As a parent of a young child there are few matters of crime more disconcerting to me than sexual predators and the threat they pose to our children. I believe most if not all parents feel similarly in that these particular offenders are the most detested and among the most dangerous for they prey upon those least able to defend themselves, our sons and daughters.
The Colorado Legislature recently presented House Bill #1219 for consideration. The Bill is a step in the right direction but falls far short of adequately addressing the problem. Put simply, it fails to adequately protect our children and that is inexcusable.
We're not talking about some individual who was caught being a bit too frisky with his girlfriend in the local park one night. It's not about the inebriated college student wrestled to the ground after streaking across the stadium or some young man who pulled to side of the road, unable to continue to the next restroom facility. We're talking about violent sexual predators, those who sexually assault our children.
There are those who claim such individuals can be 'cured', that with therapy and classroom instruction they can be somehow miraculously transformed into good citizens worthy of our trust again. Excuses such as 'they suffer from a chemical imbalance' and 'it was due to their own abusive upbringing' are often used in defense of providing funding for the various programs designed to correct the behaviors of these offenders, programs by which those who state such often profit from. It is, after all, their chosen occupation at stake, sometimes even their jobs.
These programs have never been proven effective, at least not to the point of assuring the public that an offender would never re-offend. Truth is we read all too often of repeat offenses, of abductions and assaults carried out by someone who was recently released from incarceration presumably after having completed such a program.
Our children are not test subjects. They don't deserve to be used in some giant social experiment where the minds of academia can try this class or that drug in their efforts to cure these particular offenders. There are no do-over's allowed, a child's life is at stake.
There is an answer. The reasons why it's not implemented is perhaps the more important question.
Violent sexual offenders deserve to be incarcerated for the remainder of their lives, period.
They don't warrant parole, early discharge for good behavior (there are no children in prison). They don't deserve our compassion or our understanding. They made a choice. They chose to tear apart every sense of security and well-being that their victim had. They chose to use that child as a toy simply to satisfy their own depraved sexual desires and in doing so imparted a trauma so vile that it will affect that child well into his or her adult years. The did so simply because they wanted to.
They don't even deserve our compassion or even the slightest efforts at rehabilitation. They deserve nothing less than to be locked in a cage to spend the remainder of their days reflecting on the harm they caused.
Our elected representatives apparently see things differently. Their wonderful cure-all solution to this threat is to require the offenders to wear monitoring bracelets upon their release. Presumably then they'd be able to track these prior offenders. They could track them to the park, to the neighborhood schools, they could even track them all the way to some daycare center. Worthless. It's a feel-good "see how tough I am on crime" waste of time and money which will accomplish nothing more than create a few more jobs, pad the bottom line of some company, and permit the politicians to say they fought to protect society. It's a joke, a sad terrible joke, and our children are the recipients of it.
There is no reason that these offenders should ever walk upon our streets again. They surrendered that privilege when they grabbed that little boy or girl and did things we choose not to even think about. The surrendered that privilege when they hurt a child.
I suggest the next time one of our elected representatives decides to put forth another feel-good half-hearted measure at addressing the problem he or she visit any number of local hospitals, look into the eyes of 5 or 6-year old child whose been victimized, and tell that child how their plan is going to make things all better.
If you can do that then I will wholeheartedly support your proposed plan. Otherwise I suggest you just slither back into your office and we'll wait for someone to take your place who might just have the fortitude and sense of civic responsibility to do what's needed.