Liability
Locked Account.
You need to be aware that, in California at least and I think in most states these days, the sentences for sex crimes are DRACONIAN. The typical sentencing scheme provides for the filing of a separate count for each, distinct act during the comminssion of the crime. Touch here - Count 1. Touch there - Count 2, etc. etc. Further, sentencing on the various counts must run consecutively and (I think) there is no requirement that consequtive sentences not exceed 1/3 the midterm, i.e., they can be full term.
It is not at all uncommon for a defendant to end up with over 200 years in state prison (I have seen a sentence in excess of 400 years) over ONE incident involving sex with a minor.
"Namby pamby judges who are afraid to impose real sentences" is a constant cry on this board. In reality, it is just the opposite.
Oh come on.
Judges alone are not the problem, but the system itself does reward plea bargaining. It requires plea bargaining. And given plea bargaining, the pedophiles tend to get fairly lenient sentences until and unless they go to trial and get their asses kicked.
Say what you will about drug crimes, etc. We could fairly debate appropriate sentencing as to some crimes, not agree and yet not be unreasonable on either side! But when it comes to pedophiles, since there is no cure, the best protection society has is very zealous prosecution, strict plea bargain limitations and mandatory sentencing. "Throw away the key," in their case, is not necessarily a bad idea.
I don't totally disagree with you here - and I must admit, that I do not (and never have) handle the more serious sex crimes. I had one about ten years ago. This jewel had been doing his niece from age 13 to age 17 when they finally caught him. This was really a kind of innocuous case, as child molestations go - yet he was offered 16 years, turned it down, went to trial and got 40.
I don't call that being soft on a pedophile.
I hate pedophiles as much as anyone, but I am not quite ready to enter into a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mode. You had it right - it's figuring out how to properly handle the life-long segregation part of it that's the issue.
So, in that case you mentioned, the guy got banged HARD after going to trial and getting his ass kicked. That is pretty much what I had suggested.
Again, though, the real point is that there is no cure for pedophilia. I realize that we have an obligation to protect the rights of the accused -- including the presumption of innocence. But once the bastard has been validly convicted of a crime like pedophilia for which there is no cure, I say that society has every right to also consider its own safety (in this case, the safety of its children).
Castration (chemical or otherwise) doesn't work, by the way, The void in the life of those fuckers is not actually sexual. The void is one of a need to dominate. They can do that without erections and satisfy their perverse desires all the same.
We'd be safer still if they got executed. But short of that, it's not all that clear why we can't determine that no pedophile, once convicted, will ever be permitted to be in a position to endanger any of our children again in his lifetime.
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