Billboards and TV take away civil liberties

As I was listening to NPR the other night, an interesting tidbit came on the radio; “Billboards in Bogota, Columbia will not only have advertisements, but will start posting photos and names of known sex offenders” (NPR, Wednesday September 26th, 2007). Bogota is a city of 7 million people (1) with 17,000 reported cases of sexual abuse to minors last year alone (2). The City Council in Bogota approved this measure earlier in the year hoping to protect citizens from sexual predators. Councilwoman Gilma Jimenez stated that over 200,000 kids a year are sexually abused with only a small amount being investigated (1). This is where the numbers get confusing, but think about the 17,000 reported in other article. The billboards will give the sex offender’s names, their photo, the men’s crimes and the age of their victim. 40 billboards will go up around the city located on highways and busy roadways (3). Recently, the consequence sof sexual predation have become more strict as the government raised punishment from 12 years to 25 years. This was only the start. This new law also calls for the prisoners images to be broadcast on television. Obviously, the prisoner’s lawyers are having a field day with the possibility of violation of the men’s constitutional rights.
Proponents say this will help the society, while adversaries say this is social injustice.
Should sexual offenders be ‘victimized’ or given additional punishment after their jail sentence?
In the United States two recent laws have been passed. California recently passed Jessica’s Law, which prevents sexual offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks or beaches. Furthermore, Megan’s Law was passed to allow communities to be able to access a database via the Internet that informs the public of the whereabouts of sexual offenders in their community (4). I briefly looked up my community. In my county alone, there are 1635 registrants with 1,169 known addresses of sexual offenders. In my zip code there are 75 registrants with 51 full addresses. The first law has been debated as unconstitutional due to its retroactive actions regarding previous offenders. The latter law has been accepted and widely used among families with young children.
The state of Iowa Supreme Court recently deemed the former law unconstitutional due to its retroactive nature (5). The news editorial this originates argues that sexual offenders have civil liberties also. It begs the question, ‘If they have served their jail time, do they deserve to be continually punished upon release from their incarceration?’ It recognizes the law as ‘commendable’ for its task of protecting the children, but also recognizes that it’s the government’s job to protect the citizens. The editorial continues on stating that as long as other sentences withstand constitutional scrutiny, they should or could be utilized. I agree with this editorial even with my own prejudices against these types of criminals. One must empathize with these offenders, they have served their initial jail time, should they be hounded and punished further?
In the United States, ankle bracelets and close scrutiny of parole officers have been utilized as post-jail treatments, along with registering with the local law enforcement. So far, this process seems sufficient or at the least adequate. Bogota’s newspapers and other organizations are calling for similar actions to be taken in the capital. Their stance against the billboards recognized the civil liberties of the prisoners. The latest news involves prisoners staging peaceful protests against this new law in Bogota (2).
Does this law in Columbia give due process? Does it allow the prisoner’s their constitutional rights after release from prison? One must recognize that people go to prison to ‘heal.’ Prison is not only a punishment, but a place to, theoretically, heal a prisoner so that they can function in society again.
Should media be used to ‘educate or inform’ the public about local deviants? I believe accessing the whereabouts of sexual predators via the Internet is powerful and informative. Beyond this, how does the government stay involved, but respect civil liberties. The government can’t follow these offenders everyday making sure that their walks, drives or transports don’t take them near schools, beaches, parks or the like. We must trust in the ‘reform’ system of the jails to ‘heal’ these offenders. These offenders lose so much going to prison and afterwards, we, or the Columbians should not enact retroactive laws for previous offenders. I also believe that pasting the photos of these offenders puts the power of regulation in the hands of gangs, irate citizens and anyone seeking revenge or action against the offenders. Public knowledge should be granted, but it should be accessed, not pushed onto the general public. The television spots and the billboards push these offender’s discrepancies onto the public, which could incite more violence and retribution. The media in Columbia should stay neutral and not allow the government to regulate or dictate what is aired via its outlets.
The media should be utilized to educate and inform, but the government’s blatant disregard to citizen’s well-being is being overshadowed in this instance. These pictures and information will reach the masses and when the masses are given power, that power is easily corruptible. I hope that the prisoners do not see retribution taken against them by gangs or fellow citizens.

1. http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4054924

2. http://www.iol.za.org/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=122&art_id=nw20070509221120165C420017

3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7015707.stm

4. http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/homepage.aspx?lang=ENGLISH


5. http://media.www.iowastatedaily.com/media/storage/paper818/news/2004/02/16/Opinion/Editorial.Sex.Offenders.Have.Civil.Liberties.Too-1098792.shtml



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