MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont lawmakers are grappling with how close to perfect the state’s sex offender registry needs to be before offenders’ addresses are posted online.
Vermont in 2009 passed a law saying the registry had to have a clean audit from the state auditor of accounts before addresses could be posted. A 2010 audit found many errors; a follow-up audit last July found what Auditor of Accounts Doug Hoffer labeled “critical errors” in 11 percent of cases. Full Article
A strange debate going on here. The only concern is if the errors in the registry is putting “innocent peoples” lives at stake from vigilantes. There is never a worry that a registrant who has fulfilled their punishment and is trying to move on might be killed by some lunatic. Like saying if the registry were perfect than hunting season could begin. Why don’t they just admit that the registry is a way for maniacs or psychopath to take out their transgressions on some unsuspecting stranger, and here’s a list to choose from.
I like the quote from Sen. Sears:
“If you’re supposed to be on it, you should be on it. If you’re not supposed to be on it, you shouldn’t be,”
A rare case of a politician using common sense. But critical thinking would erase the registry altogether. It promotes violence which is counterproductive to a healthy society.