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Garrido, Sowell examples of a failed system
Convicted offenders repeat sex crimes
Steve Thompson, Managing Editor, sthompson@smu.edu
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Opinion
Two months ago, when Jaycee Dugard was discovered to be alive 19 years after her abduction in South Lake Tahoe, the nation was shocked. But when it was revealed that the 29 year old was now a mother of two and that her and her children were living in makeshift tents in the backyard of sex offender parolee Phillip Garrido and his wife, that shock turned to outrage.
Yesterday the California Inspector General's Office determined that the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation "failed to properly supervise Garrido and missed numerous opportunities to discover his victims." I would certainly agree.
The fact that a couple could hold a 29 year old, and 15 year old and an 11 year old hostage in their backyard without anyone knowing is unfathomable. Garrido was convicted in 1977 for the kidnapping and rape of a 25-year-old woman and was under federal parole supervision when he allegedly kidnapped Dugard in 1991. And as a California parolee, Garrido wore a GPS ankle bracelet and was subject to surprise home visits. But the backyard compound was never discovered.
There is almost no excuse for this major oversight, besides the fact that the system is overworked. When violent sexual offenders are let out on parole early or receive lenient sentences, the people that have to watch over them in the real world become overwhelmed. While you wouldn't think that walking through a house to the backyard would be too hard, I don't think we can blame one individual or even one department. The whole system needs to be revamped.
Sentences for violent sexual offenders must be strengthened. Unfortunately that is the only way to keep a repeat offender from becoming a repeat offender again. I am not talking about the 17 year old that flashed his friends at the high school prom and is sadly now a registered sex offender, but the ones who maliciously attach young victims and keep them hostage for their sexual pleasure.
Some people argue that these crimes are not as bad as murder, but when a young child is kidnapped and sexually abused it is likely that they will never be the same. And even once they are free from their captor, it is likely that they wish they were dead, or could become an offender themselves. These crimes hold horrible long-term effects, but somehow these offenders are allowed to continue on with their lives, taking new victims under the not-so-watchful eye of the system.
Yesterday the California Inspector General's Office determined that the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation "failed to properly supervise Garrido and missed numerous opportunities to discover his victims." I would certainly agree.
The fact that a couple could hold a 29 year old, and 15 year old and an 11 year old hostage in their backyard without anyone knowing is unfathomable. Garrido was convicted in 1977 for the kidnapping and rape of a 25-year-old woman and was under federal parole supervision when he allegedly kidnapped Dugard in 1991. And as a California parolee, Garrido wore a GPS ankle bracelet and was subject to surprise home visits. But the backyard compound was never discovered.
There is almost no excuse for this major oversight, besides the fact that the system is overworked. When violent sexual offenders are let out on parole early or receive lenient sentences, the people that have to watch over them in the real world become overwhelmed. While you wouldn't think that walking through a house to the backyard would be too hard, I don't think we can blame one individual or even one department. The whole system needs to be revamped.
Sentences for violent sexual offenders must be strengthened. Unfortunately that is the only way to keep a repeat offender from becoming a repeat offender again. I am not talking about the 17 year old that flashed his friends at the high school prom and is sadly now a registered sex offender, but the ones who maliciously attach young victims and keep them hostage for their sexual pleasure.
Some people argue that these crimes are not as bad as murder, but when a young child is kidnapped and sexually abused it is likely that they will never be the same. And even once they are free from their captor, it is likely that they wish they were dead, or could become an offender themselves. These crimes hold horrible long-term effects, but somehow these offenders are allowed to continue on with their lives, taking new victims under the not-so-watchful eye of the system.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Spyder
posted 11/05/09 @ 6:15 AM CST
Realizing too, that it is imperative that offenders tier level classification be determined by their risk level and not only by their offense. This is why the Adam Walsh Act SB 10 has not proved well for Ohio. (Continued…)
chris
posted 11/05/09 @ 7:18 AM CST
Some reasonable points made, particularly regarding longer sentences for violent offenders. While horrific, so are a lot of other crimes against persons such as crippling and disfiguring assaults, murder, attempted murder, hostage and robbery scenarios where the threat of death is made (this, itself, is so psychologically scarring that it is considered "torture" by International legal standards), and others. (Continued…)
Jackie
posted 11/05/09 @ 7:45 AM CST
I have to ask myself if this author has ever been a victim of sexual assault either by stranger or someone they knew.
While much of the "opinion" I concur with, once again I find a statement in it that is used all too often, and that is "the victim may very well with they were dead". (Continued…)
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