Fairness for Prisoners' Families
House Republicans want to keep a closer eye on the state's worst sex offenders by mandating that they wear electronic tracking devices as long as they live in Georgia. "If it becomes too onerous and too inconvenient, they just may want to live somewhere else," House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island) said in a recent interview. "And I don't care where, as long as it's not in Georgia." Currently, the state uses radio and satellite technology to monitor the whereabouts of some people on probation and parole. The House proposal would mandate that sex offenders wear the devices even after completion of their sentence. Keen and other House Republicans say they are hoping in next year's legislative session to pass the nation's toughest laws against sex offenders or "sexual predators" — those who commit the most violent offenses. House leaders also are considering increasing the sentences for some sex offenses; doubling to 20 years the time a sex offender must be listed on the state sex offender registry; and prohibiting a registered sex offender or "sexual predator" from working within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, school or area where minors congregate. Legislators plan to have a hearing on the bill Sept. 28, Keen said. The time and location of the meeting are still being finalized. Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri and Ohio approved laws this year to allow lifetime electronic monitoring of sex offenders, mostly through Global Positioning System, a satellite technology. Supporters say lifetime monitoring is just a high-tech version of current law, which in Georgia requires sex offenders to register their address with local authorities. But critics say such laws place an unfair stigma on people who have served their time. "It's a very heavy burden to wear, literally, for those people who are convicted of a crime in what may be a one-time situation," said Mark Kadish, associate professor of law at Georgia State University. "I can see where the Georgia Supreme Court would examine laws like this very closely from a standpoint of due process." Keen said lawmakers have an obligation to do all they can to keep Georgia from having its own version of Florida's Jessica Lunsford case. There, a convicted sex offender was accused of kidnapping the 9-year-old and burying her in a shallow grave. "I don't have a problem with [electronic monitoring] because of the aggravated nature of this crime," Keen said. "I'm more interested in the rights of the 8- or 10-year-old child whose innocence has been taken away from them than the rights of any people convicted of these crimes." Keen said another reason for monitoring are studies showing sex offenders are less likely than other criminals to be rehabilitated. House members still are hashing out specifics, including a definition of "sexual predator," Keen said. Georgia law currently classifies as a sexual predator anyone convicted of an aggravated sexual assault, such as rape. The latest statistics show 9,800 people on the GBI's Sex Offender Registry, 261 sex offenders on parole and 5,000 on probation in Georgia. About 80 sex offenders currently are being monitored electronically, according to the state Parole Board. Keen saw a demonstration last week of a monitoring system run by SecureAlert of Salt Lake City. The system, which would cost about $5.50 a day per device, can detect when the person wearing the monitor approaches a school or a victim's neighborhood. Bryan Dalton, the company's vice president for sales, said the system allows two-way communication between the offender and monitoring center. Keen said legislators will have to determine how much such a system would cost.
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