Archive
After Another Murder, Another Proposed Law
The Bay Area – The US Times
April 13, 2010, 4:13 pm
<!– — Updated: 4:13 pm –>
After Another Murder, Another Proposed Law
By GERRY SHIH
Megan, Jessica, now Chelsea — each name a legislative expression of public fury.
The rape and murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King outside a San Diego park sparked a media firestorm and incensed residents in Southern California after the police charged John Albert Gardner III, a convicted sex offender, with the crimes.
Mr. Gardner has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. He was released from prison in 2006 after serving time for beating and molesting a 13-year-old, and records show that he had committed seven parole violations in the time between his release and the rape and murder of Ms. King.
On Monday in Sacramento, Kelly and Brent King announced a bill called Chelsea’s Law, named after their daughter. The bill notably includes a “one strike” provision that would allow prosecutors to pursue a life sentence without parole for forcible sex crimes against a minor when there are aggravating circumstances such as torture and kidnapping.
“Life without possibility of parole for a violent sexual predator is needed,” Mr. King told reporters. “These offenders cannot be rehabilitated. They do not deserve a second chance.”
The parents were joined at the capitol by Nathan Fletcher, the Republican assemblyman from San Diego who sponsored the bill.
Still, the proposed legislation is reigniting the debate over the the efficacy, justness and consequences of laws against sex offenders that have been ushered through during the emotionally fraught periods following shocking and high-profile crimes.
Chelsea’s Law would increase — to 25 years from 15 years — the minimum sentence for forcible sex crimes that involve minor aggravating circumstances, like drugging the victim. Those convicted of sex crimes against children younger than 14 would also face lifetime of parole that included G.P.S. monitoring. And, instead of a residency restriction such as those contained in previous sex offender legislation, Chelsea’s Law forbids outright sex offenders from visiting public spaces like parks without the express permission of their probation officers.
Mr. Fletcher said he drafted and revised the bill after consulting law enforcement officials, judges, community forums in his district and Bonnie M. Dumanis, the district attorney of San Diego County. His office has received a deluge of calls from constituents who support his measure, Mr. Fletcher said, and his district has galvanized around the issue.
“You feel anger, you feel rage, you feel frustration,” Mr. Fletcher said. “Now the community is channeling all those emotions into motivation for change.”
A local radio station paid for passenger buses to take San Diego residents to Sacramento on Monday evening ahead of a “Sunflower Ovation” event on Tuesday morning, when the King family’s supporters will spread 1,000 sunflower petals on the capitol steps and press legislators to support Chelsea’s Law. As of late Monday, a Facebook group supporting Chelsea’s Law had over 76,000 fans, many of whom had adopted the group’s sunflower motif as their personal profile photo.
But these sex offender laws have historically courted controversy, largely from legal groups that say the restrictions infringe on the offender’s basic civil rights.
When reached on Monday, the office of California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Monday that it was too early to comment on Chelsea’s Law as it had been just been introduced, but the office would be “closely examining the details of this bill.”
The California Attorneys for Criminal Justice opposes the bill because it said there is no proof that longer sentences and parole terms are effective, KGO-TV reported. The group also said the state would not be able to afford to implement the measures.
In January, California’s Sexual Offender Management Board concluded that Jessica’s Law was in fact potentially harmful as it displaced hundreds of convicted offenders from their homes, heightening the likelihood that they might recommit crimes.
“I don’t understand how the public feels safer with me roaming the streets aimlessly,” one convicted offender, who was allowed to visit his family only four hours a day, told The San Francisco Chronicle.
And in March, an East Bay community discovered that it had no way of enforcing Jessica’s Law even as a convicted sex offender moved into a home directly across the street from an elementary school. The loophole existed because the bill, while passing comfortably with strong public support, never included a punishment in its language. Other enforcement loopholes are manifold.
Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, told The New York Times that sex offender laws were sometimes nothing more than a barometer of public opinion.
“They’re a plebiscite on sex offenders, and no one likes sex offenders,” Professor Zimring said. “It’s not like they have a lobbying group.”
But Mr. Fletcher portrayed Ms. King’s murder as a case of a convicted offender falling through gaps in the criminal justice system and guaranteed that his bill would greatly bolster any previous legislation.
“Our mission here isn’t just about proposing new laws,” the assemblyman said.
Halloween & Basic Safety Tips for Children
Kids love Halloween! However, trick-or-treating isn’t what it used to be. It’s not as safe as it use to be to let kids walk the streets alone in groups. Trick-or-treating should be one of the great adventures of Halloween for kids! They can get dressed in scary costumes and go door to door, begging “Trick-or-Treat!” from neighbors or at the local mall. Many towns have a Harvest Festival so kids can Trick-or-Treat safely and from store to store. But going door to door is really the experience of childhood memories! It should be a fun time, without trouble and pain.
Anytime a child has an accident, it’s tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, it would forever live in the minds of the child and the family.
There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when they are more prone to accidents and injuries as well as daily. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening.
Parents please visit www.familywatchdog.us immediately to discover any presence of sex offenders are in your city, town, and/or neighborhood.
Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, child safety and awareness, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, enrolling them in a personal safety course will help make them safer.
Children must understand that a stranger is a person whom you have never met. You may have seen the person before but don’t know anything about him or her. Most strangers are nice, but some are not. You can’t tell if a stranger is nice or not by looking at him or her. But you can tell if a situation is good or bad. Strangers don’t look like monsters, aliens, or the bad guys you see on TV. They look like ordinary people. However, “safety-net” individuals may include uniformed law-enforcement or security officers; a store salesperson with a name tag; the person in an information booth at a mall or other public venue; or a mother with children.
If a child is lost outside children need to be equipped with information as; never wander away from where they first became lost. If they stay put, changes are better that they will be found more quickly. If that place becomes too dangerous because of severe weather or another threatening situation, children should go to the nearest safe spot and wait for rescuers. CHILDREN SHOULD MAKE NOISE EITHER BY YELLING, BLOWING A WHISTLE, OR JUST SIMPLY ATTRACTING ATTENTION. This will help in bringing someone to their rescue.
What children should do ALL OF THE TIME for safety:
- Be aware of dangerous situations. If a stranger asks you for help or to keep a “special secret,” it could be a dangerous situation. Say no and tell a trusted adult.
- Trust instincts. If you feel scared or uncomfortable, get away from the situation. Make an excuse or just run away, and go to a safe place.
- Know what to do. Think and yell NO, GO, YELL ANYTHING AND LOUD. If you’re in a dangerous situation, yell NO, RUN AWAY, YELL AS LOUD AS YOU CAN, and tell an adult.
- Do not allow anyone to lure you for anything or any reason.
- Implement the Buddy System at all times.
- If anyone physically grabs you – use every part of your body as a weapon against your assailant. Slam your head backwards/forwards to hit any/all parts of the assailants body and use your elbows and palms to hit his/her body, flail-kick your legs like crazy (object is to get back down to the ground), bite, scratch, grab ears, poke eyes – every part of an individual’s body is a target just as every part of your body is a weapon. Cause as much chaos as humanly possible. An assailant does NOT expect you to react or respond in this manner. They expect you to freeze in fear. Do not become frozen in fear.
- Ask your parents first. If a stranger invites you to go somewhere, offers you a gift, or just wants to talk, say you need to ask your parents for permission first. Then go do it.
- STAY WITH FRIENDS. IT’S ALWAYS SAFER TO PLAY, WALK, TO BE PART OF A GROUP.
Set up a “family password/code” with your children in the event of an emergency. I incorporated this into our family as soon as my boys were old enough to understand the dangers of strangers. A friend may have to pick up your child/children somewhere other than school and you need a plan. Your child should know the code word and understand the importance. Your child should be prepared to respond to anyone who knows the code word. Make the word meaningful to your family so a real stranger would not be able to figure it out. Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions.
Parents of trick-or-treating kids can get so caught up in the fun themselves that they might forget some simple safety ideas that could save everyone some trouble. Having a fun and safe Halloween will make it all worth while.
Below are a few tips that can be of further assistance during this Halloween as well as daily:
- Make sure that an adult is going with the kids. If you can’t take them personally another parent or responsible adult must accompany them. Know the route your kids will be taking if you personally aren’t going with them. Children should go out during daylight hours only unless accompanied by a responsible adult.
- Do not approach a vehicle for someone asking directions. ADULTS DON’T NEED DIRECTIONS FROM KIDS!
- Make sure you set a time that they should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to be home on time.
- Plan a safe route so that all will know where everyone will be at all times. Set a time for their return home.
- Let your children know not to cut through back alleys and fields. Make sure they know to stay in populated places and don’t go off the beaten track. Stay in well lighted areas.
- Trick-or-Treat only at familiar houses in your own neighborhood.
- Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you.
- Instruct your child to never go into the home of a stranger or get into their car.
- Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars.
Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they’ll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!
Take care and STAY SAFE!
Anny