Posted on 07/15/2008 2:44:04 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
MONTPELIER – Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie endorsed a slate of reforms to the state's sex offender laws Monday morning and called on Gov. James Douglas to bring lawmakers back to Montpelier for a special session this summer.
Dubie, a Republican running for re-election this year, called for a comprehensive review of Vermont's criminal justice system and said lawmakers should pass proposals such as Jessica's Law and chemical or physical castration for habitual sex offenders.
He said Vermont needs to ensure that cases such as last month's kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett never happen again.
"In just over 39 months, three young women have been kidnapped, raped and murdered at the hands of sexual predators," Dubie said at a press conference Monday morning on the steps of the Statehouse. "The loss of a single life is a tragedy; the loss of three in such a short timeframe is something we cannot turn away from."
Dubie's news conference comes days after Douglas, who also is up for re-election this year, floated similar ideas – including reinstating the death penalty in Vermont – at a news conference. He added that he was interested in calling lawmakers back to Montpelier this year, but said he doubted they would seriously consider his reforms.
"His view is we need to have a conversation about how we limit the judiciary discretion that has the unintended consequence of releasing dangerous offenders into our communities," said Jason Gibbs, Douglas' spokesman. "A discussion of enhancing mandatory minimums is one he's prepared to have."
House Speaker Gaye Symington, D-Jericho, who is running against Douglas this year, said in a statement Monday afternoon that any special legislative session would address "why our current laws are not being enforced by the Douglas administration before we talk about adding more laws."
"It is much more important right now to find out why this convicted sex offender was set free and fix the problems that lead to his early release so that we don't have a repeat of this failure," Symington said.
Dubie also announced that he has launched a petition drive – with a form available at his Web site – in support of his proposals. The initiatives outlined by Dubie were:
# A comprehensive review of Vermont's criminal justice system.
# Adoption of Jessica's Law, setting 25-year minimum for first-time child sex offenders.
# Mandatory life sentence for second-time violent child sex offenses.
# Civil confinement law extending prison terms for high-risk offenders.
# Chemical and physical castration for habitual offenders.
# Increasing the information on Vermont's Sex Offender Registry.
# Tougher penalties for those who harbor unregistered sex offenders.
# Expansion and funding of Special Investigative Units.
# Allowing evidence of prior sexual misconduct in sex crime trials.
# Collection of DNA from violent sex offenders.
But Dubie's proposals got a cool reception from a victim's right's group, which said long mandatory minimums can discourage suspects from entering into plea bargains and scare victims out of coming forward.
"Long mandatory sentences make us feel really good, but they really do very little to keep people safe from sex offenders," said Karen Tronsgard-Scott, director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
According to Tronsgard-Scott, a high percentage of sexually abused children know their attackers or are related to them, which could make them shy away from reporting it if they believe doing so would lead to a long prison term.
Moreover, about half of child sex abusers are children under 18, and long mandatory sentences won't deter them since the sentences usually aren't imposed on juvenile offenders, she said.
Plea bargains, which may mean less prison time, are beneficial because they allow courts and prosecutors to impose sanctions and community-based control, so that offenders get treatment in prison and courts can impose controls that make repeat offenses unlikely once they get out, she said.
"What happens to victims is they're forced to go to trial and in 65 percent of the cases, the perpetrator walks away without any consequence or community sanction," she said.
Senate Democrats are expected to announce today their own legislative approach to the Bennett tragedy.
Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will join Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, at a Brattleboro news conference in front of the town's district court at 12:30 p.m.
Sears said he will pull his committee together for six special meetings, including two to seek input from the public, over the summer and autumn to determine what changes may be needed in how Vermont deals with sex offenders.
This review, which will conclude with a Nov. 15 report, could result in suggestions of new legislation for lawmakers when they return to Montpelier in January 2009. But Sears said these issues "would be difficult at best" to address during a two-day special legislative session this summer.
"Vermont is one the safest states in the nation. That is a fact," Sears said. "If I picked up the newspapers, I might wonder about that. But we have to remember that we are one of the safest states in the nation."
Symington endorsed this approach Monday, adding she is declining to call up the House Judiciary Committee right now to insure her campaign for governor is not a distraction during those proceedings.
If someone important (i.e. a democrat), lost a child to a sexual predator, Vermont would no longer be ‘one of the safest states’. As long as the victims come from the general dumb public, dems will continue to stick their heads in the sand. Kirsten whatshername, the expert quoted in the article, is right about kids being molested by people they know...and being afraid to come forward. It’s appalling, but they should figure a way to solve that problem, not ignore it.
Not to mention all the rapes and assaults on kids by perps. Law Enforcement is probably doing a fine job. Then it gets to the judicial system and the good for nothing lawyers and judges let them go scot free, to perp on more innocent children again. I say get the rope and a tall tree.
Of course the hyphenated name spokesperson sounds like the typical liberal, making up all types of excuses to do nothing.
There were 322 substantiated cases of child sexual abuse here last year (that is more than double the cases of substantiated physical abuse). The perpetrators of these crimes can expect little time in jail and instead will be treated like victims who need counseling to get well.
Certain areas of the state (such as Franklin County) have historically had a child sex abuse rate far higher than the statewide average but little seems to be done to fix this problem.
It is past time that this becomes a major election issue.
No, one young girl was anally raped in Addison County several months ago by her father. There is plenty of physical evidence but the cops have not even arrested the guy yet. It seems they were too busy looking for a college student who had been missing for months.
hrm... interesting name.
I’m sorry but the cow has already left the barn on this issue. It’s so typical of a politician to try to solve a problem after the fact. Most don’t seem to have the moral fortitude to know the difference between right and wrong to begin with. Pandering to a shocked population is par for the course.
A backlasjh is coming. The people are sick and tired of criminals being the victim and the victims being forgotten.
This has gone on for years as the leftist have watered down every meaninful punishment for criminals and turned the justice system into a farce.
The people may not be at the break point yet but surely any Obama presidency would be a boon for the leftist to further degrade our system and most likley would be the straw that breaks the camels back.......
Tell a lie long enough and it 'becomes the truth'.
According to Tronsgard-Scott, a high percentage of sexually abused children know their attackers or are related to them, which could make them shy away from reporting it if they believe doing so would lead to a long prison term.
Isn't it more likely that they would be afraid of the attacker not getting a long term?
Moreover, about half of child sex abusers are children under 18, and long mandatory sentences won't deter them since the sentences usually aren't imposed on juvenile offenders, she said.
This doesn't explain why mandatory sentences shouldn't be imposed on those over 18.
Plea bargains, which may mean less prison time, are beneficial because they allow courts and prosecutors to impose sanctions and community-based control, so that offenders get treatment in prison and courts can impose controls that make repeat offenses unlikely once they get out, she said.
This plan has worked so well, so I see no reason to change it /s.
"What happens to victims is they're forced to go to trial and in 65 percent of the cases, the perpetrator walks away without any consequence or community sanction," she said.
And whose fault is that?
Sorry, the Vermont Legislature has gone on their annual “Thailand Boy Junket”.
1. a body, as a piece of iron or steel, that possesses the property of attracting certain substances, as iron.
2. a lodestone.
3. a thing or person that attracts: The park was a magnet for pickpockets and muggers.
In other words, they just said Phuket.
Maybe Chris Gregorie will change her last name to Chris Roachclip to ensure her reelection in a landslide by Washington state voters.
Dubie is a good man though. He got an award for his AF service on 9/11.
Dubie actually is a Conservative Republican. I hope he becomes “Governor Dubie” before long. His opponent this year, the VT House Speaker, is an extra chromosomer ultraleft moonbat.
How did he and Jim Douglas get elected up there, anyway?
Douglas had been a long-term statewide officeholder, so he was able to become Governor without too much of a problem in 2002 (succeeding Mad Howie Dean) and Dubie was the nice little surprise swept in with him (but they do run separately). They have to run every 2 years. I’m amazed Dubie has managed to hold on.
Oooo snap.
“was able to become Governor without too much of a problem in 2002”
Oops, I stand corrected. That’s what I get when I don’t go and reconfirm the numbers. I was confusing his ‘04 victory with his first. He might’ve won by a wider margin had it not been for the presence of Con Hogan, a disgruntled Republican running Independent (who got 10%). I noticed Douglas got fewer votes in 2002 in winning that Ruth Dwyer received in 2000 in losing.
As for Dubie, when he ran with Dwyer in 2000, he got just over 41.3% and 118k votes against incumbent Dem Lt Gov Doug Racine... when he ran in ‘02, he got only 41.1% and 94k votes, yet he won because the far-left split the remaining vote between the regular Democrat (Peter Shumlin, 31%) and the Progressive (Tony Pollina, 25%). When he ran in ‘04, he received 170,000 votes, the largest-ever number of votes for a candidate of either party for Lt Governor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.