2008 Woodie Awards
Prison as rehab for sex offenders?
Samuel Bosch
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: Perspectives
It does not seem uncommon that most sex offenders strike repeatedly. The ones who get caught for a first time tend to follow in their erred footsteps.
What happens to the ones that aren't caught? Or, are they clever enough to evade the consequences of their despicable behavior?
Sex offenders are on the bottom of the criminal totem pole for a reason. Believe it or not, there is a hierarchy in the criminal world. Even hardened criminals find sex offenders to be scum.
Being sent to prison for a sex crime is common, yet a grave flaw in the system. Our prison system is focused on rehabilitating our society's criminals, but where do we draw the line in deciding who can be rehabilitated and who can't?
On St. Patrick's Day, I turned on the news channel, and I am told that in South Carolina there is a manhunt for a man who kidnapped two 17-year-old girls. He kidnapped one girl, raped her and locked her in a subterranean dungeon he dug for this very purpose.
He then went out and kidnapped another girl, took her to the dungeon and raped her in front of the other terrified victim. The reason this became national news is up for debate, but it highlights a serious problem we are forced to deal with.
The monster I just described is a man by the name of Kenneth G. Hinson, a convicted sexual offender who was released from prison after serving nine years of a 20-year sentence. Obviously, Mr. Hinson is to blame for these kidnappings and rapes, but who else is at fault?
Many question the parole board responsible for releasing this man from jail 11 years before his sentence expired. Absolutely, whoever conducted the parole hearing for Mr. Hinson and granted him a get out of jail pass is also at fault.
It cannot be that whenever and wherever something like this happens, the authorities first investigate the local registered sex offenders. These people are ticking time bombs in our society, and it is only a matter of time when they strike again.
Twenty years in prison for violating another human being does not seem like a just sentence for the victim. A life long sentence seems to be more suitable. Who cares about the criminal's life and how long is a just sentence for his crime?
Sex offenders have a propensity to commit more sex crimes. Yet, we as the public feel that we can rehabilitate these people and release them back into society.
According to the US Department of Justice, "convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in state prisons report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18, and 58 percent of those, or nearly four in ten imprisoned violent sex offenders, said their victims were aged 12 or younger."
We as a nation must realize who is at the greatest risk when releasing violent sex offenders from prison early. We must also ask ourselves, why are we even releasing them at all?
What happens to the ones that aren't caught? Or, are they clever enough to evade the consequences of their despicable behavior?
Sex offenders are on the bottom of the criminal totem pole for a reason. Believe it or not, there is a hierarchy in the criminal world. Even hardened criminals find sex offenders to be scum.
Being sent to prison for a sex crime is common, yet a grave flaw in the system. Our prison system is focused on rehabilitating our society's criminals, but where do we draw the line in deciding who can be rehabilitated and who can't?
On St. Patrick's Day, I turned on the news channel, and I am told that in South Carolina there is a manhunt for a man who kidnapped two 17-year-old girls. He kidnapped one girl, raped her and locked her in a subterranean dungeon he dug for this very purpose.
He then went out and kidnapped another girl, took her to the dungeon and raped her in front of the other terrified victim. The reason this became national news is up for debate, but it highlights a serious problem we are forced to deal with.
The monster I just described is a man by the name of Kenneth G. Hinson, a convicted sexual offender who was released from prison after serving nine years of a 20-year sentence. Obviously, Mr. Hinson is to blame for these kidnappings and rapes, but who else is at fault?
Many question the parole board responsible for releasing this man from jail 11 years before his sentence expired. Absolutely, whoever conducted the parole hearing for Mr. Hinson and granted him a get out of jail pass is also at fault.
It cannot be that whenever and wherever something like this happens, the authorities first investigate the local registered sex offenders. These people are ticking time bombs in our society, and it is only a matter of time when they strike again.
Twenty years in prison for violating another human being does not seem like a just sentence for the victim. A life long sentence seems to be more suitable. Who cares about the criminal's life and how long is a just sentence for his crime?
Sex offenders have a propensity to commit more sex crimes. Yet, we as the public feel that we can rehabilitate these people and release them back into society.
According to the US Department of Justice, "convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in state prisons report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18, and 58 percent of those, or nearly four in ten imprisoned violent sex offenders, said their victims were aged 12 or younger."
We as a nation must realize who is at the greatest risk when releasing violent sex offenders from prison early. We must also ask ourselves, why are we even releasing them at all?