We live in a society focused on punishment. It seems we can never get enough. Three times in the last nine months Connecticut’s political leaders have been pushed toward irrational behavior by criminal cases they fear demonstrate they are not doing their job — that they are not tough enough.
Last July’s home invasion murders of three members of a Cheshire family was the first case, followed by the release of rapist David Pollitt into a quiet Southbury neighborhood and finally, the random murder of a woman in a New Britain kidnapping and burglary case.
Each case brought politicians rushing to the microphones declaring it was time to end the violence once and for all — and in the Pollitt case — to find a way to keep people in jail even after they have served their full sentences. The first reaction is always to find a way to lock them up and throw away the key. The emphasis should be placed at the other end of the spectrum; providing treatment, education and help for convicts re-entering society.
Connecticut’s political leadership is not alone in the never ending search for ways to punish offenders beyond the full extent of the law. One of the most bizarre cases of over-reaching punishment comes from Hudson, Kan. where an elderly sex offender was ordered by a judge to put a sign on his home which reads, “sex offender lives here” and a sign on each side of his car which reads “sex offender.” You can imagine the reaction from the public.
Mob Justice
This approach may remind us of the good old days of public humiliation as part of sentencing, but it inevitably leads to harassment of offenders by citizens who take the legally sanctioned embarrassment as a license to take things even further. The offender’s wrong does not make it right for government, in this case through the courts, to force him to live in fear.
In Ohio, the legislature is considering a bill that would require sex offenders to mount fluorescent license plates on their cars. The proposal is being put forth on a bi-partisan basis as a means of warning the general public, but how long before such a program leads to the beating or death of an offender at the hands of vigilantes? When does government sanctioned humiliation become something worse?
The accused killer in the New Britain home invasion was a registered sex offender. A law written to protect the general public from former inmates, who have served their sentences, inadvertently may have contributed to a murder. The suspect reportedly told police he decided he had to kill the two women he was robbing because he felt they had “memorized his face” and would be able to identify him. Let’s be honest, publicly branding an ex-convict by using the Internet, makes it even more difficult for them to become productive members of society by making it hard to find a place to live and hard to find a job. Many end up in homeless shelters and descend even deeper into a life of crime, until they end up in prison again. In the New Britain case, the cycle led to murder.
The sex offender registry does more to satisfy our taste for mob justice than protect us. There comes a point when the thirst for never ending punishment becomes counterproductive. It would make a lot more sense if our political leaders put some of their energy — and our tax money — toward figuring out ways to prevent crime and recidivism, but then that doesn’t make for good headlines or re-election campaigns.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
