defense mechanisms shut down, and neurological and biological changes take place that will affect every decision that person makes for the rest of their life, of which, THERE IS NO CURE. NONE. This leads to many behavioral problems and patterns, like the tendancy to be re-victimized and a countless host of others.
they say when you kill a man, you are snuffing out all the things he will ever become, and although it may not seem obvious to most people, who take an attitude along the lines of 'well, let's be thankful the victim is still breathing'... that's absolutely wrong. sure, they are still breathing, but i guarantee you 110%... they are not 'living'. most, if not all of them, are waiting in vain for time to slowly pass them by, so they can die, either because they are too scared to confront their thoughts of suicide and unworthiness or justifiably unable to do it for fear of the pain it will cause their families. So the truth is, the victim is already dead, on the inside, and their sentence was a lifetime of death-row without the possibility of parole with an indefinite 'death' date. (most of which, would be happy to take). the only perk the victim has, is that he is still somehow 'free', on the outside to go about his life, where, most likely, the rest of society will painfully reiterate that indeed, something is wrong with the victim, worst of which, most people will act, and eventually convince the victim that again, indeed, it is somehow his own fault.
There are things worse than death, and by far, this is one of them.
Now, that only applies to the victim.
What do most child molesters have in common with their victims? no, not relatives.
most child molesters, were molested themselves as a child, which lead to those same chemical changes in their brain which make them unable to think in a normal way leading to the fact that they are a molester. different people deal with it differently. some grow up and kill themselves. some grow up and become bums. most grow up with addiction problems from trying to cope. and worst of all, some grow up and continue the legacy of which they were born into, by raping and molesting other children.
they say the average molester has committed the crime 7 times!!!! before they get caught for their first.
apply this to a three strike rule, and that means on average each offender has silently murdered 21 people.
And this is where the decision needs to come in.
What has this cost society?
well, by not killing the guy the first time he got caught, you have hypothetically speaking, 14 more victims. i have no idea how it would split, but again, some of those become molesters, some bums, addicts, or drop-outs mostly because they are unable to function in a normal manner or 'hold a job' and lastly my guess is, maybe one of those 21 victims every other set or so goes on to lead a 'normal productive life'-> in all manners of speaking ie sexually, financially, career-wise, personal happiness etc.
if you cannot even rehabilitate the victims, how can you ever expect to even come close to rehabilitating an offender??? you can't.
do the math and you find this leads to an exponentially increasing number of 'deviants'. if it were a one-to-one ratio of victims becoming deviants then the problem could be dealt with, but its not, even if it were only the creation of three new deviants per molester, then those three create three new, and those three create three new. across a span of time, say 100 years, this dramatically increases the number of offenders. want evidence?
go to this website and put your city in and see a map listing all 'known' offenders. There is almost one on every block. http://www.safetyalertnetwork.org/
now, look how close some, if not most of them are to grade-schools. pretty scary huh?
and lastly...
this is all from experience. tests say my iq level is about 134. i think normal is 80-120, retarded is below 80, above average is 120-140, and genius is 140+, im not saying this to qualify my comments, rather a point im trying to make. im dam close to being a genius, i have a degree in electrical engineering, i can build a house, i can fix dam near anything, i can remember 4000 note classical songs and replay on my guitar without the need of sheet music, i can detect a pattern in anything, and i do mean anything, i could go on, the point im making is, im very talented, maybe exceptionally so, highly intelligent, im moderately to extremely good looking, and yet....
i have not been on a date in 7 years. not because i have not tried, in fact ive asked out about 50 woman in that time.
I cant seem to hold a job, mostly due to the fact that i cannot fall asleep in a normal manner.
at 32, i have had about 40 jobs, starting from the age of 12.
and all of it, the good and the bad, stem from suffering a traumatic childhood experience.
if you look up ptsd, studies have shown a change in the HPA axis, which, "Translating this reaction to human conditions gives a pathophysiological explanation for PTSD by a maladaptive learning pathway to fear response through a hypersensitive, hyperreactive and hyperresponsive HPA axis"
manifested by an increased intelligence, a lack of an ability to 'turn off' or 'relax' or even 'trust people'. and for all my intelligence, what have i contributed to society? nothing. in fact im merely a siphon of funding from my increasingly impatient mother, and sadly, i am realizing that when that support disappears, the most likely outcome of that, is going to be myself becoming a homeless, jobless, bum. And this isnt just some excuse, I thought every day of my life that it would get better, that one day things would be ok, and well, when i look at how things have progressed over the last 7 years of my life, it doenst take a genius to finally realize, that they are not getting better, in fact, they are getting worse. And there is no reason it should be this way for me, none! and i certainly didnt do anything to deserve it.
So, all you criminal defenders, need to take your Utopian ideals and pay attention to the reality of what it really is and the oh so complicated issues of what effects these people really have on society.
when your body is infected with cancer, you dont take up the plight of the 'innocent' cancer cells and say well, we cant kill them, we just need to keep them in check, its absurd. You root it out and you kill it. its the only way to cure it and stop it from spreading.
for every kurt vonnegut or jd salinger that gave something back to the world, despite their condition, there are thousands and thousands of similar people who have turned to a life of a recluse, drug addiction, or suicide. how much more destructive to society can you get?
and despite trying to sound mean, the excuse "giving a death penalty will only cause the people to murder their victims" WTF!!!!! listen! carefully! What the hell do you think the 1,000's of missing children are??? The byproduct of someone wishing to fulfill a sexual need without getting caught. and about 90% of those kids are dead. SOooo, THEY ALREADY ARE KILLING THEIR VICTIMS!!! FFS.
so if you want to know what i think? go to any you-tube page or online forum and take any random swearing individual and insert comments ->Here<-
Posted by: C-PTSD victim | Aug 31, 2008 4:06:51 PM
oh, i forgot
"prison is as good a preventer as death"
sure it is, but, death costs the tax payer much less, and gets rid of the creation of more.
If anyone, anyone at all should get a damn free-ride out of life, despite being locked in a cell, it certainly is not the offender. Where is my free ride? Why should i have to pay to feed and house this cancer?
and again, to say im free,
i am a prisoner of my own cell.
you obviously have minimized the effects on the victims and society to such an extent, that your decisions actually favor the criminal.
what a crock. what a total crock.
i cant pay my bills either, so should i just go out and rape some kid to knock my socks off and land me free rent??? what is wrong with you people? I thought that was the point of politicians, senators, priests and celebrities... to live above the law, now you want to extend that courtesy to child abusers?
shame on you.
how come the criminal world does not have to pay for my $100 per half hour sessions of therapy?
my medications that i cant afford?
my rent.
my food.
you really make me angry.
Posted by: C-PTSD victim | Aug 31, 2008 4:41:44 PM
dont mean to hijack this, but just a lot of points i want to share,
"(*A child waits ten years to tell her father that her priest had molested her, because he said he would kill anyone who hurt her, and she knew that people who kill go to prison, and she didn't want to lose her father)"
I think that is the fathers fault for running his mouth too loosely. For one thing, as a parent you should never be implying that killing some one personally is condoned, or moral, or that you would do it. A child should know from your actions that you love them, and a parent should not have to convince his child that they will not let anything happen to them and sadly i feel, that if you think about it, the fact that a parent does this implies an underlying problem with the world in witch he is raising his kid.
I think by saying this, the father is personally implying a clear lack of trust in the justice system of which he resides, or he would not be taking it into his own hands. Seriously, is that too far-fetched?
I dont think that is a problem concerning the laws on how to deal with repeat child offenders, I think its a problem in basic psychology, or parenting. and i think its typical of this country's rhetoric. I dont want to go off on a tangent or bring up things which have no point being said here or which deserve their own blog, but again think about this. How is making this argument, the original one i quoted, any different from the following scenario. and again i apologize for bringing it up out of context but its an example i feel 90% of the people reading this will be familiar with. Iraq and the Weapons of Mass Destruction. In the aftermath, it has been proven that they didnt have them. It has been admitted that the Bush administration acted on false intelligence, and even possibly that they knew it was false information. I dont want to argue those points, they are merely a reference. and i dont care if you are for or against the war, it is not the point. The Bush administration wanted to go to war with iraq so they produced the evidence that would support it. Which is exactly what i think all these sidetracked excuses are for letting molesters off easy. People are looking for the information that makes their side of the story and ignoring anything else. Like the deeper ramifications of what effects molesters have on society as a whole. Everyone knows this country is not about them, its about us as a whole. So I am sorry that one person was further victimized by a fear of losing their father because he was foolish in the first place, but because of this one tiny thing, you are willing to let these crimes continue threatening everyone else in the nation? Well, by that logic, then, how many more girls will be further victimized for a fear of losing their father because of this belief that because of it, we should have looser laws regarding our dealing with molesters? And i think that is the definition of selfish. Its backwards, deal with the issue at hand like taking a more proactive approach to getting rid of these people and parents will not have to tell their children they will kill for them.
again, this is the same thing as the entire pharmaceutical industry. think about this. depression pills, weight-loss pills, anxiety pills, aspirin, everything, anything. What are they really? Are they cures to a problem? No. This is important, They are remedies to the "Symptoms" of a greater underlying problem. They dont treat the problem. They treat the symptoms that the problem causes. Is this the approach we want to take in dealing with our childrens well-being?
In the context of this comment,
the problem is:
we are not dealing with child offender's effectively.
symptoms of this problem are:
a father having to tell his kid he would kill anyone that hurt her.
a side-effect is:
a girl not telling anyone she was raped.
none of this has anything to do with an adults increased satisfaction in killing. We dont have public executions or lynchings do we?
none of this has anything to do with protecting the future victims.
Issues like this dont disappear overnight. Which is why we have to weigh, the effect it has on 10,000 current victims Vs. the effect it will have on 10,000,000 future victims. At some point you have to cut your losses, and any great leader or general would never have been so without this ability.
Is anything anyone does now ever going to make anything better for me, a victim. No. Its unfortunate, but its true. Its unfortunate that changing the way we deal with them may have a greater harm on me, now, in the present, but i have been lost and nothing will ever bring me back anyways. Do i wish this on some future child? No. And i am willing to be sacrificed so that it may not continue, because at least in that one tiny regard, all the horrible things ive suffered, somehow improved some future child's life. And i think as a society, it is absolutely imperative that we dont put the problems facing a handful of individuals ahead of the problems that face millions of individuals. This is society. This is the choice we make in being part of it. This is the sacrifice we make in being part of a whole. This is the sacrifice the girl makes so that she may be the last.
lastly,
"No one who truly cares for the well-being of children, particularly those who have been molested, would ever support the death penalty for child molesters"
-oh brother. where do i begin?
im not even going to touch the question, rather the mechanics of the device employed. this isnt even a quantifiable perspective.
This is an attack on your base ability to reason. The beginning sets up a sense of guilt to prepare you for a predefined outcome of a given set. It begins with a false statement that could never be proven in a million years. No one who cares for x would ever do y. They have taken the first statement to prove the second statement, and have taken the second statement to prove the first. How delighted i might be if the merriam webster dictionary read like this
Apple noun
1. an apple
Ardent adj
1. to do something ardently
the guilt is, No one who truly cares for children
Do you care for children? yes. Do I care for children? yes. Does almost everyone who reads this care for children? Of course.
If statement A is true
and statement B is true
then it follows that there is no possible outcome for any given logic to ever imply that statement B can ever be false.
If statement B is false
then statement A must be false.
Since
statement A can never be false
then
Statement B must always be true.
Because we all care for children. No one will ever go against statement A, therefore it reduces the output of any given set by dictating a predefined result by implying that statement B is always true.
and im not implying this was intentional on the authors part.
feel free to drop me a line:
[email protected]
Posted by: C-PTSD victim | Sep 1, 2008 8:52:03 PM
oops!!
that last bit shouldn't start if A and B are true
omit the 2nd line
the whole thing should simply read:
"If statement A is true
then it follows that there is no possible outcome for any given logic to ever imply that statement B can ever be false.
If statement B is false
then statement A must be false.
Since
statement A can never be false
then
Statement B must always be true.
Because we all care for children. No one will ever go against statement A, therefore it reduces the output of any given set by dictating a predefined result by implying that statement B is always true."
my apologies for the somewhat typo and yet another post.
Posted by: C-PTSD victim | Sep 2, 2008 1:06:16 AM
Posted by: | Oct 14, 2008 10:49:10 PM
I am a student writing a short essay on this topic. Since the death penalty for offenders does not exist I believe that repeat offenders should be branded with mark on their forehead and hand, at the very least society could recognize them for what they are.
Posted by: Diana | Nov 4, 2008 6:49:03 PM
I AM A GRANDMOTHER OF NOW 9 YER OLD GIRL,WHO HAS BEEN MOLLESTED BY HER STEPGRANDFATHER FROM THE AGE OF 3 MONTHS,HER MOTHER IS STILL INN DENIAL AND WOULD RATHER PROTECT HER MOTHERS BOYFRIEND TO PUTTING THE DIRTY OLD BARSTEN IN JAIL FOR THE FINALLY RAPED HER DAUGHTER WHEN SHE WAS 4YO BECAUSE I MADE A REPORT TO DOCS WHO ALSO DONT CARE,
Posted by: | Dec 1, 2008 3:56:23 PM
Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!
Posted by: write a dissertation | Feb 10, 2009 6:53:40 AM
Actually the cost for putting someone to death far outweighs the cost of imprisoning someone for the remainder of their life. This is due to the court costs for constant appeals that are involved in death penalty cases. How can we possibly lower ourselves down to the level of child molesters. By killing them we are lowering ourselves making us no more innocent than they are. If anything the molester suffers more while held in prison for the rest of his life. By killing them you are giving them the easy way out. "An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind"
Posted by: Paul Andrew Hauseman | Feb 12, 2009 1:57:23 PM
With my below average IQ, I certainly could not have expressed the same sentiments. I would just like to add, that I would be in favor of adminsitering the death penalty within 72 hours of conviction. We certainly wouldn't have to worry about the cost then. If cost is such a factor for the so called morally correct people,then why isn't more against the war?? Now let's talk about cost! For those of you against the death penalty for anyone who commits a crime against children, tell us how you feel once it homes!! Just my two cents.
Posted by: msjack | Apr 5, 2009 8:12:52 PM
Hey, for all of you who is for the death penalty for child molesters, answer this question>>what about if that molester whas your brother heh, father, mother, sister, uncle, grandfather, son, wife....you get the point, would you want them dead, Killed like a dog gets killed!!, or what the real murderers like serial rapists-gang bangers get.. death penalty, or would you want help for them, psycological help so on and so on, would you want one of you relatives to die, get killed like a damn Dog or would you help those that never got help when they needed it most, or would think your above God and the law and start delivering killings and go on a murderous killing spree targeting all of those who made mistakes or where under the influence, and go Against Gods will and just start butchering them up!! The problem goes more deeper than that, it starts with the parents, and the environment they brougth their child up, constant fightings mental abuse, opression, seeing their father come home drunk and beat his wife upinfront of his children now that would disfigure and distortion a childs delicate brain and view on the world and on others. Thats why i agree with what paul hauseman said " An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind"!!!
Posted by: Unanimous | Apr 28, 2009 1:16:14 PM
"an eye for an eye" simple saying used for many things. it could be used here. except we are not raping the child molesters, we are sending them somewhere where they cannot hurt another child ever again. The physiological that is inflicted on a child is far worse then any physical damage they may come in contact with. The children believe they are 'dirty' and 'impure.' Think of it this way. THIS IS A CHILD. They are so trusting, and child molesters take advantage of that trust. Ever met a kid with a trust issue, it's hard to get close.
However i am also a strong believer in the quote "It is better for 10 guilty to walk free then 1 innocent be put to death" or something like that. We have to be 100 percent sure that they did this. But at the same time I want them gone from the world. What person would hurt a child? That is beyond me.
I my not fall into this category, and in some people's mind what I have to say does not matter, but during my freshman year I was sexually harassed by one of my classmates, during class. I reported it and no punishment was given to the guy. I had to see him everyday, in English class and during our study period. always afraid he'd do it again. I was pulled into myself. It left an invisible scar on me that broke me down from the inside out. I was went to my LDS youth Conference and was scared to death by the boys there. That means MORMONS! they are like the nicest sweetest people in the world. One could say I got better, I've moved passed it. But I feel if anything remotely similar happened while I was younger, it would have a longer lasting and more severe affect on me.
I am a High School Student living overseas. I am currently writing a report on Capital punishment-subsection Child molestation- for my JROTC Research paper. I want more info!
Posted by: Erin Siikavaara | Apr 30, 2009 4:43:44 PM
