Depends On Witch Kind of Candy I Suppose ~ Annapolis Capital Punishment
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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Depends On Witch Kind of Candy I Suppose

It seems like it is out of some kind of twisted fairy tale, but in this case the children and presumably parents, are actually warned not to approach a house with the above sign in place. In the old tales they come across a candy house in the woods, and, well you know the rest. The state has sent out over a thousand of these stickers ordering registered sex offenders to put them on their houses for Halloween.  Okay. Hmm....I'm thinking about this one now.


Now if you're one of these creepy people who get one of these signs, it means you are a threat. So it is okay for you to live at your home but you are now told to warn kids to stay away one night of the year...with a sticker. [Hey--this is the house we're gonna roll tonight!]


All right--a sticker. It's a sticker. It's a warning. So why do they make it with a jack o'lantern? I'm not even gonna make a weird pun out of that one. Why not a skull and crossbones? Why not just say "I'm a registered sex offender. Approach at your own risk?".

I can imagine the scene our of an old horror movie. Neighbors with pickaxes and sickles and pitchforks lining up with torches outside of the house. Are these people still a threat? Are they "rehabilitated"? Have they paid their debt to society? Is it not enough that their names and addresses and photos can be found online?

This is just so...so, I dunno, I can hardly think of anything to say....as the cowardly lion said, "Shucks, I'm speechless."


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2 Comments:

John said...

I am really conflicted on this. Having kids myself, I want to protect them. But I also have to ask at what cost? IS there a time when a sex offender might be considered rehabilitated?

I recall a few years ago where a guy served serious time in Texas for some sex crime. Like 20 years. He was released, he came to live in MD (near Linthicum I believe) and registered with the state as required.

When the AA police got wind of it they created flyers with his photo, crime information, address and description and went door to door handing out flyers--even tot he man himself.

HE lost his job at the paper plant in Odenton and I don't know what happened beyond that.

But yes the crime is despicable, but if you served your time, I really feel that as long as you abide by the terms of your release, you ought to be able to go on rehabilitating your life.

Flyers and stickers are ludicrous. The sex offender info is public record, and I feel there is some incumbency on the parents to know who is living near them and teach their children properly.

Hopefully the police are on patrol on Halloween--why not send the offenders a letter saying that they either cannot be home or they need to have the lights out and door locked and not answer it. Patrol the hood and problem solved.

And I also have to wonder if a non-reformed sex offender is really looking to grab kids at his or her doorstep.

I believe these have been sent out to all sex offenders--not just those guilty of crimes against children. The 18 year old boy with the 17 year old girlfriend. Perhaps the creepy guy at work that grabbed a coworker's ass because he thought it might be funny. Debra LeFavre! Are all these people a threat? And does the public need to be reminded year after year about a misdeed that may have been perpetuated decades ago?

Paul Foer said...

Well, as I said, "I'm speechless" mainly because it is such a complicated argument, but the idea of a sticker--especially the silly ones they made is just....crazy! I think lights out and a police patrol as you suggest would make more sense.
On a related note, Halloween has gotten so crazy and so out of hand. I will write about this--and will again raise my outrageous voice about these candy buy-backs from dentists!

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