Luke Heimlich made this week after a missed registration deadline presented the Oregonian with an opportunity to revisit his past misdeed. Until his past was dredged up, Luke, a rising college baseball player, was slated to be a first day pick for the major league amateur draft. Predictably, there was immediate backlash with people crucifying Luke for his supposed duplicity and calling for more punishment. Then on Friday, Luke released a statement in which he excused himself from playing in the super regionals. The extremely harsh public reaction to Luke’s criminal history merely highlights our distorted view of crime and punishment today, but to what end?
As a teenager, Luke plead guilty for inappropriately touching a 6-year-old he knew. He was sentenced to 40 weeks in a juvenile detention facility, but the sentence was dropped after Luke completed both sex offender treatment and two years of probation. In a statement released Friday, Luke remarked he was “grateful” for the counseling he received.
We ought to accept Luke’s responsibility and calm down. This isn’t an “either.. or” situation. The criminal legal system has a responsibility to both parties. We can be deeply troubled by the harm caused to the 6-year-old, and we shouldn’t minimize the impact of the harm. We should also agree Luke met his legal and moral obligations for his past transgression.
As Oregon State President Ed Ray reiterated, “this case involves a criminal matter that was previously addressed by the judicial system in the state of Washington.” Luke admitted to and took responsibility for his actions. What we shouldn’t agree to is Luke’s endless public flogging. Full Article
Related
Oregonian’s John Canzano and Danny Moran Complete Luke Heimlich Hit Piece
A look at some issues involving Luke Heimlich
Boy those journalists sure helped everyone didn’t they? The public, which was in not in any danger from this man, can now rest easy. Luke, who admitted his mistake, took his punishment and has moved on, is now professionally destroyed. The victim, who has probably dealt with it in whatever way was/is needed, now gets to live it all over again, this time in the public eye.
Yup, there sure was a “need to know,” you pompous, jack*ss “journalists.” Not every fact, truth, or story needs to be tossed in the public eye. Aside from outing Luke, where was the public interest and good?
–AJ
John Canzano does not know when he is way out of bounds here:
Oregonian Editor section with plenty of thoughts (arrogantly):
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2017/06/canzano_troubling_case_of_oreg.html
Very sad story. I was actually at the airport some weeks back and the OSU Team was right behind me. I have (won’t say how) a baseball background. This team is comprised of the best! You don’t make this team unless your surreal and very talented! The guy made a poor decision, paid his debt to society and is clearly moving forward! You don’t get a pitching position unless your very talented. I support him and think people need to move on! This is a success story!
New Person,
It’s not over. If we continue to think this way, we won’t get anywhere. Hopefully a brace team out there will draft him and he will continue to succeed. Let’s remain positive!
I just read the State of Washington allows you to (he is from Washington) petition releaf after 60 months for juveniles. I imagine he is working on this. Stay positive!
Luke was passed over in the draft yesterday.
Well
You guys clearly don’t know baseball. He might be processing his request at the moment! You don’t get on teams like his unless your brilliant! I almost think you guys enjoy putting people down. Why don’t you focus on yourselves, provide positive comments and be productive rather than counter productive., He can file his court request and be drafted next year or the year after. He is 21! Start reading up on baseball and remain positive. Nobody likes negative comments!
NCAAs best team happy to bring back sex offender next year (NY Post)
http://nypost.com/2017/06/15/ncaas-best-team-happy-to-bring-back-sex-offender-next-year/
Sexual prudery. Many Americans suffer from it, but it is rare in other industrialized countries. It is part of the reason there is so much hysteria over sex offenders and fakery about sex offender recidivism. Fact is, 90% of kids are abused by someone in their circle – a family member, a trusted family friend or neighbor for example. Nearly 68% of abusers are immediate family members [parents, spouses, siblings, children and others connected by birth]. Stranger danger makes up only 10% of child sex abuse cases.
Luke Helmlich was a juvenile at the time of the act. He was a child. At 21 he has the brain of an adolescent. It’s a neurological fact. I am no neurologist, but I have read about the neuropsychology of the prefrontal cortex in minors. Personally, I am in the camp that suggests we do kids an injustice by charging them for committing crimes, period. Why? Because the human brain does not completely develop until about age 25. The prefrontal cortex takes longest to completely develop, and it is responsible for executive function. Executive function relates to abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts [rational decision making], determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities and actions, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social control, which is the ability to suppress urges [impulse control] that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially unacceptable outcomes. He may have known touching the female relative was wrong, but he was at the age when most teens become sexually active. He more than likely was unable to suppress those sexual urges and did what he did more out of sexual curiosity, than malicious sexual intent.
In Pennsylvania, reputation is a fundamental right protected by the Pennsylvania Constitution. Added protections of the clause include the irrebuttable presumption doctrine. The doctrine provides that if a state denies a person or group a right based upon a particular presumption, the presumption must be universally true. Unfortunately that doctrine doesn’t apply when a person or a group of people deny another a right based upon the same assumption. The assumption once a sex offender, always a sex offender is not universally true. In fact, a child is more likely to be a victim of a violent crime than a sex crime, especially one perpetrated by a stranger.
I bring up sexual prudery, recidivism, neurology and reputation as a fundamental right as a way to show how ineffective sex offender registries are. The U.S. Congress and states argue that sex offender registries are not punitive because the laws requiring registration are applied civilly under a public safety pretense. That is not factual. There is no way to protect a child with a sex offender registry when the danger of sexual abuse comes from within. If government wants to protect kids, they are going to have to start thinking tubal ligations/occlusions and vasectomies to prevent conception all together. Fact is, all sex offender registries do is lull people into a false sense of security and create a new unprotected class, which in my opinion, and for all intents and purposes, is unconstitutional.
I am not going to say that I don’t care about what may have happened between Luke and his female relative – it was inappropriate. Although I don’t think it needed to go that far, he copped to it and paid the consequence for his actions. I will say that I shouldn’t even know about it. How does what happened to someone on the west coast effect me here on the east coast? How in reality does public knowledge of the act change what happened? Making it public only serves to further promote public hysteria and ignorance, and embolden the corporate lapdog to create more legislation that further exasperates the issue.
….
What is going on here this that the registry has nothing to do with protecting the public and it is a tool for harassment and shame, only. It is the core hindering victims coming forward, because they will not want their loved ones go through such torment. Most, ‘real’ sex abuse victims want their offenders be treated so they will not do it again. Luke’s victim is being re-victimize by this public hatred and treatment. Shame, shame and shame on these wicked people.