U.S. to launch sex offender registry Web site

[BR_Parkway]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050520/wr_nm/crime_sexoffenders_dc

1 hour, 34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
Justice Department will launch a national sex offender registry Web site that will allow people to check state databases with a single search, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Friday.

"With this technology, every citizen and law enforcement officer will be able to search the latest information for the identity and location of known sex offenders," he said in prepared remarks announcing the new registry.

Gonzales and other Justice Department officials said that within 60 days they expect to have the site available for public use and searches, with at least 20 states participating in the registry.

<snip>

They said the registry cannot be used by employers to screen applicants for jobs. That would violate FBI policy and would be inconsistent with the noncriminal justice background checks in the Interstate Crime Control and Privacy Compact.

[merwin]

1. But what's stopping an employer from looking at the PUBLIC website

and making the decision not to hire that person?

[Rainbowreflect]

3. Most employers are going to ask about felony convictions.

So they should have that info anyway.

[bennywhale]

2. AAAAAhhhhh goody, the return of lynching.

[OneBlueSky]

4. cruel and stupid . . .

first of all, once offenders have served their sentences, then their debt to society should be marked paid . . . tagging them publically with a scarlet letter amounts to punishing them twice for the same crime -- and the second punishment is a life sentence . . .

this kind of treatment effectively destroys any chance offenders might have of overcoming their problems and leading a quasi-normal existence . . . neighborhoods won't want them living there, employers won't want them working there, and the risk of vigilante violence will be very real . . .

this life sentence is particularly devastating and unfair to those who are non-violent, statutory offenders . . . an 18-year-old who had completely consensual sex with a 16-year-old girlfriend or boyfriend, for example . . . the parents find out, the person is prosecuted and convicted, and his/her name is on the national registry forever . . . that is stupid and cruel, and virtually ensures that that person can never be a functioning and contributing member of society . . .