08/04/2011
By Will Doolittle, Twitter
If you associate banishment with "Romeo and Juliet" and believe it went out of fashion with the codpiece, then you aren't familiar with the sex offender residency laws passed by numerous communities in New York.
These laws typically forbid convicted sex offenders from working or living within 1,000 feet of places where children congregate.
So the Washington County law, adopted in 2007, bans sex offenders from living or working near parks and playgrounds, libraries, youth centers and schools.
These oppressive, unfair and ineffective laws need to be repealed and, as municipalities face lawsuits, many of them have been.
Getting convicted of a sex offense can lead to a lifetime of punishment, regardless of how long you stay in jail.
Sex offenders are branded with the shame of their actions through New York's public registry. Required to inform the state where they are living, sex offenders suffer the ignominy of having their names and crimes displayed on the state's website.
Some sex offenders are monsters. Some are not. It makes no sense for us to cut off the possibility of rehabilitation by forcing sex offenders out of the communities where they have a chance to turn their lives in a different direction.
Many practical arguments have been made against the residency laws, which have the effect of pushing sex offenders out of settled areas.
It's easier to keep track of sex offenders in villages like Hudson Falls, where the police and probation departments are nearby. It's easier for sex offenders to get jobs, and keep them, if they live in cities and villages, where they can walk to employment, or use public transportation.
The residency laws impose a burden on local police to keep track of the sex offenders in their jurisdictions and burden the criminal justice system with prosecuting those who fail to register their addresses when they move.
The registry requirements and the restrictions on residency expose sex offenders to potential violations that, because of their previous crimes, can land them back in prison. In this way, through paperwork, society creates career criminals and bears the cost of their incarceration.
Banishment, which is what the residency laws amount to, is impractical. And it's ineffective. Most sex abuse victims are known to the offender, not strangers targeted at playgrounds or parks.
And it's unfair. Once a criminal has served his sentence, he should be given a chance to rejoin society. Laws that force sex offenders out of their communities take that chance away.
