Although we have known for some time that the United States, with its entrenched guns culture, is not among the safest nations most Americans believe that dangerous criminals would be kept incarcerated. Yet time and again the headlines remind us that due to incompetence, shortsightedness and just plain stupidity on the part of authorities a violently dangerous criminal might be released in our midst often without anyone's knowledge.
Take the mind boggling case of Phillip Garrido, convicted and registered sex offender, who shortly after release from prison allegedly (with the help of his wife!) abducted an 11 year old girl in California and kept her in captivity for 18 years, fathering two daughters by her. Where were the authorities? Despite repeated visits by sheriff's deputies and parole officers over all this time, no one noticed the backyard compound of tents and makeshift structures where all 3 females lived. Although there were many warning signs no one "connected the dots" just like exactly 8 years ago when the FBI and others failed to "connect the dots" which might have prevented 9/11. Gives you a lot of confidence in law enforcement, doesn't it?
Just this week in Chicago, we have the horrifying case of one Julius Anderson, a violent sexual criminal who over the strong objections of the Illinois Attorney General and Cook County States Attorney was released after 30 years in prison (Illinois has a special law permitting continued imprisonment of such individuals). Almost immediately he allegedly committed two violent sexual assaults. Apparently his release was approved (!) by a contract psychologist who believed he was fit for society. Tell that to the 2 women involved.
TNB wonders which gives a greater false sense of security--making someone register as a sex offender or, in another commonly exploited situation, taking out an order of protection which has routinely been ignored or poorly enforced (check out a number of murders of those who have obtained such an order).
Suggestion to U.S. Attorney General Holder--stop worrying about punishing a few misguided CIA agents in the torture case and start, along with your counterparts in all the States, to make our country safer.
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1 comment:
Well this week's blog is right up my alley.
I could not agree with you more. As you know in my work, I deal with sexual predators all the time. The other day there was a father on a case who insisted he should have custody of his child because the step child he molested was not his and he would never harm his own child.
Although he had spent time in prison for the sex abuse and it is on his rap sheet, he is not listed on Megan's list (California's registry of sex offenders).
I also issue Temporary Restraining Orders and Permanent Orders and most of the time they are not served properly or the police and sheriff don't want to bother enforcing them.
90% of the time they are not worth the paper they are printed on.
On the other hand, I have seen young boys listed as sex offenders for inappropriatey touching a friend or sister or cousin. (What used to be called playing Doctor)
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