Supreme Court: Sex offenders can be held indefinitely

#1
utvolpj

utvolpj

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#1
Supreme Court: Sex offenders can be held indefinitely - CNN.com

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday the federal government has the power to keep some sex offenders behind bars indefinitely after they have served their sentences if officials determine those inmates may prove "sexually dangerous" in the future.
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In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas said the federal government overstepped its bounds.
"Congress' power, however, is fixed by the Constitution," Thomas wrote. "It does not expand merely to suit the states' policy preferences, or to allow state officials to avoid difficult choices regarding the allocation of state funds."He was joined by Justice Antonin Scalia.
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Thoughts on how this is going to work? Any worries on how it could be used in the future?
 
#3
#3
those types of people do need to be thrown under the jail, but yah that teeters so close to habeas corpus
 
#5
#5
no kidding, the only group of people that should be held indefinatly are terrorists.. then again they also shouldnt get the rights of an american citizen
 
#6
#6
TennTradition said:
I was a bit surprised by this. Why stop at sex offenders?
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it may have something to do with the recent spate of sex offenders being released from prison and killing another child within days of that release.

I don't know for sure, but I'm waiting for the attacks on Scalia and Thomas to begin, saying they're "for sex offenders" or some such nonsense.
 
#8
#8
I'm torn by this. There is some serious habeas corpus considerations here...but as someone who is close to several people that were victims of such offenders this gives me some comfort, as it does them I'm sure.
 
#9
#9
they just need to up the sentances for these bastards. please explain to me how there are drug dealers in prison years longer than child molestors.
 
#10
#10
TennTradition said:
What's the purpose of sentences handed down by a judge, then? Who are the officials that decide?
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and that's my issue with it. Why not enact tougher, mandatory sentences for the offenders instead? Setting this kind of precedent is scary IMO
 
#12
#12
droski said:
they just need to up the sentances for these bastards. please explain to me how there are drug dealers in prison years longer than child molestors.
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lawyers and a perverse version of political correctness that requires that sex offenders be viewed as victims of their upbringing and not the animals that they truly are.
 
#13
#13
One of the problems as far as this issue is concerned is that so many judges have failed to understand the nature of sexual predators and believe they can be rehabilitated. Some types of disorders can be addressed but when we are talking about rapists and pedophiles they are all very high risk to offend again.

Why not simply mandate tougher sentences that take the judges discretion out of the picture?
 
#14
#14
rjd970 said:
Castration should be on the table before this.
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I believe there is some literature that shows castration does little to stop the impulses these people have, they are still a threat and the frustration makes them even more likely to take the life of the victim in pedophile cases from what I understand.
 
#16
#16
MG1968 said:
lawyers and a perverse version of political correctness that requires that sex offenders be viewed as victims of their upbringing and not the animals that they truly are.
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That...and the burden of proof in a lot of these cases is overwhelming. A decent defense lawyer can get a lot of charges thrown out. The whole system is screwed up when prosecuting these crimes.
 
#17
#17
and, by "sex offender" I'm not referring to the drunk college student caught streaking through the parking lot of Golden Corral.
 
#18
#18
rjd970 said:
That...and the burden of proof in a lot of these cases is overwhelming. A decent defense lawyer can get a lot of charges thrown out. The whole system is screwed up when prosecuting these crimes.
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a father of one of my friends was accused of molesting one of his daughters close friends. most of the family believed this kid had some sort of vendetta against hte guy based on pretty dubious claims as far as i was concerned. he eventually got off. i still think he did it. it's very difficult.
 
#19
#19
Really slippery slope. Anybody remember when "rape" meant what you thought it meant? I've got nothing but contempt for the sexual predators out there but man...that's handing an enormous weapon to people that, let's face it, often fail to impress with how they apply their newfound powers. Unintended consequences and all that...
 
#22
#22
GASOUTHERNVOL said:
the serious sexual predators should be executed
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I'm not a huge fan of the death penalty, but serial rapists and molesters should probably just be put down like animals. If the case is airtight and they're beyond reforming, put them out of our misery.
 
#23
#23
IPorange said:
I'm not a huge fan of the death penalty, but serial rapists and molesters should probably just be put down like animals. If the case is airtight and they're beyond reforming, put them out of our misery.
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+1
 
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