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When will we keep our children safe from predators?

As I read all the articles on Terri Schaivo, I wonder. When will all these governmental agencies get involved in changing the laws protecting children from the sexual offenders? When will the government agencies work on the weekends and Sundays to change the laws about releasing these creeps back into society?

When will the president go back to Washington early from his Texas home to sign a law that says when you assault a child in any way you should spend the rest of your life in jail? When they do these acts to harmless children they should lose their rights in society forever.

These people never change. Once a pervert always a pervert. We are losing children all the time to sex offenders who have already spent time in jail and gotten out and go on looking for their next child victim to kidnap, assault and kill.

When will this be a priority?

Suspect should have been monitored

Re: Jessica Lunsford.

It's impossible to comprehend that child sex offenders can walk the streets and live next door to those of us with small children! These degenerates are given the freedom to offend again on impulse. And criminals like Martha Stewart who commit money-related crimes, have to wear security ankle bracelets! Where was John Couey's ankle bracelet? I am sure it would have made a difference! Who was keeping track of him?

We the people need to get it together for the protection of our children in the name of Jessica Lunsford, Carlie Brucia and the countless others who have died at the mercy of these pariahs. When will we learn? When will we care enough to make a change?

Am I the only parent who neurotically makes sure my children's windows are locked at night? This is not the way to live.

-- Jean Cavaliere, St. Petersburg

Have tracking chips implanted

First of all, I want to comment on the excellent job done by Citrus County Sheriff John Dawsy and his department. He kept the public informed and showed compassion to Jessica Lunsford's family.

I now want to make a suggestion: Because we know that pedophiles reoffend, and in order to keep children safe from these animals, a GPS (global positioning) chip should be planted under the skin of any convicted pedophile. They do this to dogs. A command center should be set up and these people should be constantly tracked.

Forget about their civil liberties, the children have a right to be safe from these pedophiles. The sheriff should present this idea to Congress and see if we can get it enacted. I am retired from the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and know that this tracking will work. I worked with a bracelet program, but GPS will keep our children safe. If it saves one child's life, it is worth it.

How many more times?

Jessica Lunsford was 9-years-old and was murdered by a "registered sex offender," according to authorities. How many more times must this happen before our courts and lawmakers decide to seriously penalize child molesters rather than let them roam our streets virtually unaccounted for? How many more innocent children must die before laws are enacted to keep child molesters imprisoned for life?

Why are our elected officials expending so much time and energy on a civil matter (Terri Schiavo), while innocent children are being stalked, kidnapped and murdered? Why?

Lock them up for life

Re: John Couey.

All the talking heads are trying to figure out what can be done to track sexual predators who change residence. Should there be tougher penalties for failing to register with local authorities? I say no! Had John Couey registered his address, it might not have made any difference. In my opinion, he chose not to register for the sake of planning an abduction.

We can't gamble with our children. They are our future. Being helpless and unable to actually comprehend what a "bad guy" is capable of, they depend on us to protect them. We can't let them down. It's our obligation. My prayers go out to Jessica and her family.

If the penalty was appropriate for preying on our innocent and defenseless children, we would have no need for registering. I believe that those committing sexual crimes against minors should have one address for the rest of their lives - prison! If we put them permanently behind bars, they will be unable to reoffend. Problem solved.

Confession doesn't always mean guilt

It's rare but is a well-known phenomenon in psychiatry: A subject will confess to a crime, heinous or minor, simply for attention or to atone for some undiscovered transgression, either minor or major. The syndrome is further exacerbated by a low socioeconomic level and other factors.

Today's media-crazy saturation has found John Couey guilty simply because he confessed, much as a sane and remorseful person would.

But what if he's not sane? That would blow all the media hype spewed out by nonmedical professionals and force them to find some new point of concentration for their talk-show entertainments.

A way to make living wills easier

Re: Living wills.

I wish I could say this was my original idea, but I heard it from someone on a radio talk show and thought it was worth thinking about.

This person suggested that we could put our living wills on drivers' licenses, similar to the way we indicate whether or not we are organ donors. He didn't expound on how this could be done, but I started thinking that it could be quite simple. Have, say, three commonly used living wills designated A, B or C. D might be "do not resuscitate unless designated person allows."

Wouldn't this be so much easier and better than what is currently in place? I do not have a living will. I am single and the only person I would entrust with this responsibility lives on west coast.

And because it would be so easy, even young people would be covered. As it is, most young people don't even think about this possibility.

As we know, Terri Schiavo was young when she became "disabled." Had this option been available to her, had she just checked one of the options, all this horrible stuff would be moot.

Compassion for pets

Re: Terri Schiavo.

I have kept quiet on this subject until I read the letter (A sad day for humanity, March 20) in which the writer said that people would "never consider doing that to their pets."

My response this is: No, we would have euthanized the pet years ago!

[Last modified September 15, 2005, 11:49:32]