Congratulations Mr. Morgan. Outstanding work, and bon courage.
J. Tom Morgan
Sunday
Gutsy Former Prosecutor Takes a Stand...
Former DeKalbv District Attorney J. Tom Morgan has written a courageous opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In it he actually takes apart Georgia's absurd and grandstanding sex offender registration law, finally saying publically what everyone else seems afraid to say.
Congratulations Mr. Morgan. Outstanding work, and bon courage.
J. Tom Morgan
Congratulations Mr. Morgan. Outstanding work, and bon courage.
J. Tom Morgan
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my controversial book about a day in my life as Public Defender in the South Bronx is finally available for Kindle and Ipad.
5 comments:
Dear Readers,
I don't normally respond to comments, particularly from people purporting to be Mark Brenner Esq. But it's significant to note that Judge Bamberger is retired, Judge Globerman now sits in Matrimonial Court, and that I've rarely even seen Oprah. I do like Taco Bell though. Those hard shell tacos supreme. Yum.
Furthermore, it's unclear to me whether the person posting as Mr. Brenner really is Mark Brenner. The poster has no profile and seems to have a somewhat outdated grasp of the judiciary. So without some further information or obvious familiarty with the subject or the person, I merely caution readers against assuming that this poster is actually Mark Brenner.
Yo, David:
. . . . Real or not; this Brenner fellow is a true moron. If, in fact, you do make him want to puke, then one can only conclude that he enjoys an occasional up-chuck. Otherwise, why would he keep coming back for more?
. . . . As I noted in response to his ranting under your August 22 post; he may have some sort of hormonal deficiency. Regardless of the cause, he is still a moron.
I found it interesting and smart what DA Morgan said.
I wonder how he feels regarding, the many teens having to register as a sex offender, for teenage sex?
Please read this with an open mind, and try to consider BOTH sides. Don't let hate for sex offenders do the thinking for you. And do NOT believe all the hype, stats and other opinions on the news and Internet. Do your own research before judging people. Not all "sex offenders" are the people you've been told they are.
Resources:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#recidivism
http://www.geocities.com/eadvocate/issues/
http://sosnet.bravehost.com/
http://www.sohopeful.org/
http://www.sosen.org/
http://1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm
Any "registry" is just plain wrong. It violates peoples rights, and opens them up to vigilantism. Plus, with the public "shaming", it hurts the FAMILY and CHILDREN of sex offenders who are trying to live a productive life. They say this is to protect the children, yet, they are punishing the children of sex offenders. Not all sex offenders are the pedofiles and violent type, who should be in prison, getting treatment. If they are going to have registries, then they need to not discriminate, and have registries for EVERYONE who has a criminal record, which includes drug dealers, murderers, gang members, robbers, the list goes on and on.
People who say "but it's for the children" is just trying to scare the public, and guess what, it's working. Just look at all all the hateful things MANY people are saying, like "LET'S HANG EM ALL", "THEY SHOULD ALL REPORT TO THEIR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CHECK IN". It's this type of mentality that makes the world like it is today. Wake up America!
I am all for punishing predators and pedophiles, but, while they are in jail or prison, they need to be getting professional help. People can change, you just have to give them the tools to help them change. If you just lock them up for years, and then let them out, they are just going to be worse than when they originally went in. While they are in prison, it should be mandatory that they get treatment. Then, once they are about to be released, they need to be re-evaluated. If they are deemed not a threat, then they should be released and allowed to live a normal life without harrassment from the public. But if they are still a threat, they should stay in prison until they are no longer a threat, do NOT let them out.
I was molested by my brother when I was young, which I did not even remember until I went to therapy. And when I finally remembered it, I was VERY ANGRY!! If my brother was not in the military at the time, and at home, I probably would have stuck a gun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger myself. So I know what this is like, and how the people think. But I know this would've got me into a lot of trouble, upset my parents. I am glad I did not do that, and I forgave my brother, whom I loved very much, and still do. People have to learn how to forgive people once they have served their time, and sex offenders who get out of prison, are constantly under stress, panic attacks, scared someone will harm them, always looking over their shoulder. I could not imagine living like this. Can you? Well this is how MANY of them live today, just ask any of them. It's a shame America has come down to this. And we claim to be a country "under god".
Most sex offenders, have probably been molested themselves when they were young, and need help, professional help. Not locked up for the rest of their lives. I understand how people feel about sex offenders, but not all of them deserve all the public shaming, humiliation, and fear for their lives, like many are. So, they need to be put into treatment, to treat their problems before they get out of hand. If they do not get treatment, then it will only get worse.
Here is a few notes about these sex offender laws:
a) 1000 feet buffer zones - These do nothing but give the public a false sense of security. If someone wanted to hurt a kid, they just hop in the car and drive. It also banishes them, due to not being able to find a place that is not within 1000 feet of a bus stop, church, school, pool, or any place children congregate. So it basically forces them to not report, or move out into a rural area, where it would be even easier for someone to re-offend and get away with another crime, but, most sex offenders do NOT get rearrested for a crime of the same nature. Banishment is not the way. If someone had a business and later a church was put up next door, they can now go to church, but cannot run their own business. If you also look for a place to stay, like hotels/motels, most are grouped together and one of them 99% of the time will have a pool, so that would put all those places within 1000 feet, off limits. And this is every where, just look around.
b) They are also claiming it's to protect the kids, but what about the FAMILES and CHILDREN of sex offenders? They are forced to move away from their families and kids. Kids will not understand this. This will surely hurt the kid(s). The families are also forced to move, possibly loosing their jobs, kids are always having to change schools, causing them to not learn like normal kids. The families and kids are also harrassed, due to someone in their family being a sex offender. Now instead of punishing one person, you are punishing the WHOLE family. Vigilante's have looked up sex offenders on the sex offender registries, went to their house, or what they thought was the house, and killed the person they thought was the sex offender. When it turns out, the guy had the wrong address and killed the wrong person. I do not see how ANYONE could live under these circumstances. Do you? Other kids are saying "I can't come over, your father may touch me", so thus the kid no longer has friends, and is picked on at school. Same with the wife, spouse or other family members of a sex offender.
c) The buffer zones, when enacted in ALL states, will basically BANISH sex offenders from living anywhere. Where are they going to live? Some people have said some island somewhere, or who cares. Every human has rights, even murderers, Jews, Christians and sex offenders. I know people would think otherwise, but they do have rights.
d) Sex offenders are scape goats for politicians so they look like they are TUFF on sex crimes, to get votes! And if the public accepts this, more registries or laws will follow which you or someone you love may be on, or affected by.
e) By putting the offenders address on the registries, this only helps vigilante's hunt them down to kill them. Many sex offenders have already been killed by vigilante's. Read the news, this is occurring today. If you do this, then you MUST NOT DISCRIMIATE, and put all peoples information on the registry who have criminal records. But I don't think even that is what we need. We just need to rethink these laws, and come up with something that is fair to all.
f) The law says they would categorize people on the registry into low, medium and high risk. THEY HAVE NOT DONE THIS! They've put EVERYONE into the HIGH risk area, and the PUBLIC has the impression they are all hiding behind the bushes, waiting for your kid to come by, so they can hurt and kill them. This is untrue! Also, there is people on the registries whom are labeled a child molestor, whom did not even touch a kid. This could be something like someone urinating in the woods and a young kid under 13 comes walking by and accidentally sees the persons private parts. Now they are labeled a child molestor, and this shows as child molestation on the registry, which is misleading. The average person who sees this will think the person is some crazy lunatic who hunts down, molests and kills kids, which is incorrect.
The world today is cruel, so if you have kids, do your job and monitor them. Bush says the American public CANNOT PROTECT THEMSELVES. Are you truely going to believe this? Protect your kids, watch what they are doing on the Internet, and who they are talking to, it's your job and right to know what they are doing. Why don't you DEMAND from the government the Internet tools to protect kids from online predators? Something that requires age verification. You can't go into a store and buy alcohol without verification, so why should you be able to talk to someone on the internet without verification?
Again, this was done by the politicians to get votes, or by someone like "John Walsh" who cannot get over his son's death, and is very angry, which is understandable, but he's hurting MANY people, families and kids, just to make himself feel better. They have wipped the public into a frenzy of hatred, so they get the laws passed, and look to be TUFF on SEX OFFENDERS to get votes.
There has to be another way! Change the law, so it is fair for everyone involved, and do not discriminate.
Sincerely,
ZMan!!
ZMan, thank you so much for those links and your insightful remarks. They have helped me a great deal in formulating my own arguments against our current system.
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