WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008 News WWW.KANSAN.COM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
LAW
7
Registry brings up more questions than it can answer
BY CHRISTINE D'AMICO
cdamico@kansan.com
In 2009, the national sex offender registry list will be complete, but
Kansas already has a list of offenders within the state. The list includes current information on the offenders' crimes, their appearance and their current addresses.
Although the registries are created for safety
"The more it expands, the less potency it has on the offenses that the registry was created for."
purposes, not all of the offenders are violent offenders.
Each of these offenses is considered by the state of Kansas to be lewd and lascivious acts. In court, if the lewd and lascivious act is deemed
and peeing on the corner.
CHARLES BRANSON District Attorney
Here are some situations that could land students on the list:
- A couple trying to spice up their relationship should think twice before doing the deed in public.
- If someone is on the losing side of a bet, it might be a better option to endure repeated harassment than striping down and running around the neighborhood.
- And if a person can't hold it any longer, peeing their pants might be a safer bet than dropping their drawers
sexually motivated, then a person is looking at a membership to the sex registry list.
In Kansas, first-time adult sexual offenders are required to register for 10 years. A second conviction or some sexual
offenses requires a lifetime registry.
A person's picture, crime and address will become public knowledge. In 2009, the national sex offender registry list will be complete, allowing someone's information to be looked up anywhere in the country by anyone.
District Attorney Charles Branson said he had mixed feelings about the sex offender list. Although a crime must be proven to be committed out of sexual gratification, the number of possible offenses continues to grow.
"The more it expands, the less
potency it has on the offenses that the registry was created for," Branson said.
According to Branson, expansion also makes it more difficult to track offenders.
There are currently 67 offenders.
including two women, on the Douglas County Sex Registry who live within Lawrence city limits. Nine of those offenders are within the ages of 18 to 22. Another nine live within the "student ghetto" which are the
six other countries that use a sex registry — Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan and the United Kingdom. However, the registries of these nations are kept in the hands of the police and are only released to citizens on a need-to-
"I wouldn't touch a 14-year-old girls but I have peed behind The Wheel."
surrounding neighborhoods of the University.
DAN WINTERS
Executive director of the
Kansas and Missouri American
Civil Liberties Union
The Human Rights Watch, a New York City-based agency, said that sex offender registries did more harm than good. According to a report the agency completed in 2007, the lists have become a threat to offenders. In 2005 and 2006, four sex offenders were killed in the U.S. Their information was found through the sex registry.
Human Rights Watch has found
know basis.
The harassment and ostracism encountered by sex offenders has led Minnesota to tailor information about sex offenders to the violent nature of the criminal. Prior to being released from
prison, the offender is given an evaluation concerning their mental state. Violent offenders' information is still released, but non-violent offenders information is withheld.
Dan Winters, Executive Director of the Kansas and Missouri American Civil Liberties Union, said that sex registries brought up more questions than they answered.
Winters said that if there was a sex registry then it would be just as likely to create a driving-while
registry sites
For a complete list of the offenses that are listed under the offender registry check out:
www.kslegislature.org/
legsrv-statutes/getStatute.
do?number=12512
If you're curious who's made the list, check out:
www.accesskansas.org/ssrv-
registered-offender/search-
City.do
under-the-influence registry. He said he thought there was a problem with punishing people after they had done their time.
Winters said another problem with the registry was the compiling of violent and dangerous offenders with non-violent offenders. He said a man caught urinating in public is pictured next to someone who has raped a 14-year-old.
"I wouldn't touch a 14-year-old but I have peed behind The Wheel," Winters said.
Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
Construction on Iowa Street has blocked entrances to some stores and businesses this week, keeping customers away.
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3928; Lied Center, 864-B4T5; SUA Office, 864-7469; and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $16 for the public, $10 for all students, and $15 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff. All major credit cards are accepted for phone and online orders.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday July 15-19,2008 2:30 p.m.Sunday,July 20,2008 Stage Too! Murphy Hall
---