Every Los Angeles criminal defense attorney will point to the Constitution as the first place a United States citizen's rights are located. However, some individuals in the media want to punish people using cruel and unusual punishment. The attitude that some individuals bring to sex crimes and sexual offense is not just over-the-top, but dangerous to anyone facing sexual offense or sex crime charges.
In a recent CNN article, a writer calls for greater and more intense penalties for those convicted of sex crimes. In Los Angeles, and throughout California, the penalty for many sexual offenses is already life altering. For example, along with possible jail time and fines, an individual who is convicted of a sexual offense must register with the state under "Megan's Law," which will restrict his/her options in terms of where to live and where they can work.
There is only one registered sex offender list, and it lumps pedophiles in with people who commit consensual statutory rape. This means that a 25-year-old man who has consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl is treated the same as a 45-year-old man who molests a 7-year-old.
This particular writer also uses a particular terrible example, both in terms of the gruesomeness of the crime and the fact that the individual she points to was never charged with the gruesome crime in question. The media demonstrates how difficult it can be to receive a fair trial when everyone at CNN, Fox, NBC, etc. is on a with hunt trying to protect one person by ruining the lives of hundreds of others.
Sexual offense and sex crimes are terrible, for the accused and, of course for the victims. However, to completely overreact and treat the accused as the guilty (unConstitutional) is just another example of media talking heads interfering with justice and possibly ruining the lives of the accused as a result.
