Megan's law & sexual offenders
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Authors
Ensminger, Jayme Jenell
Issue Date
2008
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Forensic sciences
Alternative Title
Abstract
Sexual offenders and their offences seem to be an ongoing problem for our society and whether these offenses are happening more often in recent years or it was just taboo to speak of decades ago remains uncertain, however, it remains a huge problem which needs to be addressed and is not something that can continue to be ignored. Sadly, it took the rape and murder of a seven-year-old New Jersey girl, Megan Kanka, by a convicted sex offender for our society to finally realize something needs to be done and for the birth of Megan’s Law.
Is Megan’s Law as well as other registration and notification laws targeting convicted sexual offenders truly effective when it comes to recidivism rates and deterrence. Such laws also raise a number of controversial questions ranging from the privacy rights of the offender, vigilante violence, to the appropriate form of punishment for these offenders.
Current legislation targeting convicted sexual offenders needs to be revised in order for such laws to be effective and to deter these offenders from committing future sexual offences. Sexual offending is an illness, not just a simple criminal act. Instead of serving time in prison, sexual offenders need to be rehabilitated through various treatment methods.