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The LA Times reports today that police in Lakeport California are investigating whether a recently released rapist was murdered by a neighbor who learned his identity from an online sex-offender registry:
Although Oliver did not say he killed Dodele, he said that "any father in my position, with moral, home, family values, wouldn't have done any different. At the end of the day, what are we as parents? Protectors, caregivers, nurturers."In fact, Dodele was not a child molester. But a listing on the Megan's Law website could have left Oliver with the impression that he had abused children because of the way it was written.Of course, even if Dodele had been a child-molester, he still shouldn't have been murdered. Left in jail for life, yes, but not killed by an ordinary citizen. The sex-offender registry has the potential to be the world's best hit list and if this kind of logic actually sways juries that's exactly what it will become. Society shouldn't release prisoners and then aid and abet their shunning or even assassination by the public. We should decide how long they deserve to be in jail (Iife is one possibility) and then give them a chance at a fresh start once that time has elapsed.--Sam Boyd
