Yes, the banning of the juvenile death penalty was...

[SmurfAbuser]

Originally Posted by Lady Sidhe

Research shows that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated.

A sex offender has never, ever been rehabilitated? I don't think that's quite accurate.

Originally Posted by Lady Sidhe

I don't see why I should pay to feed, clothe, house, give healthcare, and free lawyers for murderers, rapists, and child molesters. That money could go to law-abiding citizens who need it, rather than predators..

I don't see why I should pay for George Bush's stupid war in Iraq, but I don't have much choice about it right now. That's the price you pay for living in the good ol' USA.

Originally Posted by Lady Sidhe

And I agree with the public execution. I think if punishment (all of it) were public, it could perhaps make people think twice. The death penalty, used as it's supposed to be, would probably go a long way to reducing crime. ...

Should we cut shoplifters' hands off, too?

[wolf]

Originally Posted by SmurfAbuser

A sex offender has never, ever been rehabilitated? I don't think that's quite accurate.

If you feel comfortable hiring someone on the Megan's Law database to babysit your 5 year old, you're certainly welcome to do so.

I take the position that it's not a good idea to give an arsonist any matches, though.

I don't spend a lot of time reading research. I admit it. I also think that a good percentage of published research is carefully phrased bullshit, funded by large grants. This is not to say that there isn't a lot of good psych research out there, though.

I have, however, spent a good amount of time dealing with men from a nearby program for sex offenders, and also speaking with their staff.

These are men who are supposedly rehabilitated. They have a wide range of offenses ... some against adults (you know those sexually violent predators you hear about? I know over a dozen), many more against children.

I get to inventory their property.

When I find pages ripped out of a K-Mart circular featuring boys modelling Underoos, I doubt the effectiveness of treatment, no matter how well the system thinks these guys are doing.

[SmurfAbuser]

Originally Posted by wolf

If you feel comfortable hiring someone on the Megan's Law database to babysit your 5 year old, you're certainly welcome to do so.

I take the position that it's not a good idea to give an arsonist any matches, though.

Would I hire a registered sex offender to babysit my kid? Nope, of course not, and that's not what I was getting at.

I don't lose any sleep worrying about sex offenders rights or lack thereof. My point was only to say that Lady Sidhe's statment wasn't accurate. True, most sex offenders probably can't be rehabilitated, but to say that is true of every single one simply isn't accurate. That's all I was gettin' at.