On another happy topic

I was reading about this killer in Main, the guy who killed two people then himslef. First off, tragic. Tragic all around. It appears that the only link between the two victims is that were both listed on a sex offender registry. First, when it comes to sex offenders, I want to quote something an old friend of mine said a long time ago about someone else, but it applies here, "if I saw that guy walking down the street I'd shoot him with a shotgun and not think twice about it." I mean it, it would take 10 guys to pull me off of one, and I'm little. But there's this. One of the victims was apparantly on the list becasue at 19 he had sex with someone uder the legal age of consent. A problem yes, but is he in the same group as a 45 year old man crusing the play-ground with a "lost puppy" story? No. What he did was wrong, but I don't think he deserved to have to spend his life registering on lists, and, here, wind up murdered. The problem with mandatory sentencing, is that if an 18 year old senior has sex with his underage girlfriend at prom, he's on the list. It's also a quirk of law that if 16 is the legal age of consent, then a 50 year old man can have sex with her and not be on the list. Personally, in the second case I'm beating the hell out of the guy, probably with a baseball bat. Seriously, that's just plain sick. I don't know why but this has been coming up in the media lately, with the story of the baskeball player who went to jail for having "relations" with a minor, to Dr. Phil who had a story about a 45 year old and his 16 year old girlfriend (don't ask, Mrs. Blogger is a fan), and now this. When legislators judge from the assembly, it creates problems. I have to admit, I'm against capital punishment, but if true sex-offenders get killed, my day doesn't change. However, this list business is wrong. I don't have an answer, but I don't like this one. Extend jail time (I favor life without parole for rapists and child molesors-F@$k them, they got no role in society), extend parole, whatever, but allow for judges to determine individual cases, not politicians.

I will now douse myself with bleach.