In the movie "The Woodsman", Walter was imprisoned for 12 years for child molestation. After 12 years imprison, Walter returns back to society. He later experiences different aspect of life. Walter learned three main insights as a sex offender: society’s view, impact of his action, and reflection of his own self.
Sergeant Lucas represents society’s view on sex offenders. The public despises sex offenders more than other criminals especially children case. Sex offender is not accepted in society even though the offender already atones for his or her crime in jail. For example, Mike Smith was a sex offender who served 10-year in jail for abuse in his family. In the report, he could only associate with other sex offenders such as child sex offender and adult rapist. They were the only people who he can relate to as not judgmental. On the contrary, he should not be associating with. Smith made an earnest commitment to his rigorous rehabilitative therapy in prison, "but it was made harder when he felt
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Walter received a journal from his counselor, Rosen. The journal allows Walter to freely express what is on his mind. Some thoughts Walter could write about are reflection of his emotion and behavior in any event in his life. Therapist used journaling for “the purposes of psychological healing or growth.” (Borkin, 2015) The journal helps Walter to verbalize his problem to other people. In Walter’s journal, he wrote about his observation of Candy. He knows the technique Candy is using to lure children. For example, Candy uses candy and toys to attract children at school. The main goal is to ask the children for a ride. If Candy succeed asking the kid for a ride, Candy have full control over the kid. It is part of the grooming technique. The technique is to manipulate the person in complying with sexual abuse. Walter underline “wants” in the journal to represent Candy’s
In Steve Earle’s essay “A Death in Texas,” he wrote “I do know that Jonathan Nobles changed profoundly while he was in prison. I know that the lives of people he came in contact with changed as well, including mine.” Changing a life, as we all know, is a difficult thing to do; however, that does not mean it is impossible. To change behaviors and thoughts is hard, because it requires courage, effort and perseverance. Nevertheless, many people have managed to do it, and Jonathan Wayne Nobles was one of them.
He writes about how new prisoners are not receiving the same rehabilitation as he did when he first entered the prison system 17 years ago. Hopkins acknowledges that if he was born later he may still be in prison. Hopkins’ writes, “ The idea is to make prison a secular hell on earth- where the young potential felon will fear to go, where the ex-con will fear to return.” This is very effective as it makes the reader empathize with the new coming prisoners and how they are subjected to the poor rehabilitation programs offered. There is an underlying theme throughout the essay in that prisoners are treated like animals and are thrown in cages regardless of their
There have been many federal acts passed in correspondence with sex offenses that illicit feat with the public. There are many different types of ways in which Levenson & colleagues’ (2007) describes the perceptions that the public has based on certain factors. For instance, in relation to the perception about the sex offender notification system, a survey produced results of around 80 percent in favor of these registries, because these individuals felt safer in their communities knowing who was in their neighborhood. Further, due to this fear that resonated in the early 1990’s communities do have tools such as residential restrictions, civil commitment, notification procedures, etc. that aid in the protection. However, there are myths associated with sex offenders, for example legislation often states that the reasoning for new laws and regulations is due to the high recidivism rates. However, sex offenders have significantly lower recidivism rates than believed. Also, there are countless people who do not believe that sex offenders can be assisted with techniques from a psychological standpoint. Most people think that these offenders cannot be treated, however, there is research being conducted that is promising. Finally, there is a common misconception that sex offenders kill their victims, especially children more often than other killers, however this is not true.
We understand the need for and are prepared for members of the public who want to know more about sexual assault, sex offenders, and the role that citizens can play in keeping their communities safe. It is unfortunate that sex crimes are not uncommon in the United States. It is estimated that one in every five girls and one in every seven boys are sexually abused by the time they reach adulthood (CSOM, 2006). One in six adult women and one in 33 adult men experience an attempted or completed sexual assault (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). Sex offenses represent under 1% of all arrests, with adults accounting for about 80% of arrests and juveniles 20% (FBI, 2005). Males account for approximately 95% of arrests (FBI, 2005).
Being known as a sex offender is horrible people look at others differently, people see the bad and want harm done to each and every one. Most of them mean well, not everyone is bad some try and better their
When working with this specific population mental health professionals are often called on to evaluate and manage sex offender’s behavior. There are also times when individuals may be asked to give an opinion as to if the offender will repeat the behavior. Often times people that work with this population are referred to as (SOSs) Sex Offender Specialists. They have a specific group of diverse training and background. Some of these trainings incIude but are not limited to cognitive-behavioral, psychopharmacological, and therapeutic orientations.
Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the
This may seem good at first because the public have information about every sex offender possible in order to insure the communities’ safety; however a person should only be considered a sex offender if he or she committed a crime involving a sexual act such as rape, human traffickers, and child molestation. Unfortunately, many of those on the list are people who urinated in public, have consensual sex with a minor, visiting a prostitute, and teenagers who take naked photos of themselves who are then charged with child pornography. Of course, these sex offenders should not be praised for their actions, but they certainly should not receive the same penalty as a rapist. For example, in the article, Is It Fair for Sex Offenders to Stay Listed on a Registry for
In the case of Jack, he quickly became familiar with a place that has a history of violence and persons with aggressive behavior. And a Texas Federal Judge also noticed this in 1999, it was concluded that Texas Prisons were pervaded by a culture of violence, both sadistically and maliciously. The conclusion was that violence in prisons is an open, tolerated, acknowledged and encouraged by prison officials. Some men cannot fend for themselves when they first come to prison and have to learn fairly quickly. The reason inmates have to learn early on to fend for themselves is because they will get chastised until they do. The only thing an inmate respects in another is moral strength. Men have been broken down to the point in which they no longer talk. They learn to live with the deprivation of security. They go from living in a free world with less fear to living with criminals. Inmates now have to look out for themselves at all times by means of violence. Situational awareness is essential as a prisoner. Some prisoners used collectivism to help one another in time of need. Abbott expressed that most inmates fought for one another against other groups of inmates. Each inmate only has one another to rely
A sex offender is anyone who is convicted of a sex crime. The crimes that qualify as sex crimes vary by state, but most states include rape (forced and statutory), sexual assault or battery, child molestation or any sexual conduct with a minor, production or possession of child pornography, and attempts to commit any of these crimes. The history of sex offenders has been active since the 1800’s according to author Philip Jenkins. Jerkins explains that in the Middle Ages, children were constantly coming up missing and he also explains that sex crime laws have existed as far back as biblical times with a number of penalties ranging from fines to death for various sexual acts considered deviant at one time or another in society. (Jenkins, 1998)
Summary of Article or Findings: The key problem the authors raise is if there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. The research focuses on certain consequences that register sex offenders deal with because of their status. The data gather in the research shows key problems in being a registered sex offender. The evidence that shows the key problem of being a registered sex offender is actual insight from actual registered sex offenders. The key finding of the research is there are main consequences that registered sex offender’s deal with because of being a registered sex offender. The sex offender’s deal with family and intimate relationship issues, loss of employment, denied promotions at work, lack of housing, different types of harassment. The key concept which leads to the conclusion is that there is a stigma directed at registered sex offenders. Since the registered sex offenders have consequences because of their status as a registered sex offender it gives the look that no matter what, they will never fulfill their debt to society. The conclusion the author’s made is that there are problems with registered sex offenders in locations that have need been studied and those that have been studied. The consequences the registered sex offenders receive could cause further problems such as reoffending and that the stigma regarding sex offenders is still active.
The number of registered sex offenders have increasingly grew over the years. Every day you see a man or women added to the registry for crimes against women and mostly children. The sex offender registries biggest and main focus is to keep the people in the community in each city and state informed and protected. ”Sex offenders and sex crimes provoke a great deal of anxiety in our society.” Baker, J, Brannon, Y, N., Fortney. , Levenson, J.S. (“Public Perceptions about Sex Offenders and Community Protection”). The sex offender registry is based solely on protecting the public from being a victim
Critically evaluate the ways in which the criminal justice system deals with the risk and management of sex offenders.
In the United States, failure to adequately discriminate between and among sex offenses and the overuse of the label “sex offense” has led to the polarization and over criminalization of sex crimes and has resulted in a lack of reintegration options for these alleged criminals. The term “sex offender” needs to be reserved for those individuals who best represent the meaning of the term. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) According to US Department of Justice, a sex offender is anyone convicted of an offense of a sexual nature under the law of any jurisdiction, this also includes juveniles fourteen years of age and older. (Colbert, 2011, p. 1) In the United States, the term sex offender is too broad and can be very misleading. There is a widespread misconception among society that the meaning of sex offender is pedophile and rapist, but a sex offender can be someone that was caught urinating in public or they can be underage teenagers having consensual sex. This lack of distinction between sex offenses results in a misinformed society and this absence of information in regards to sex offenses and the presence of the sex offender registry fuels society 's ignorance and heightened prejudices towards "sex offenses." The stigma that comes with the label "sex offense” persists beyond sentencing due to the parameters of the law, making reintegration of alleged criminals into society overbearing and near impossible. These registries are public record, however they only state partial information
In this paper I will discuss the typical profiling of sex offenders and how one cannot simply point them out in a crowd. I will discuss why sex offenders do not stand out from “normal” people. I will discuss a little bit of why these people do the things they do and what kind of cure there is for these crimes, if any. It is important to know why we cannot assume one is bad news, such as a sex offender and to find out for sure. The true meaning of “you cannot judge a book by its cover” will be revealed in this paper with many examples.