Chelsea’s Law: An attempt to deconstruct the ‘prison outside of prison’

On March 2, 2010 the body of Chelsea King was found near the shoreline of a lake in San Diego. The blue-eyed, strawberry blond seventeen-year-old went for a run on Feb. 25 and never returned home. She was raped and murdered.

With all due respect, Chelsea's story is one that people are tired of hearing. 

The man being charged in the case is John Albert Gardner III, a previous sexual offender. He served five of a six year sentence (even though the psychiatrist who evaluated him suggested he receive a maximum thirty year sentence) for sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old girl and has been linked to other cases. With incidents like this popping up all over the country, a push to have stricter sentencing for offenders is stronger than ever.

In response, citizens in California are trying to implement Chelsea's Law. The details are not entirely hammered out yet, but the main goals of the law will most likely involve jail time for any sexual offense, a more rigid parole system and potentially microchipping all sexual offenders for life.  Chelsea's parents are backing the law and have gone on the record saying the death penalty would be a suitable punishment for Gardner, although he has pled not guilty for the crime and is still being investigated. Some want the law to go even further, giving convicted offenders (specifically rapists) no chance for parole, death for those who kill and microchipping for those who have already been released. Whatever the outcome entails, the existing laws are not effective and must be changed.

The rules for sexual offenders released from prison and who are on parole require that they only update their residency once a year or when they move; but these rules are not enforced. Gardner lived within 126 yards of a preschool for over a year (the court ordered him to not live within a half mile of a school) before it was noticed and he was told to move.

With lackadaisical checkups on parolees, it's not hard to see how they slip through the cracks and wind up repeating their crimes. What's more, numerous studies suggest that offenders are much more likely to have a personality or mental disorder (30 times more likely for personality disorders). I'm not saying this to create a stigma against those with mental illness but to raise awareness of the fact that so many of these kinds of criminals are ill. They should be regularly checked on even if they didn't commit crimes to ensure the safety of themselves as well as the safety of others. These people who commit acts of sexual lewdness have disordered thinking that has addictive qualities and is similar to the kind of disordered thinking that exists in people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Yes, some will overcome their addiction and be rehabilitated but some will relapse before they succeed and some will relapse entirely. But unlike the alcoholic or the crackhead paying the price for their failures, innocent people pay the price for a sexual predator's failures.

By allowing sexual offenders to reintegrate back into society, we are causing everyone to constantly be vigilant and put up their guard in order to protect ourselves from their repeat offense.  We are creating a prison outside of prison. Why should we be punished for their sins?

Last fall while I was attending school in Boulder, a string of sexual assaults occurred including an incident where a girl was gang raped by four men after walking home from a party. After the story broke, the town was palpably tense. Mace became a hot commodity and no females walked alone after dark.

Walking unaccompanied was an everyday part of life I never worried about before but when I suddenly wasn't able to do something so basic, it made me even less sympathetic toward these criminals. We should not have to change our lives to accommodate rapists.

While it may sound like a cliché, Chelsea will never be given a second chance. She did nothing wrong and paid the price for a weak parole system and even weaker punishments for sexual offenders. If there is any justice, or concern for the well-being of everyone in this country, Chelsea's Law will pass with flying colors so that a jog in the park can be care-free once more.