Megan Law's Impact on Sex Offender Registry Legislation. Maggie McAninch Albia High School English 9 Mrs.La Rue March 1, 2024. Megan Law's Impact on Sex Offender Registry Legislation Introduction Megan's Law is a law that paved the way for making the Sex Offender Registry public while trying to prevent what happened to Megan from ever happening again. History of Megan Law The way Megan's unfortunate outcome of life ended and the circumstances of her death have shaped the way laws about child protection are enforced, but we first need to know how these laws were put into place. Megan was a seven-year-old girl from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, who was abducted, raped, and killed by a known child molester who lived across the street from her family (Montaldo, 2019). On July 27, 1994, James Timmedquas was …show more content…
(Montaldo, 2019). James had previously had two convictions for the attempted aggravated sexual assault of a five-year-old girl and the assault of a seven-year-old girl (CPI Open Fox, 2023). James first two counts of assault, pleaded guilty and spent several years in the Adult Diagnostic & Treatment Center (ADTC) in Avenel, New Jersey (CPI Open Fox, 2023). After James' sentence and Megan's passing, Megan's family fought for Megan's Law to be passed so that local people would be notified of local sex offenders (Montaldo, 2019). Before Megan Law, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Act required a list of offenses against children, but this list was only released to law enforcement (Montaldo, 2019). Having these facts out to the public helped them be more self-aware about who they are living by and prevent what happened to Megan from happening to their children. The aftermath of Megan's death and the actions that took The Kanka family says that if they had known that their neighbor was a sex offender, Megan would
In July of 1994, a little girl named, Megan Kanka, was raped and strangled. They found her body near her home in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The story of thing young girl has shocked the nation. The man responsible for this brutal act is named, Jesse Timmendequas. He had been convicted twice prior to this attack.
The following research will display an overview of the process in Texas on how sex offenders are registered along with the notifications that are followed after registration. Texas, as many other states, has a procedure which requires sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agencies at the time of their discharge. In addition to registration, they must also comply with further probation regulations. Research has concluded that there are four basic phases of registration and notification. Beginning with offender notified, following the offender registration and community notified and ending with public notification
In 1994, twice-convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas raped and murdered Megan Kanka, a seven-year old girl who lived across the street. In reaction to this emotionally-charged crime, Megan's home state of New Jersey ratified a community notification bill - dubbed "Megan's Law" - just three months later. This fall, a national version of the law went into effect, mandating that all fifty states notify citizens in writing of the presence of convicted sex offenders within their communities. Certainly, society has a responsibility to protect children from sex offenders, and many feel that Megan's Law is the best course of action. However, others feel that it is an unwarranted intrusion into the rights to privacy of individuals who have already paid their debts to society.
Sex offender notification laws have been among the most widely discussed and debated criminal justice policy issues in recent years. Numerous studies have been conducted on various views of sex offender notification laws. A vast majority of these studies have mixed research, some showing that sex offender notification laws are more beneficial than harmful and should continue, and others showing the exact opposite. Reasons such as public safety, the fear factor, and the hope for future recidivism to go down are some examples of why many believe that sex offender notification laws are beneficial to society. Others believe that such laws are a continuation of punishment for those who were convicted of a sex offense.
Introduction The United States of America has always supported freedom and privacy for its citizens. More importantly, the United States values the safety of its citizens at a much higher level. Every year, more laws are implemented in an attempt to deter general or specific criminal behaviors or prevent recidivism among those who have already committed crimes. One of the most heinous crimes that still occurs very often in the United States is sexual offenses against children. Currently, there are over 700,000 registered sex offenders and 265,000 sex offenders who are under correctional supervision.
Perception is not reality. The common assumption that the court system often treats female sex offenders differently than male sex offenders, the punishments of female sex offenders are more lenient than men who commit the same types of crimes, and the differences between male and female victims are all perception and not reality. Objective considerations to additional factors make the perceptions baseless. These additional factors solidify the factual differences between male and female sex offenders.
Sex offender legislation has been encouraged and written to protect the community and the people at large against recidivism and or to help with the reintegration of those released from prison. Nevertheless, a big question has occurred as to if the tough laws created help the community especially to prevent recidivism or make the situation even worse than it already is. Sex offenders are categorized into three levels for example in the case of the state of Massachusetts; in level one the person is not considered dangerous, and chances of him repeating a sexual offense are low thus his details are not made available to the public (Robbers, 2009). In level two chances of reoccurrence are average thus public have access to this level offenders through local police departments in level three risk of reoffense is high, and a substantial public safety interest is served to protect the public from such individuals.
In the United States as a condition of parole sex offenders are typically required to register with law enforcement officials when released from prison. These officials notify the public of the offender’s release back into society and provide them with information such as the offenders address, and other personal information. Research indicates the notification system can have an adverse effect on the offender’s life, casting doubt on what the laws intended purpose to protect the public. This paper will explore the background of sex offender registries, the relationship between the sex offender notifications and registration laws and higher rates of recidivisms in the United States.
In today’s society, juveniles that commit a sexual assault have become the subject of society. It’s become a problem in the United States due to the rise of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The general public attitude towards sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994). The public reactions in the past years have shaped policy on legal approaches to managing sexual offenses. The policies have included severe sentencing laws, sex offender registry, and civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). This is despite recidivism data suggesting that a relatively small group of juvenile offenders commit repeat sexual assaults after a response to their sexual offending (Righthand &Welch, 2004).
There are many topics nowadays that are still hard to talk about openly. Though we’ve opened the door on many controversies, some of the simplest parts of life can be the hardest to discuss. For most of us, sex in particular can be a taboo topic, which may be the reason why so many children and teens are misinformed on the inner workings of sexual relationships and how they develop as we grow and mature. For some adolescents, this can lead to an unhealthy fixation on the concept of sex, and in some cases, lead them to take action on a situation they do not fully understand. Sexual offenses are perceived as some of the most heinous crimes, but how could our views be affected if those acts were performed by a teenager? We may sometimes consider that they are the same as adult sex offenders; however our judgment can often be clouded by our lack of understanding. Adolescent sex offenders are different from adult sex offenders, are treated in a different way, and often have very different circumstances of their crime.
The United States Supreme Court has yet to weigh in it’s opinion as to whether or not offender’s due process or Ex Post Facto rights are being violated by Megan’s Law.
Martin, R. (1996). Pursuing Public Protection Through Mandatory Community Notification of Convicted Sex Offenders: The Trials and Tribulations of Megan's Law. The Boston Public Interest Law Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 29
“Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one 's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence).”
Feyerick, Deborah, and Sheila Steffen. “’Sexting’ Lands Teen on Sex Offender List.” CNN.com. N.p., 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.
The sex offender registry has been a topic of debates and formal studies since the Minnesota Sex Offender Registration Act was first passed in 1991 (Stevens, n.d.). Sex offenders across the country are being harassed and abused on a daily basis for the crimes they committed, were convicted for, and served their punishment for. Due to the sex offender registry giving out names, pictures, addresses, phone, numbers, vehicle information, as well as other personal information these sex offenders are being targeted in the homes and work places. Their families are also victims of abuse. In addition, the use of the sex offender registry has created blind spots in parents. They may