SEX OFFENDERS AND SECOND CHANCE

Sex Offenders and Second Chance

Sex Offenders and Second Chance

Today there are many people who are beginning to believe that criminal rehabilitation is a wonderful idea for criminals. Often this type of rehabilitation provides people with a second chance and can help bring down the numbers of repeat offenders who only end up back in jail once again. Some of the more serious cases can also be solved as well, helping to provide help to people as they get out of jail so they can adapt to society once again. While it is definitely a controversial topic, there are some definite benefits that can be found as well.

Sex Offenders and Second Chances

The idea that people deserve a second chance is an important American value. Perhaps it grows out of our history, in which those who got into trouble in Europe (whether it was their fault or not moved to the United States to start a new life. And as the American West was settled, many easterners and Midwesterners found a place there for a second beginning. More profoundly, the belief in a new beginning is a tenet of Christianity, which allows sinners to repent and be fully redeemed, to be reborn. In a similar vein, the secular, progressive, optimistic, therapeutic culture of today's America rejects the notion that there are inherently bad people(Maguth  Fiore Nezu 2006). As individuals, we seek insights into our failings so we can learn to overcome them and achieve a new start. From a sociological perspective, people are thrown off course by their social conditions—because they are poor, for instance, and subject to discrimination. But these conditions can be altered, and then these people will be able to lead good lives. Under the right conditions, criminals can pay their debt to society and be rehabilitated, sex offenders can be reformed, and others who have flunked out can pass another test. Just give them a second chance.

Current Policies

Highly publicized sex crimes committed by repeat offenders in recent years have prompted state legislatures to ratify laws that increase social controls on these offenders. State and federal laws have been enacted that require released sex offenders to register with law enforcement or other state agencies. Registration laws require offenders to supply their addresses and other identifying information to a state agency or law enforcement. These laws have been enacted in every state. (Maguth Fiore Nezu 2006)

Problems

But this policy has problems. Just because only two-thirds of the prisoners were re-arrested does not mean that the other third did not commit any crimes. Many crimes are never solved and their perpetrators never caught. Studies found that the majority of rapists and child molesters had been convicted more than once for a sexual assault—and committed numerous offenses before they were caught again. On average, these offenders admitted to having committed two to five times as many sex crimes as were officially documented. That is, not only did they fail to use their second chances to start a new life, they used obscurity to their ...