Posted by
Cary Wesberry on Monday, July 07, 2008 10:05:18 PM
ATLANTA — A strict new Georgia law is designed to keep sex offenders away from children by monitoring how close they live to schools, parks and other spots where kids gather -- and threatens them with strict penalties if they fail to register.
But what about the offenders who don't have an address?
Georgia's Supreme Court on Monday considered whether the law unfairly subjects homeless offenders to a life sentence if they fail register a home address.
The case involves William James Santos, a homeless man and convicted sex offender who was kicked out of a Gainesville homeless shelter in July 2006 and was arrested three months later on charges he failed to register with Georgia's sex offender list.
His lawyers say the law creates a guessing game for Santos and other homeless offenders because it bars them from giving a post office box or simply saying they are homeless.
They also argue that homeless offenders will become a prime target for the measure's tough criminal penalties, which call for a mandatory life in prison sentence for offenders who fail to register their address for a second time.
"These sex offenders, unfortunate enough to have no street address, are subject to life in prison," said Adam Levin, an attorney for Santos. "This gives Mr. Santos and every other sex offender with no address no other right but to fail to comply with the law."
Prosecutors warn that allowing offenders to mark themselves as homeless risks defeating the purpose of the measure. It could "invite sex offenders to not enter a lease, not purchase a property, to declare themselves homeless," said assistant district attorney Vanessa Sykes.
Sykes also contended the law can be interpreted to give the homeless some leeway to mark down a temporary address, such as a shelter.
Liberal defense attorneys in Georgia are now attempting to ban Megan's Law because homeless sex offenders are unable to comply. Are law-abiding citizens actually supposed to care whether or not homeless sex offenders are able to comply thereby allowing them to stay on the streets roaming for more prey? I am certain parents in Georgia want the law enforced, not poked and prodded by some defense attorney because they managed to dig-up a homeless sex offender to use as a bludgeon against those of us who would keep sex offenders in jail or executed.
Judges circumvent the law nearly every day! These defense attorneys are actually trying to convince us that a judge cannot grant extenuating circumstance privledges to a person who literally has no address? We are going to scap the law for that? If there are indeed homeless sex offenders who are unable to comply with the law, then put them to work for the city so they can pay for housing! These defense attorneys are completely insane. The parents in Georgia, and the American People, don't want repeat sex offenders who rape and murder children roaming the damn streets so they can do it all over again; homeless or not.
Megan's Law works precisely because it is strict with zero-tolerance enforcement. The full power of the state is now able to come down hard on sex offenders sending a strong message to others who would even think about comitting such a crime. I am so sick of grubby liberal defense attorneys ruining the lives of our children. The people of Georgia should fight this until the very end with only one thing in mind: preservation of the Megan's Law to the fullest.