Megan's Law Case Study

In some case law we have within our country it has taken the outrage of the community to accomplish changes within certain laws. One of those changes created through victim activism is Megan’s Law, resulting from the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl by her neighbor who was a known sex offender (Karmen, 2016). The suspect was known to the criminal justice system as being a sex offender, consequently, it was not known to the community where he resided (Waxman, 2017).

A sexual offender has a greater propensity to commit repeat offenses as compared to other felony offenses (FindLaw, n.d.). A concerning fact referencing sexual offenses reveals that nearly seventy-five percent of victims of sexual assault are juveniles. This was the leading reason for the passing of the law cited as Megan’s Law in 1996 by the federal government. The sex offender registry allows the community to view the sex offenders in their community making them aware of who to be mindful of. The event leading up to the passing of Megan’s law may not have been prevented with the registry act, conversely, it could have alert the child’s parents to be more mindful when allowing to play outside.

The decline was noted to have been treading before the passage according to the report. There are some civil rights attorney’s that have attempted to have the law overturned, citing there is no supporting evidence of its effectiveness (Livio,