Huckleberries Online

30 Years For 1st-Time Sex Offenders?

Posted by DFO

Feb. 5, 2009 3:53 p.m. • 13 comments

Item: Idaho lawmakers propose tough laws on sex offenders/William Spence, Lewiston Tribune

More Info: Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, introduced the bill at the request of one of his constituents, Angie Miller. It calls for a minimum 30-year sentence for anyone - including first-time offenders - who is found guilty or pleads guilty to lewd conduct with children younger than 16 years of age.

Question: Do you support legislation that would set a minimum sentence of 25 to 30 years for sex offenses against minors under the age of 16, including first-timers?

13 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Sisyphus on February 05 at 4:06 p.m.
All bills are required to have a comment on the fiscal impact they will have on the budget. I’m very curious on what is listed for this since it would be extremely expensive and largely unnecessary. All they would have to do is average the convictions, check the rate of increase and plug in the cost of keeping these guys warehoused for 30 years or more. Should only require one new $90 million prison.

Too bad there’s a constitutional prohibition on chemical castration. As my spouse likes to remind me, prohibiting cruel punishment makes sense, but whats wrong with unusual.
MamaJD on February 05 at 4:17 p.m.
If the issue is the law is too wide reaching for the proposed punishment, then why not narrow the scope of the crime this mandatory sentence covers? This seems to target the nastiest of the sex crimes where young children are the victims. Why is this so hard for our legislators to get on board with?
Liz on February 05 at 4:23 p.m.
a lot of it depends on the nature of the offense. there is a HUGE difference between a stupid nineteen year old sticking it to his fifteen year old girlfriend (who might have lied about her age when they first became involved..happens a lot) and that same nineteen year old fondling a three year old that he is babysitting.
The problem with broad laws like this one (such as the three strikes and you’re out law in Cali) is that it covers every situation with the same brushstroke. If the language gets more specific to the nuances between types of offenes, then I am all for it.
Joker on February 05 at 4:24 p.m.
Too bad a bullet in the head is viewed as cruel and unusual. I’ve read that the average pedophle has molested more than 50 children before they’re caught.

These monsters can’t be cured. Considering the damage they cause to children, I’d argue we need to revamp our death penalty laws.
Dennis on February 05 at 4:24 p.m.
Posted by; MamaJD on February 05 at 4:17 p.m.

Why is this so hard for our legislators to get on board with?

They’re politicians!!!

Nuff Said!

;-P
Charlie on February 05 at 6:40 p.m.
I’d like to see it tougher. Anybody that harms a child under say 10 years old should be shot. They have probably ruined that child for the rest of their lives. I can’t imagine what troubles they would have just getting past the nightmares. No warehousing these creeps, the express lane to execution.
Some may say I am being to extreme, to bad, that’s the how I feel about these perv’s.
LukeB on February 05 at 8:47 p.m.
No. Mandatory sentences for any crime undermine the role of judges.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.