An Analysis of the Rape Case of Megan Kanka and the Introduction to the Megan's Law Essay

Megan's Law is named after seven- year old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester in 1994. The felon moved in across the street from the Kankas, without their knowledge. Megan's parents embarked on a national crusade to change federal and state laws to allow for community notification of released sex offenders (Johnson11). After this event, few could argue that communities should be notified when a sex offender moves in. However, present sentencing laws need to be stiffened and accuracy problems within Megan s law need to be fixed, for the law to be completely acceptable.Should communities be notified when a convicted sex offender relocates in their neighborhood? Some say that this law is a direct violation of the constitution. The constitution talks about our unalienable rights, which include, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But sometimes people do things that make us question whether they deserve these rights that us honest people enjoy. Those against Megan s law would say that these rights apply to everyone. When we make exceptions, we start to pick and choose who has which rights. If this were to happen it would spread to other laws changing many things. However, others feel that this only applies to law-abiding citizens, and all society is obligated to give a criminal is a fair trial and attorney. Criminals take away our freedoms making us feel vulnerable and unsafe.Another argument against Megan s law is an idea that, they have already paid their debt to society. These offenders have served prison time. Why should they be different than murders, thieves, and other criminals? Many feel that releasing their names to the community prolongs their punishment forever. They are treated less than human because of something that has happened in the past. Some communities have felt so strongly about it that they resorted to vigilantism. In one extreme case an offender s car was...

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