Sex offenders are among the most harshly punished criminals in the state, but how often does the punishment fit the crime?

1-9-7 National:

In the past few years, inequality perpetuated through the US carceral system has become a common topic of discussion and debate amongst academics, politicians, and the general public. Perhaps nowhere are these debates more salient than in the state of California, which houses the largest incarcerated population in the United States. In the most recent election, five out of 18 California ballot propositions addressed topics directly or indirectly related to incarceration; including the death penalty, felony sentencing, and ammunition possession. It seems we may finally be ready to talk about our prison problem.

Yet, as we begin to creep forward, and as we were reminded in the recent Presidential election, progress always has its limits. In my own research on incarceration and the law, I have found that these limits often lie in the regulation of sex offenders. Even as we reduce sentencing for drug, firearm possession, and other crimes, sex offender laws in the United States continue to expand and become more severe.

Since the 1996 passage of “Megan’s Law,” for example, all 50 states require sex offenders–including juveniles in 37 states–to register and provide their personal information (including pictures and home addresses) on publicly available databases, often for the duration of their lives.

Most of these registries do not differentiate between the severity of different sexual crimes—in other words, someone could be on the registry if they drunkenly urinate in public, or if they rape someone—yet clearly these crimes have different implications. Perhaps of even greater consequence than the registries themselves are the restrictions on work, travel, use of the internet, and housing that come along with sex offender registration. As the result of these restrictions, convicted sex offenders often wind up jobless and homeless, sometimes even mandated to live on the street. ..Continued.. by Rebecca DiBennardo, PhD Candidate, UCLA Sociology