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Oklahoma Okays Death Penalty for Child Molesters | 40 comments (40 topical)
Re: Oklahoma Okays Death Penalty for Child Moleste (none / 0) (#7)
by Joe Bob on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 05:07:28 PM EST
I'm guessing that the wise legislators of Oklahoma already forgot the child molestation hysteria of the mid-80s to mid-90s. The McMillan Preschool case is the standout example of the phenomenon. If those defendants were convicted and sent to death row, the end result would be entirely predictable and we're seeing it now: a steady stream of death row inmates being exonerated. As it is, capital murder cases get a fair amount of scrutiny and review relative to other crimes, and there are still a lot of mistakes made. Imagine what a nightmare it would be to create a whole new class of capital crimes where much of the evidence consists of child testimony. All that said, it would be nice to start seeing some honesty in the way sex offenders are sentenced. If it's life without parole, so be it. Some states have ex post facto civil committment laws wherein parolees who have completed their prison sentences are locked up in mental institutions until they complete treatment. Strangely enough, as far as I know in my state, the number of people to successfully complete treatment, in spite of years of institutionalization, is precisely zero.

Oklahoma Okays Death Penalty for Child Molesters | 40 comments (40 topical)

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