Louisiana Heightens Web Surveillance of Sex Offenders
Via Flickr user Alessio85
Just when I could no longer bear not knowing the dark, regretful secrets of friends and acquaintances, Louisiana lawmakers have answered my pleas. Starting August 1, registered sex offenders in the state of Louisiana will be forced to list their criminal status on all social media sites for which they have membership.
Thank goodness. The only reason I joined Facebook in the first place was my love of voyeuristic schadenfreude.
CNET discusses the surprisingly quiet evolution of the bill, which began as an attempt at prohibiting registered sex offenders from using all forms of “social” networking, including chat rooms and peer-to-peer programs such as Skype and file sharing networks. The initial bill, deemed too broad, was revised to its current state.
The public ousting of sexual offenders within a neighborhood always seemed like a relic from the past – a sort of tar and feathering altered to fit new societal circumstances. Moving this punishment to the realm of social networking leaves offenders with few avenues of distancing themselves from their transgressions.
We ultimately have a question of protection versus reformation. By design, laws such as Louisiana’s prevent further offenses by alerting those who live near the sex offender to his or her presence. When we isolate and ceaselessly draw attention to past crimes however, do we also inhibit the natural growth and atonement of the criminal?
Lawmakers may want to consider the far-reaching implications of such bills, and just how the public perceives those that have once been convicted of such crimes. Do we want penance – or do we want subjugation?
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