During the debate over the passage of Jessica’s law I made a comment at a gathering of concerned citizens that North Carolina was in danger of becoming a magnet state for sex offenders unless we strengthened the law. The quote was published in the Charlotte Observer and later ridiculed by leftist apologists for child molesters:
"Hence the outrageous claim that North Carolina would be come “a magnet”
for sex offenders if it fails to adopt their proposed legislation – as
if someone ill enough to commit such an offense is going to weigh out
the sentencing and satellite monitoring schemes of North Carolina and
its neighboring states prior to acting."
Well, a convicted child molester has proved me right in the town of Wake Forest. The ever shrinking News & Observer has the story. Apparently, convicted pervert, Carlton Wood was on the prowl at the town library and on playgrounds when his questions about children made parents suspicious. Wood is not required to register as a sex offender in North Carolina due to his conviction in Mecklenburg County coming before the passage of our registration law in 1996.
Here’s the deeper problem: He is required to register in Tennessee for a crime he is not required to register for here. If a convicted sex offender is given a choice between living in a state where he is required to register and another state where he is not, where do you think he will live? Unfortunately, he will "weigh" the sanctions of the law and pick North Carolina over our neighbors.
And that, dear leftist molester apologists, is what we call a "magnet" state.
By the way, under a real Jessica’s Law, which requires a 25 year sentence, offender Wood would still be in prison for his original crime instead of prowling for new child victims in North Carolina. But then again, maybe I’m just being outrageous.
A question for you, Jeff: So, who exactly led the fight to water down Jessica’s Law? Do the perverts have that good of a lobby in the NC Legislature?
There are a number of people at the legislature who have legitimate concerns about the costs of changing a sentence from 2 years to 25. It would cost more money, true. The version of Jessica’s Law that passed this session did NOTHING to increase the penalty for molesting a child.
Unfortunately, everybody in the state, except for Civitas, bought it, hook, line and sinker.
Sex offenders from other states will know that North Carolina is a place you can come to molest a child and expect one of the lowest sentences in the South.
While I am for lower taxes, less regulation, and much lower government spending, I think that incarcerating people like this is some of the BEST use of taxpayer money.
Of course, this is only because we do not allow a worse penaly that incarceration for child molesters.
But in any case, the return on investment for paying to keep worthless people like this in prison and away from our children is MUCH higher than 90% of what the state spends money on.
I somehow doubt that this issue is chiefly concerned with finances. I am still pretty sure that the perverts must have some sort of a good lobbyist in this state.