In today’s society, there are a lot of crimes committed. One of the crimes that is absolutely horrific and unacceptable is raping and killing young teenagers and children. I recently read an opinionated article on CNN Opinion called Fury Over Sex Offender’s Freedom, by Ruben Navarrette Jr., that discusses the charges against the unpopular sex offender named John Albert Gardner III. In the beginning of his writing, he compares the situation in the movie Law Abiding Citizen with the current issue of Gardner. The author of this article is really passionate about increasing the harshness of penalties for people who commit such a disgusting crime. I agree with Navarrette’s argument because it questions the pursuit of justice for the community in California and the families of the victims who have passed away.
From this article, I learned that Gardner isn’t charged with raping and murdering Chelsea King and Amber Dubois for no reason. In the past, he was sentenced to prison for six years in prison for molesting and beating a 13year-old-girl. Unfortunately, Gardner only served 5 years in prison and was on parole for 3 years after his release. Navarrette also proved that during his three years of parole, he was not as restricted as he should have been.
This article really focuses on the fact that Gardner should not be getting away with these crimes. Although 5 years in prison is a long time, it is definitely not enough to retaliate for the violation of privacy of the 13 year-old-girl mentioned above. This is why he is more prone to committing crime again (as he is charged for). I can imagine the families of the victims that Gardner has touched and those who recently died.
Navarrette believes that if a sex offender is on parole, he should be wearing a tracking device that would be monitored by policemen. Another option would be “One and You’re Done”. In other words, a first-time sex offender will be punished for good. I agree with this because this will keep communities safer. Why don’t the San Diego County AND other states as well enforce this rule to keep children and teens safe?
It is crazy to hear that there are still loose sex-offenders out there preying on innocent young ones. The San Diego community is calling for justice. I think we should all watch out for these lucky releases that these prisoners get and make sure that our justice system is doing its job in harshly punishing those who commit such nasty crimes. Navarette’s article could not have expressed his opinion, which I bet most people support, any better.
Here’s the link to the article on CNN Opinion: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/12/navarrette.sex.offender/index.html?iref=allsearch
Here is Gardner… the sex-offender who will face court in the summer.
And here is a picture of Amber (left) and Chelsea (right):
