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Essay / Sex Offender Rights in the American Justice System
When people think of the label “sex offender,” the following responses are usually negative. Connotations surrounding convicted sex offenders often include violence, forcible assault, child abuse, and more. Although there are thousands of sex offenders convicted for these words, generalizing this population creates a problematic outcome. The public finds no reason to help these people, but prefers to lock them away from their communities or even have them killed. Although sex crimes are heinous and extreme in most cases, grouping this population together does not allow for potentially constructive treatment and rehabilitation. Assuming that convicts are inherently evil and undeserving of existence in society removes the possibility of reforming these individuals. There will never be a treatment that will work for 100% of program participants, but beginning to identify effective approaches can begin the process of reducing the risk of recurrence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay When we think about how we deal with sex offenders, our first and most common course of action is to put them on a list of other offenders in order to keep track of their address, contact information and other miscellaneous information. With this registry, sex offenders often have to notify their neighbors of their criminal status, or law enforcement does it themselves. This community notification can be considered a safe way to stay aware of people potentially at risk. One of the questions asked is whether or not communities, schools and classmates should be notified of the presence of an offender under the age of 18 in their area. When considering this, it is important to take into account the rights of minors and privacy. Juvenile trials do not have juries, both as a way to maintain a rehabilitative environment and to preserve privileged information. Informing communities or fellow students could potentially create an extremely hostile environment; Whether they are physically threatened or ostracized by their peers, the emotional and mental damage could leave lasting effects. Depression, suicidal ideation, or even increased involvement in criminal activity could follow, which would completely defeat the purpose of essentially shaming someone into compliance. Although many believe that knowing who poses a threat would keep everyone safe, minors' right to privacy should be universally protected. Along the same lines, some believe that young sex offenders should be removed from schools. This would cause far more damage than any form of intimidation could do. Depriving a minor of education is a massive ethical violation. If they are to attend a special school or school for pupils who have demonstrated an inability to behave in mainstream schools, this would be acceptable. Removing a child completely would only make the problem worse and increase the risk that the child will reoffend or participate in other forms of crime. A topic often brought up is the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to the impact of zero-tolerance policies on juveniles, and this would apply closely to the theory. The idea of castration as a response to repeat offenders arises from a historical and rather historical context. brutal punishment used forconvict criminals who committed sex crimes. Modern and arguably “humane” castration methods are surgical castration and chemical castration. Surgical castration is the permanent removal of a man's testicles in an attempt to reduce testosterone production. Chemical castration involves the use of weekly or monthly estrogen injections in an attempt to balance high testosterone levels with female hormones. Both have the same goal: to reduce the male hormone linked to sexual urges and violent behavior in order to combat or minimize desires and libido. The QuestionThe question surrounding this method of punishment or treatment is whether or not it is an ethical practice to impose on certain categories of offenders. This raises concerns about reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and the risk of inflicting further harm. Is this cruel and unusual punishment? If the American justice system considers castration a viable method of punishment or treatment of sex offenders, it sets a dangerous precedent. The structure of reproductive rights is already a fragile and hotly debated legislative area. Surgical castration sterilizes the man in question, and it is not up to legislators to mandate the sterilization of anyone. Allowing castration of sex offenders could lead to a slippery slope toward sterilization being used for other criminal sanctions; for example, sterilization could easily be offered to women with a history of child abuse or neglect in order to prevent further harm, or to women convicted of drug use in order to prevent the birth of "crack babies". » or drug-addicted children. Obviously, this would start to pose many ethical dilemmas that shouldn't even be considered in the first place. [bookmark: _Hlk532150384] In one of the assigned documentaries, some offenders with experience of various forms of castration spoke about their experiences. One man, Jeffery Morris, voluntarily insisted on being surgically castrated in addition to his prison sentence (Indigo, 2004). He felt it was a way to take control of his life and overcome the impulses that resulted in the harm of others. Morris has since noticed a drastic improvement in the intensity and frequency of his deviant sexual urges (Indigo, 2009). This example poses a potential compromise to the ethical question of castration: should it be available if an individual wishes to take this route? The problem would be that the procedure would not alleviate the offender's sentence, as this could be considered a form of coercion. A convicted sex offender should not have to choose sterilization to get a lighter sentence, but rather should choose it to begin rehabilitation and develop coping skills. Another man, “Jason,” spoke of his experience with chemical castration (Indigo, 2004). Its effects are always in question, as he still struggles with his urges and continues to masturbate according to deviant fantasies. The conflict with chemical castration is that it is only mandatory for three years (minimum), so when the injections stop, testosterone returns to its previous levels. This could completely destroy the individual's progress. For this, lawmakers should consider a long-term chemical solution, such as arm implants (like those used for female contraceptives). While “Jason” still struggles, when asked the hypothetical option of surgical castration, he responded, “Fuck, I'd rather be dead” (Indigo, 2004). His response is very..