Megan's Law
Three years ago, a young girl by the name of Megan Kanka was raped and killed. As a result of her death, a law was enacted in New Jersey requiring local authorities to notify communities if certain sex offenders are in their neighborhood. Since that time, 46 other states have passed similar laws, and some have even gone so far as to pass "indefinite detention" laws requiring dangerous sex offenders to remain behind bars even after they’ve completed their sentences if it is deemed that that they have not been rehabilitated and present a continuing threat to society.
I say, "Bravo." It's a good start.
The problem is that there are those who feel that Megan's law violates one's right to privacy, that the entire theme behind the penal system is "If you do the crime, do the time," as expressed by Karen Skinner, director of the New Jersey Association on Correction. "These people did the crime, did the time, and now are being punished again. It’s not fair."
Ms. Skinner, I beg to differ. We are not talking about a crime in the typical sense of the word. These people didn't rob a convenience store for kicks. They didn't shoot someone in the heat of the moment. They are driven by a sexual drive which is fueled by the desire to have sex with small children. This is a sexual preference that permanently harms the children involved if it is acted upon. It cannot be rehabilitated. It can be controlled to some extent, but if the individual demonstrates a proclivity for continuing sexually predatious behaviour, society has a
RIGHT to protect itself, or more accurately, it's children (read:"future adults and leaders").Now, let's back up a moment, because I want to address Ms. Skinner's opinions. I agree with Ms. Skinner only to the extent that once a person has served however many years, they should be able to leave the judicial system and rejoin society. The problem is, and I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know, most criminals get out of jail and commit more crimes, sometimes the very day they get out. We are not rehabilitating these people. There should be programs in prison to help these people unlearn their past illegal behaviours and learn skills and a sense of self-worth that will allow them to become members of society rather than detriments to society. (See my opinions of prisons
here. Two lower courts, however, have agreed with the state’s argument that Megan’s Law is constitutional.Elmer Geronimo Pratt Goes Free -- And Is Retried?!
I for one would LOVE to see Mr. Pratt retried. He's been in jail for 25 years for a crime he probably did not commit, he finally tasted freedom again recently, and now the prosecutor's office has announced that it will appeal the overturning of Pratt's conviction, essentially forcing a retrial of the case. And y'know what?
That's a good thing.
"
MY GOD!" You must be saying to yourself, "Todd, have you lost your mind?! Even if he's found guilty, he has served more time than most other men committing far more horrible crimes. Why waste tax payer money hounding this man?"Well, it's my personal opinion that Mr. Pratt is in fact innocent. The person who "informed" on him has admitted to being a paid informant for the FBI, and I'm positive that Mr. Pratt will be found not guilty and set free. I'm sure the prosecutor feels the same way. The only reason to press the issue would be to put the FBI on trial. Why put them on trial? Ever heard of CoIntellPro? It stood for the Counter Intelligence Program, and it was a program enacted by J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI to put down, by any means necessary, whether those means were Constitutional or not, any movement or group in America deemed to be a threat to the power structure and the status quo. The Black Panthers, due to blatant harassment and racism on the part of the Oakland Police Department at that time, had defined itself as the protector of the black community in Oakland. And J. Edgar Hoover saw them as a threat. At one point the FBI printed up booklets portraying the OPD as "pigs" and showing the killing of police officers, planted these booklets at a church the Black Panthers were working in conjunction with to help the needy, and then "raided" the church, "discovering" the booklets and leaking the news to the media in an effort to discredit the Black Panther organization.
Mr. Pratt, joining an organization because he wanted to do the right thing, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and J. Edgar Hoover's CoIntellPro ran him over like a drunken, crazed driver running over a small child. While Mr. Pratt was in Oakland, a school teacher was killed miles away. There is no way Mr. Pratt could have been anywhere near the scene of the crime and the descriptions of the killer in no way match Mr. Pratt. But the FBI built it's case, put it's "informant" on the stand, and railroaded Mr. Pratt off the streets, where he was perceived by the FBI as a threat, and into jail where it was presumed he would rot, a threat to no one.
Make no mistake, Mr. Pratt is not the only victim of a government gone insane in that bygone era, but he's the only one so far lucky enough to escape death in prison. If he is retried, it will force a very public, very visible investigation of the activities of the FBI and the OPD at that time. And when he is found innocent, it will set the precedent that could lead to the freeing of more of America's political prisoners.