If a man molests a child, does he really deserve another chance? I recently saw a pedophile’s defense attorney argue that his client was guilty of “an error in judgment.” No, forgetting to pay the phone bill is an error in judgment. Raping a little girl or boy is an act that should be punished with a lifelong jail sentence or even the death penalty.
Until communities start focusing on locking these people up for good, it really won’t matter how many feet they live away from a park or school. That effort, while well-intentioned, is missing the whole point.
I don’t often agree with my wife on political or social issues, but she sure has this one figured out. Her belief is that we should create an island in the middle of the ocean for convicted sex offenders. She thinks we need to totally and completely isolate them from children. Clearly, this concept of a “sex offender island” would definitely do that. If a person is convicted of a sex crime involving a child, they get sent to “Sex Offender Island.” Let them have their own community – give them a movie theatre on the island, a shopping mall, houses, apartments – but make sure it’s an environment where absolutely no children are allowed and there is no getting off the island.
I’m sure my wife’s concept of “Sex Offender Island” is too over-the-top. But heck, it makes more sense than requiring a predator to live a thousand feet away from a bus stop.