James Jones was convicted of forcible rape of a 15 year old girl when he was 17. That isn't a misunderstanding or statutory rape. Forcible rape is a violent act and he served 5 years for his crime. He got off light, if you ask me. Now he's whining that he can't go to his son's 8th grade graduation because he's a convicted sex offender or as I like to call him a piece of shit rapist pig.
Just a few things I want to say on this. First, missing an 8th grade graduation isn't the end of the world, seriously, it's only 8th grade.School and law enforcement officials have told a St. Joseph man that he can't attend his son's eighth-grade graduation because he is a convicted sex offender and isn't allowed on school property.
James Jones, 36, said he may go anyway although the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department has told him he would be arrested and face up to four years in prison.
"I've already been punished for this. This isn't about me anymore. Now they're punishing my kids, and that's taking it a little too far," said Jones, who served five years in prison after being convicted in 1990 of forcible rape of a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.
"I'm always preaching education to my children. How does that make me look if I'm not there at graduation?"
Second, the school wanting to protect the children from violent ex-cons isn't exactly taking things too far. It's kinda their job. Parents want their children to be safe at school and it isn't a huge stretch of the imagination that someone who was tried, convicted and served time for FORCIBLE RAPE of a CHILD may not be welcome at a school function.
Finally, maybe while preaching to your kid about education, you should also teach him to respect the LAW. Lead by example. If the cops told you that attending would get you arrested and could land you back in prison for 4 years; respect the law and don't go. If you ignore the law and go back to prison, what will you have accomplished besides shaming and punishing your kid? You don't have the moral high ground on this.
R.I.P. Steven Malcolm Anderson
Minion
of the Week
So now he's screwed from going to his child's 8th grade graduation.
Thats a bunch of bullshit. The guy made a mistake, paid his debt and now he's being vilified and subject to 4 years in prison for a law that didn't even EXIST until 11 years AFTER he completed his sentence.
But I don't make the laws either, which is probably a good thing. Society makes the rules. As I noted in Mr. S' post, we, as a society, have decided that convicted rapists are a threat to society even after they’ve served their time. That’s why we, as a society, impose the "post-prison part of the sentence"
The point is not to ‘punish’, but to protect. If we view the justice system as a means of protecting the trust and freedom that a democratic society requires to function and thrive, this makes sense.
Wow! Talk about moral relativism ...
So when the dude is 50+ and his grand child has an 8th grade graduation, he can't go either because of ONE mistake he made 35+ years prior.
It's bullshit. There has to be some sort of statute of limitation that allows the record to be wiped clean after X amount of years. I would think 15 years is reasonable.
There was a story on 20/20 a while back about some guy in Texas who had consensual sex with a minor. He was convicted of statutory rape and sent to prison for a few years. When he got out, he MARRIED the woman he "raped" and had a few kids. He too cannot go to his children's school functions because of sex offender laws. It's crazy.
Until I know more about the "forcible rape" I will reserve judgement on the guy.
You talk about people "paying their debts to society," but you don't take into consideration that legitimate fear people have of these filthy rapists and child molesters committing their heinous acts again, and again, and again ...
Not to put too fine a point on it, but perhaps you should consider the recidivism rates for rapists and child molesters, as conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Source: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm)
Within 3 years of release, 2.5% of released rapists were rearrested for another rape …
Sex offenders were less likely than non-sex offenders to be rearrested for any offense –– 43 percent of sex offenders versus 68 percent of non-sex offenders.
Sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their discharge from prison –– 5.3 percent of sex offenders versus 1.3 percent of non-sex offenders.
On a given day in 1994 there were approximately 234,000 offenders convicted of rape or sexual assault under the care, custody, or control of corrections agencies; nearly 60% of these sex offenders are under conditional supervision in the community.
The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual assaulters was less than 13 years old; the median age of rape victims was about 22 years.
An estimated 24% of those serving time for rape and 19% of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were in State prison in 1991.
Of the 9,691 male sex offenders released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, 5.3% were rearrested for a new sex crime within 3 years of release.
Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.
Approximately 4,300 child molesters were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994. An estimated 3.3% of these 4,300 were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years of release from prison.
Among child molesters released from prison in 1994, 60% had been in prison for molesting a child 13 years old or younger.
Offenders who had victimized a child were on average 5 years older than the violent offenders who had committed their crimes against adults. Nearly 25% of child victimizers were age 40 or older, but about 10% of the inmates with adult victims fell in that age range.
Food for thought, if nothing else, eh?
There are rapists, filthy rapists, and guys who made ONE horrific mistake.
I agree with the premise that sex offenders should be kept off school grounds. All your stats conclude that the rapists and filthy rapists strike again within 3 years of release.
The guy in question was released in 1995 and has remained CLEAN for 13 years. In fact, he's married and has a child ready to graduate the 8th grade.
It's clear to me that this guy has turned over a new leaf. It's not like he wants to attend a random 8th grade ceremony to stalk out new prey. He wants to be there for his CHILD.
Perhaps ... but perhaps the motivating force behind that law is to put the good of the many ahead of that of the individual, in this case.
The eggs/omelette axiom comes to mind here ...
In 20 years if some Hardcore Christian-Right Michigan Governor concocts a law that says 'people who divorced can no longer vote', You'd have a lot of divorced people rightfully pissed because of a crap law.
The problem with the current situation is no one gives a rats ass about the rights of a formerly convicted rapist.
'He did it once, he's gonna do it again, just wait.'
It's easier for society to lump them all together in one big fucking omelet, than deal with each individual egg.
Meanwhile, guys like James Jones are haunted by one lapse in judgment for the rest of their natural lives.
They should at the very least have a grandfather clause on these new laws.
First of all, we already had our hardcore Christian-Right Governor ... his name was John Engler and, thankfully, his days "leading" our state are done.
Now, on to more pressing matters.
Comparing people who've been divorced to convicted rapists and child molesters is like trying to substitue an enchilada for an administrative assistant. C'mon Jerry ... I'm sure you can come up with a better analogy than that!
Till that day is nothing more than a wet dream for Pat Robertson, try again, Jerry.
I know in my head and my heart that I am NOT that person and I will NEVER do it again. But laws are made that treat people like omelets and, had my situation been escalated, I would have been forever tagged.
In 9 years, if a law comes up and paints the group of tagged people with the same brush, its possible I too could miss out on something involving my child because some senator decided to mark me as a threat to society.
So I'm looking at the issue from a father's perspective who wants to be there for his child, rather than the omelet side.
This is clearly a special case and it should be handled independently of all the rest. The argument that if we review one, we have to review them all is stupid. Maybe its actually the LAW that needs reworking.
Actually, you're absolutely right, Jerry. And I can think of a few fairly recent laws, which were enacted in a moment of knee-jerk reactions, that have created a situation where the laws can be used as a weapon, and those falsely accused have to live with the shame of a label placed on them by the courts and society.
That being said, I'm a parent, too, and I always feel uneasy when, after checking the Michigan sex offender registry, I find out the number of convicted sex offenders living in my neighborhood.
Do I know all their stories or the circumstances of their crimes? Admittedly, no. But the caring parent in me still imediately shudders at the thought that these people are living so close to me ... and my child. I've resigned myself to be comfortable in that "hypocrisy."
I guess it has something to do with the duality of man ... you know, the Jungian thing?
(Bonus points if you know what movie that was paraphrased from.)