Written by me in 2010

I agree that some people should be locked away for ever, I understand that some are just sick individuals. However as a Wife of a SO, I also see where some people just made some really poor decisions as a youth or young adult.

I really believe that there has to be differences when it comes to offenders who are violent and non violent, and when the offender is inappropriate with a person who has not reached puberty and one who has. These things are not noted in the current laws. Nor will they be if the Adam Walsh Act goes threw.

Speaking as a person living with a loved one on the registry its amazing the extent of discrimination you can now receive for a mistake made sometimes years ago. Now days being convicted of a sex crime is ridiculously easy, and just about as damning to a person, their future, family, employment opportunities, living situations and self-esteem as being diagnosed with HIV or AIDS was 20 years ago.

There is therapy in place for people who make these mistakes and as long as they are not one of the unfortunate ones who simply can not be "cured" they can come out of it simple people who want to move forward with their lives. These lists are not aiding that goal, and thus dragging would be productive, healthy, wonderful members of society down even more.

I personally have seen my husband use so much from his therapy to interact with his children, whom he is still aloud to see and even live with. He took his counseling and therapy to heart and learned and grew from it. He is not a threat to society, his was a mistake, and then rebellion of the system because he figured his life was already messed up what was the point. He sees the point now and regrets his actions, and yet he is not aloud to move on. Our daughter will most likely not be aloud to participate in girl scouts because her daddy screwed a willing 15 year old, 16 years ago. By the time she would be ready for girl-scouts it will be 20 to 25 years in the past that SHE will be paying for.

Its not the ones that are registered that I'm worried about, its the SO that aren't registered, that have not been caught, that have not gotten help, that we don't know about, who are living down the street or in the next town that I fear. I intend to raise my child with knowledge of her fathers mistakes, and to be cautious of people whom she doesn't know, and the no touching under swim suit rule. A rule, I must say my husband was never taught. However I also intend to teach her that sometimes mistakes are made and you must forgive and move on. That is the goal and supposition of our incarceration system.

I asked an officer of the law once why we have a registry for the SO's and not for murderers. I personally would like to know if someone in my neighborhood is unstable enough to commit such a violent crime. Yet when they serve their time they can move anywhere and other than working and having to admit to a felony they don't have that transgression following them around like an albatross around their neck. His answer if you will believe it was that, well Murderers don't leave their victims alive.


Don't leave their victims alive?! What are you talking about man?! The family of the deceased are still that person's victim. And correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can go to counseling and therapy and somewhat recover from a molestation or rape, but you can not recover from death.

There is something not right in this AWA, and mainly it is not acknowledging a person's ability to grow and become better.