Yes, the banning of the juvenile death penalty was...

[wolf]

Originally Posted by SmurfAbuser

A sex offender has never, ever been rehabilitated? I don't think that's quite accurate.

If you feel comfortable hiring someone on the Megan's Law database to babysit your 5 year old, you're certainly welcome to do so.

I take the position that it's not a good idea to give an arsonist any matches, though.

I don't spend a lot of time reading research. I admit it. I also think that a good percentage of published research is carefully phrased bullshit, funded by large grants. This is not to say that there isn't a lot of good psych research out there, though.

I have, however, spent a good amount of time dealing with men from a nearby program for sex offenders, and also speaking with their staff.

These are men who are supposedly rehabilitated. They have a wide range of offenses ... some against adults (you know those sexually violent predators you hear about? I know over a dozen), many more against children.

I get to inventory their property.

When I find pages ripped out of a K-Mart circular featuring boys modelling Underoos, I doubt the effectiveness of treatment, no matter how well the system thinks these guys are doing.