Dear Editors,
I must strongly disagree with Friday’s editorial, which argued against the state’s online public registry for Level 3 sex-crime offenders. While I strongly support the rights of criminals who have paid their debt to society, the disturbingly high rate of recidivism among sex offenders makes the registry integral to early prevention. The frequency of repeated abuse makes it clear that sex offenders are less likely than other criminals to be truly rehabilitated. The registration of sex offenders appears to be a quite liberal middle ground between unforgiving permanent incarceration, and irresponsible release of potentially dangerous pedophiles. If child-abusers were not so likely to abuse again, this would not be necessary. Unfortunately, it is.
Zoe Piel CAS ’06