Mark Lunsford! Your Voice Needed NOW!
Mr. Lunsford:
I can certainly understand how the loss of your precious child
has focused your attention on those dangerous persons who
demonstrate predatorial intent on those with no power.
I cannot imagine the pain your family has endured but I am quite
certain you can relate to the pain of a family whose 19 year old
son committed suicide because of being labeled a sex offender
for a Romeo and Juliet relationship.
We can better protect the public and especially children from
sexual abuse and assault. It requires a hard look at where
Florida's public policy is lacking, specifically the development
and implementation of a tier level/risk assessment system. A
tier system would allow quality monitoring by law enforcement of
those 2% of the 37,000 "offenders" deemed extremely dangerous to
our children. If the tier level system had been in place one
year ago, it is quite probable that John Couey would have never
met Jessica-because he (as a career criminal) would have been
better monitored by law enforcement as a high level offender.
Implementation of a tier system would reveal those predators who
are a danger to our children, those who currently hide behind
so-called offenders who have been convicted for victimless
"crimes" such as a Romeo and Juliet teenage relationship, public
urination, consensual teenage sex, or have chatted online with
an undercover officer
Mr. Lunsford, the intent of my letter is to ask your support of
a tier level/risk assessment that would restructure the Florida
Sex Offender Registry. At this time, the truly dangerous hide
behind the countless numbers of low level offenders that have
become ensnared by Florida Statute 943.0436-automatic
registration regardless of judicial discretion. Only 2% of those
37,000 currently registered are deemed dangerous
predators....these are the persons law enforcement should be
monitoring extremely closely.
Most offenders are persons who have made stupid choices and will
never and have never, demonstrated predatorial behavior towards
children. The entire Florida registry system creates huge
numbers of persons registered in order to continue to receive
federal funding as automatic registration regardless of judicial
discretion is required under Florida Statute 943.0436. The "net"
has been cast too wide regarding the definition of offender and
law enforcement, as indicated by statements to the House
Criminal Justice Committee by Public Defender Bob Dillinger of
Clearwater, will agree to that statement. (Mr. Dillinger
indicated a better way to keep tabs on sexual predators is
through monitoring as required by the Jessica Lunsford Act
rather than burden police with trying to determine how far their
homes are from schools and other places).
The Florida Sex Offender Registry, as currently designed, simply
does not work. Privately and off the record, politicians and law
enforcement will indicated the Florida Registry as ineffective,
but to admit so publicly, in their minds, would result in
political suicide. We need to have the political will to end the
"feel-good" and "knee-jerk" victim-named laws that are doing
precious little to actually protect anyone. It's time to be
proactive about the entire offender issue. As the general public
becomes more and more educated about the scheme the offender
registry has become, as the method the State implements to label
a person an offender becomes common knowledge to everyday
citizens, as parents across the United States want to know what
more can be done by law enforcement to better protect their
children from PREDATORS, the quick, sound bite cry of residency
buffer zones will fall on the ears of those now informed.
I refer to three of the four goals listed on your website: Fight
to change legislation.2. Provide a grassroots awareness and
continuous support base. 3. Search, locate and help law
enforcement apprehend absconder pedophiles. We both share those
same goals-protecting all Florida's children from
exploitation-and that includes those children of registered
offenders who, as non-offending family members, are suffering
banishment and exploitation due to the now popular, feel-good
residency buffer zones now sweeping through Florida like
wildfire.
You can be the voice needed to give Florida politicians
permission to introduce the tier level/risk assessment system as
the best way to identify the truly dangerous from those
offenders caught "in the net". We can restructure the Florida
Sex Offender Registry to be the quality law enforcement tool
Megan Kanka's family intended.
We are all on the same side-the side of protecting Florida's
children from the truly dangerous predator.