Pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act, starting on January 1st, Nebraska is now listing complete information on all sex offenders regardless of the magnitude of the crime, grouping all offenders together whether the crime was a misdemeanor with no jail time or a class 1 felony with a life sentence.
Sex offender registries, created by Megan’s Laws, are basically a mechanism by which the state facilitates long term public humiliation of a convicted offender far beyond the term of imprisonment on the pretext that sex offenders, in general, are more likely than other criminals to be repeat their crimes. Public and legislative support of sex offender registries is largely fueled by irresponsible media-propagated myths of stranger danger while the reality is that 80-90% of sexually abused children are molested by family, close friends, or acquaintances.
As understanding of the specific factors that correlate with recidivism improves, sex offender registries can be tailored to target those offenders most likely to be repeat their crimes, where as broadening the scope of SORs simply makes people unnecessarily fearful of those who don’t pose a threat and further feeding the hysteria of pedophiles behind every tree.
While sex offender registries might help satisfy the public’s hunger for vengeance, very little thought is ever given to the fact that the registries essentially declare open season on all offenders regardless of the severity of their crime, condemning them to a lifetime of intense continuous public persecution and vigilantism that extinguishes any and all hope for a better life. He is left in a living hell that offers practically no incentive to rehabilitate himself, ultimately doing nothing to reduce recidivism rates.
