Reader comments
Expanded offender registry too broad?

If it doesn't have a sexual element to the crime then why are these crimes being added to the sex offender's list. The example given in this article by one of the judges with regards to unlawful detention could easily happen. Also, kidnapping by itself is not a sex crime. I thought the sex offender's list was for sex offenders not for every crime we consider really bad.

At what point does it stop being a regulatory action and start becoming a punitive one. With all of these laws being added, the state is effectively changing/modifying the individuals sentence without the benefit of a jury trial/opportunity to challenge it (prior to it's enactment). Also, they need to realise that these laws cannot be used retroactively. Then cannot be used to monitor someone convicted PRIOR to the enactment of the law. That is call Ex Post Facto and is outlawed via the constitution in Section 1, Article 9 (Federal) and Section 1, Article 10 (State).

The people who are making these laws need to be more realistic in their approach to SO laws. Treatment is the best option. Make them get Treatment. That is what lessens their risk levels. Not posting their info for the world to see. That actually has the ability to increase the recidivism rates.

Think about it.

These laws are having the opposite effect they were intended to have. They don't save lives, they increase the risk of another child dying without being found. How is that in the best interest of the child?

Avendora

This is my opinion, but I believe one of the driving factors of creating the SO list is because of the often compulsive nature of crime. Many Sex Offenders say they are driven to do those types of crimes. The repeat nature of the crime perpetrated on a segment of the population that is most defenseless is one of the reasons why the list was created and made available to the public. Kidnapping and unlawful detention inherently in my estimation does not have those compulsive components. If a non-SO person goes on this list and stays on the list even after they have completed the sentence then I feel they are continuing to be punished for a very possible one-time act. That is not the same as Sexual Offence. Why not put repeated traffic violators on the list? When does it stop? A "list" of those who have committed the Kidnapping and UD type crimes have a criminal record that is easily accessible by Law Enforcement. If the crime is not one of compulsion, is not of a sexual nature and does not show a repeated cycle then why would you make it public on a SO list?

How about we just put red dots on anyones house who has ever been convicted of a crime. That way we can keep an eye on all of our neighbors....

Why this law hasn't been struck down as unconstitutional is besides me.

People keep asking, year after year after year, how and why stupid and crazy laws get passed by our legislature and yet you keep re-electing the people who do it ? DUH !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with the first two comments, especially the ex-post facto mention of the U.S. Constitution. Two other comments: at what time does a person finally "repent" of a child abuse, etc., conviction? Can he or she ever get the "stain" a prior conviction off or does he or she wear it around like Hester Pyrne in "The Scarlet letter" for the rest of their lives? And 2) The expansion costs you money. Is that what you want to do with your hard earned money?

I always thought public persecution and ridicule by the government was unconstitutuional. These register are nothing more than means of persecuting individuals ever after they have paid their obligation to society. Persecuting individuals is criminal and our nation has done very well without having to persecute after justice has been served. Every american has the right to the same freedoms even after having been in jail and served his time. Law enforcement is going too far in its actions of legal harassment and persecution for crime already considered a closed case. If prosecutors and law enforcement are so worried about criminals that they must be palced on a persecution list then why are the out of jail? Persecution is a means of going around the law of double jeopardy and convicting released inmates without any trial or judgement or evidicence of wrong doing, even by our laws. When people are released from jail their obligation to society ends and their freedoms are restored as US citizens and law enforcement or no government agency has the right to further prosecute and persecute individuals without another trial. Future possible crimes are not prosecuteable nor cause for these kinds of laws.

If we are going to add kidnappers, why not also add murderers and armed robbers to the list? How about auto thieves? Wouldn't you want to know if your neighbor might steal your car? Or how about those convicted of making homemade bombs in their basement? Wouldn't it be nice to know if one of these people lived nearby?

In the past I have searched the registry for a specific NAME but now you can only search a specific AREA. This does me no good for what I do. So, in retrospect, the HAVE made it harder for the public to research. Now if a woman meets a man or a man meets a woman he/she can't just look him/her up. I think they should go back to the old way. It was better.

This law/website is a classic example of the invasiveness by government and the public into peoples private lives. With changes in the wording this law could find it's way into your private life even if all you'd ever done was get a speeding ticket and/or parking ticket. It's time we as a society wake up and put an end to these ridiculous invasive law's to and including the overly broad Patriot Act.

Kidnapping by parents is not really kidnapping, just as statutory rape and rape by a spouse is not really rape.

Different words ought to be used in each of these situations to reflect the different realities.

When I hear the word kidnapping or rape, I don't immediately assume a horendous crime anymore, I find myself waiting to see what the actual situation is. We have devalued the meaning of these words.

Legislators feel like they need to sponsor a law to justify the money and time being spent on the hill. This law has unintended consequences that dilute the power of the registry.

Congratulations to Clearfield for electing a self serving politician who didn't do his homework. Congratulations to the rest of us for electing politicians who voted the bill into law.

It finally comes to me that Utah is a fake conservative state. We are among the states with highest taxes, and individual liberties are being chipped away for the common good. And we still claim to be conservatives?

You may be joking about expanding the list even more, however given what happened to the poor kid in Lehi, got his leg blown off by some idiot who was playing around with illegal fireworks,

I AGREE It would be useful to be able to look into a registry and be able to see who is making illegal explosives.

Saying the prosecutors wanted unlawful detention included is trying to shift the blame for a bad law onto someone else. Rep. Ray, YOU sponsored this bill, YOU argued for its passage and YOU are responsible for what it says and does. YOU trusted and relied on others to do YOUR job for YOU. Now, when people point out your folly, you want to shift the blame. (it's called taking responsibility, look it up)

Just admit that YOU simply carried the bill without thinking through the potential consequences. Did you even read it?

This law will weaken the registry by including people that pose no threat of repeat sexual offense. Why register everyone who has committed any crime and get it over with? Are habitual speeders a greater risk of injury to kids in the neighborhood? Or to save money we could just require people to agree to tattoo a large red letter on their forehead as a condition of release on parole. You know, like a "T" for theives, an "M" for murderers, an "A" for adulterers . . . oh wait, Nate Hawthorne already thought of that . . .

Big Brother is watching everyone, and before too long, he will make a plan for all of us to get back to heaven.

"Kidnapping by parents is not really kidnapping, just as statutory rape and rape by a spouse is not really rape."

That is the single most offensively incorrect statement I've "heard" all week. Yes, I will agree that parental kidnapping **MIGHT** not be the same as the kidnapping of a complete stranger, and that statutory rape **MIGHT** not be the same situation as a "normal" rape, but whether or not you're married, no means no, and spousal rape is, in actuality, worse than rape by a stranger, since it's committed by the one person you're supposed to be able to trust above all others. Your comments, "Use Correct Verbage", sound a great deal like self-defense.

I think we should make rape and child molestation death sentence crimes, then we won't need the registry.

The registry already weakens its intent because you have people on it that are listed as the most worrisome only because the Adam Walsh Act made states reclassify people.

Might as well have a registry for murders, DUI recidivists (after all many hurt children), and drug pushers. I mean, after all, its to protect the children.

Just because prosecutors want a law to make their jobs "easier" does not necessarily mean it is a good idea. We have a Bill of Rights for a reason, and it is not to make it easier for prosecutors, but rather to make sure they do their jobs right. We could make it really easy for police and prosecutors by just repealing the Bill of Rights, but then, Watch out everyone. You will be next!

I think its great, lets make a list for ALL those that have been convited of a crime, seems only fair. I for one want to know who all the People who have been convicted of a money fruad claim here in Utah, wil save us all kinds of money. That way we wont get duped by the nice man in church.