The Case of Chelsea King Calls for Sex Offender Reform

The recent case of Chelsea King, a 17 year old girl from San Diego County, California found murdered in a shallow grave is a perfect example of how our current sex offender legislation completely fails. John Albert Gardner III a convicted sex offender is currently under arrest for her murder. We, as a nation, live under an extremely deceptive ruse convinced that the current sex offender laws are protecting our children and our communities from the monsters that lurk about. This false sense of security is putting us at an even greater risk as we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that by stacking more and more laws on a broken system it will rectify the situation.

The reason our current sex offender laws fail is quite simple…too many people whether we choose to believe it or not are being forced to register as sex offenders who are of absolutely no threat to our children or society. With these restrictive and damaging labels being passed out like candy by our judicial system the system is becoming extremely overburdened. Law enforcement is having a difficult time keeping up and focusing on those individuals who could pose a very real threat to society like John Gardner since everyone is lumped together in the registry.

Dangerous criminals like John Gardner are slipping through the cracks and hiding being all of those people who are of no threat to society. People caught urinating in public, young lovers caught in a Romeo and Juliet scenario, and so on are being added to this system daily without much distinction from a dangerous repeat child molester or violent rapist. If we want to continue to bury our heads in the sand and justify these absurd laws and labeling schemes then we will see more cases like Chelsea King. I, for one, refuse to allow that to continue to happen.

Improper sentencing and the continued misuse and exploitation of the current overburdened sex offender registration system are failing miserably to protect our children and our communities from the small amount of real threats that do exist. We need to open our eyes and our minds to the fact that reform is the only answer in fixing a once well-intended system.

In response to such a devastating story oftentimes lawmakers and politicians will start stacking a vast array of new laws on top of the broken system trying to convince an emotionally devastated populace that this will make a change for the better. This is a most notable move practiced during election time. Instead it hurts good, decent people who bear the label but are of no threat and gives us a false sense of security. Wake up America!

The sentencing structure for particularly heinous crimes needs to be re-evaluated and revamped. Those people who pose not risk to children or society should not be included on the registry. Lawmakers, politicians, and law enforcement need to be held accountable for their actions. Career advancement opportunities, election propaganda, and financial prosperity should not be the deciding factors in incarcerating individuals and labeling people as monsters for their entire lives. This will not protect our children or our communities. This is primarily why sex offender legislation fails and why our children and our communities are suffering such tragedies as that of Chelsea King.

How can we continue to tolerate a broken system that claims to protect our children and our communities but fails to live up to this promise? How can we tolerate watching good, decent people suffer extreme violations of civil rights under the false guise of protection and security? We need to demand the system be fixed so that there are no repeats of Chelsea King, Adam Walsh, and Megan Kanka. No, I for one will not allow our children or good, decent people to continue to suffer at the hands of an obviously broken and exploited system. Silence is no longer an option. The time to demand change is now!