Sex Offender Registry Laws May Cause More Harm Than Good

The recent slayings of two convicted sex offenders listed on Maine’s online sex offender database pose serious questions about the consequences of registry laws. But crime experts and defense attorneys doubt whether a considerate national debate on the issue is possible.

In a nation that seeks increasingly stricter punishments and banishment of sex offenders, most are unwilling to evaluate the risks or fairness of offender registry laws.

“We’ve basically dehumanized these people with words such as ‘predator,’” said Fred Berlin, psychiatrist and founder of the John Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic in Maryland. “Every decent human being wants to protect children,” he said. But Berlin claims that registries make it extremely difficult to allow criminals who have done their time to rebuild their lives.

Every state in the U.S. has an Internet sex offender database, which posts photographs and personal information about convicted sex offenders for at least 20 years or even for life. In a number of states, exact street addresses are provided, which allegedly led a Canadian man to find and kill two registered offenders last week.

Acts of vigilantism have been prominent in many sex offender cases ranging from harassment to murder including the killings of two child rapists in Washington and the beating of a New Jersey man who was mistaken for his sex offender brother.

While police, politicians and prosecutors deny vigilantism, they fully support the registry laws. Governors in Vermont and New Hampshire ruled against appeals made by their state’s American Civil Liberties Union branches to terminate online registries.

James Backstrom, a chief prosecutor in Minnesota and a board member of the National District Attorneys Association believes the databases “are appropriate and needed.” However, he did acknowledge that the registries are a contributing factor to a problem that many states face: no one wants to live in the same neighborhood as sex offenders, making it increasing difficult for them to find a place to live.

Additionally, many states prohibit offenders from living near parks, schools, or similar facilities, said William Buckman, a New Jersey defense attorney and board member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

“We’re essentially seeing people forced in refugee status,” he said. “The experts say the major thing in preventing recidivism is to allow offenders to rebuild their lives, put down roots. But because of feel-good, poorly-thought, knee-jerk reactions by politicians, the effect is to increase recidivism.”

However, those that want sex offender laws to be reconsidered are not suggesting a lack of monitoring. They cite some states that have developed adequate risk-assessment systems that aid in determining which offenders should be listed in public registries. This would make the whereabouts of high-risk offenders known, while lower-risks are given more anonymity.

The Missouri State Supreme Court will soon rule on a class action lawsuit, which alleges the state law is too broad and unfairly penalizes those who pose little risk including a man convicted of child abuse for spanking his son with a belt and a woman who had consensual sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy when she was 20.

“All these draconian Sex Offender Registry Acts need to be trimmed back—eliminating people who never should have been on in the first place,” said Arthur Benson, the attorney handling the Missouri suit.

According to Jill Levinson, a professor and sex-crimes researcher in Florida, sex offenders have a lower recidivism rate than those who committed other serious crimes. She urges legislatures to modify laws regarding low-risk offenders to give them the opportunity to rehabilitate their lives.

“The intentions are good” Levinson said of the online registries. “But there’s very little evidence that these registries improve community safety or protect children.”