09/19/2011
By Steve Woods
Going as far back as its early frontier days, Texas has never been a state to shy away from punishing its law-breakers. Many, including myself, have been critical of what might be called a heavy-handed approach to the death penalty.
With the passage of Texas Senate Bill 407 (PDF), however, I gotta hand it to Texas for a step in the right direction. So what’s the bill about? Of all things, teen sexting.
Up until just 18 days ago, Texas teens caught sexting each other were charged with a felony, sentenced with heavy jail times, possible monetary fines, and life-long registration on a sex offender’s registry. Texas Senate Bill 407, introduced by Senator Kirk Watson and signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry in June, lessens considerably the possible legal ramifications.
I was a teenager once, and I might be inclined to share with you the variety of sordid activities I participated in during my “formative years;” however, I’m not sure a blog post is the best way to test the statute of limitations in California. Many of you reading this have teenagers, and know that when they’re out and about, they might be up to things that would either make your blood boil or toes curl.
In May of this year, two Indiana 13-year-olds were discovered by school administrators to have been sending nude photos to each other using their phones. The photos were consensual, and appeared to have not been sent to anyone else. Despite this fact, both children were charged with child sexual exploitation, a charge originally designed to deter adult child molesters from possessing and exchanging child pornography. The exploitation charge will likely follow the Indiana children around for life.
Sexual offender registration can affect one’s choice of work, where to live, whether or not he or she can join the military, run for public office, and more. If your teenager were caught having participated in sexting, would you support a judge handing down these lasting consequences?
Texas is not letting kids get off without punishment. Sexting will be charged as a misdemeanor, and children involved in the act may be sentenced to educational programs to educate them on the dangers of such behavior. Fines for a misdemeanor in Texas can reach as high as $4,000, and repeat offenses can lead to up to a year of jail time.
These punishments, in my mind, are far more reasonable, especially for repeat offenders. Laws with some flexibility, that allow a judge to determine not just the action, but also the intent behind the action, are much more desirable. Were the images sent to two teens who were dumb and in love? Were the images shared with a wider circle without one teen’s knowledge? Were the images shared in order to embarrass or otherwise harm one of the participants emotionally? It’s important that the answers to all of the questions and more be weighed when handing down a sentence.
Still leaning toward the more harsh sentence? Maybe you’re worried about the proliferation of sexting, and believe a more harsh sentence will stem the tide. Then you should know that a survey conducted (PDF) by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy revealed that 1 in 5 teenagers have admitted to sexting - despite harsh punishment hanging over their heads. If all kids sending nude photos could be rounded up and hauled to a jail term (followed by a sex offender registration,) which side of the jail bars would your kid be on? Are you absolutely sure?
- Again with the usual "1 in 5" statistic we seem to see all the time. Click the link above for more information on this "statistic."
“Studies show that teenage students are increasingly creating, sending and receiving explicit pictures of themselves on their mobile telephones, “ said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Personally, I applaud Texas’ decision to begin with a lesser sentence for what ought to be considered, at least by most teens, a really stupid mistake.
Texas is not the only state re-evaluating Internet-based laws established long before today’s hand-held technologies were created. According to WireUpdate, over a dozen states are either working on or considering working on revamping their legal codes as they pertain to sexting.
