Antigay Pastor Arrested On 70 Counts Of Child pornography

[marom1963]

As is typical in these discussions the concepts of an enlightened society sound ideal, but the reality is a bit different. The act of forcing sex on anyone is a crime, period. The state of mind of the criminal when acting isn't the issue, the act is. You don't put rapists in therapy for a reason- they have committed a brutal and violent act. Anyone capable of committing that act is capable of repeating it. In the case of a pedophile, the obsession seems to run so deep that treatment (as Mike CL stated) is apparently ineffective. Better to protect future victims than treat an untreatable perpetrator.

The other side of that is the onus society places on the crime. It is universally seen as a despicable act, and in the case of therapy or treatment, the perpetrator becomes in some sense a victim of his own obsession. Very few people, especially the victims and the families, are going to have a lot of sympathy for the perpetrator.

But in the case of this pastor and the Catholic priests that perform these acts, a deliberate effort was made to get to the children to begin with. Estimates are that 50% of Catholic clergy are gay, and an unknown number of pedophiles. They do not turn themselves in for treatment prior to the attacks- that is the important part. They deliberately get themselves in position to carry out their attacks and do everything they can in the aftermath to cover the crime. That is an act of a criminal, not a sick man.

Being placed in a mental hospital w/no hope of release is prison - and punishment. However, it might preclude being brutalized by other prisoners, which is what usually happens to imprisoned pedophiles, who are often beaten and raped, if not downright murdered in prisons. Justice is not vengeance, and you can't make up for a crime by setting things up to allow for another one to be committed - ie, the brutalization of the convicted pedophile. As for the sympathies of the public, our whole system was designed to protect people from those tender mercies: the minority shall always be protected from the majority, as has been decided by the SCOTUS in case after case.

[FaithIsFilth]

I can understand an attitude that says lock up the child molesters and throw away the key. Putting them to death like Flanker says would not help anything though. It only hurts more children. It's kind of strange that he only wants to put the child molesters who are also pedophiles to death. What about the other half of child molesters who are not pedophiles? They don't qualify for the death penalty? Only the pedos do? The death penalty does not work as a deterrent. The death penalty is about getting revenge. That's what Flanker wants. Revenge.

I don't know if child molesters should go to prison or a mental hospital like marom suggests, but if anyone thinks child molesters possibly being raped in jail is going to be a deterrent to other child molesters, it's not.

[Baruch]

So far, in most cases, prison doesn't work.  Execution does, but only if efficient and no appeal.  It is the appeals and years of delay that make executions expensive.  An execution should cost about the same a bullet, and like the Chinese, we can charge the family of the executed person, for the costs of the bullet.  Might as well charge them the whole police, court and incarceration cost as well.  I don't think any of you are sufficiently evil, to realize just how much fun revenge can be.  Which one of you will be Hulk, and go Smash!

[Mike Cl]

I don't know if child molesters should go to prison or a mental hospital like marom suggests, but if anyone thinks child molesters possibly being raped in jail is going to be a deterrent to other child molesters, it's not.

But it does mean that that particular molester is not on the outs molesting another child. 

[marom1963]

But it does mean that that particular molester is not on the outs molesting another child.

Nor would that particular molester be in a hospital.
Leaving someone vulnerable to the type of brutal treatment that pedophiles get in prison is beyond the pale - it's downright sadistic. In fact, it's attempting to go further than the law will allow by assuring vengeance on top of being put in prison. That was what got Geoffrey Dahmer killed. He should never have been exposed to Gen Pop. They knew that if they put him there he would be killed - and that was exactly what happened, so that was how his life sentence was turned into a death sentence by people who were not pleased with the court's decision.  Putting pedophiles in Gen Pop is cruel and unusual punishment. The authorities know full-well what is going to be done to them.

[Mike Cl]

Nor would that particular molester be in a hospital.
Leaving someone vulnerable to the type of brutal treatment that pedophiles get in prison is beyond the pale - it's downright sadistic. In fact, it's attempting to go further than the law will allow by assuring vengeance on top of being put in prison. That was what got Geoffrey Dahmer killed. He should never have been exposed to Gen Pop. They knew that if they put him there he would be killed - and that was exactly what happened, so that was how his life sentence was turned into a death sentence by people who were not pleased with the court's decision.  Putting pedophiles in Gen Pop is cruel and unusual punishment. The authorities know full-well what is going to be done to them.

I would not suggest they should be put into the general pop in prison.  A hospital would be a better place.  But until we can 'cure' them, they should be locked up in some capacity.