The latest sex offender panic news from Ohio

A helpful reader sent me a link to this remarkable cover story from City Beat, entitled "Next Comes Burning at the Stake: Is Ohio getting too tough on sex offenders?".  The article covers lots of important ground, and these lengthy snippets provide only a glimpse into the strong work in the article:

It's been 10 years since Ohio started registering sex offenders, notifying neighbors when they move nearby and putting their pictures on sheriffs' Web sites.  Has the program improved public safety?  No one knows. The state has never studied the results of this relatively new and controversial approach to crime prevention.

But that hasn't stopped the Ohio General Assembly from passing a much tougher version of the law, requiring even more people to register as sex offenders -- and for longer periods.  The new law, which took effect July 1, won unanimous approval in the Ohio Senate.  But there are serious questions about whether legislators even knew what the law would require. 

Passed under pressure from the federal government, the law creates a classification system so severe that some juveniles convicted of sexual misconduct could be branded as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.  But far from enhancing public safety, some policy analysts say, the new law could backfire -- making it harder for former offenders to stay out of trouble and making it more difficult for victims of sexual abuse to get help....

The law brings Ohio into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. While the federal government can't force states to enact laws, it can create financial "incentives" for states to adopt them.  In this case the incentive was a 10 percent bonus in grants created by the Walsh Act if Ohio enacted the law by July 27.  States that don't pass the law by 2009 will face a 10 percent cut in other federal grants.

Ironically, the Ohio Legislature rushed for nothing. Congress hasn't acted to fund the bonuses in the first place, according to Amy Borror, spokeswoman for the Office of the Ohio Public Defender.  "There absolutely was a sense of urgency that the legislature wanted to pass it before they adjourned for the summer to meet this July 27 deadline ... to get 10 percent of nothing," she says.  "Congress hasn't actually appropriated any money for that so, as of right now, it's 10 percent of zero.  Even if there were money, even if it were $1 million or $2 million, that pales in comparison to the cost of implementing this."