For example, I do not oppose capital punishment in principle. I do, however, oppose the death penalty in its current incarnation in this country because the system is so hopelessly flawed, what with the disproportionate number of poor, minority, and mentally impaired people we execute and the ever-growing number of DNA exonerations. But, if we could somehow magically ensure that the death penalty would be applied fairly and never in error, I'd be all for it...especially for people like this guy.
Haven't you heard? Federal Prosecutor John David R. Atchison, assistant U.S. attorney for the northern district of Florida, recently flew to Detroit armed with a Dora doll, hoop earrings, and Vaseline in preparation for a sexual encounter with a (fictional, thank God) 5-year old girl. Atchison had been corresponding with a Macomb County detective whom he believed was a mother wishing to make her young children available for sex. A nauseating excerpt from his correspondence with police:
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice." The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.
So this guy? Can have his brains fried by Old Sparky for all I care. (After he is tried fairly and convicted by a jury of his peers, of course.) As far as I'm concerned, once you rape a child you simply forfeit your right to walk the earth. Thanks for playing; better luck next time! Part of that sentiment comes from the parent in me -- just the idea of my children being molested literally sickens me. But, part of it also comes from what we know about pedophiles: they do not view their behavior as harmful in any way, and often view theirs as a legitimate sexual orientation. For example, pedophiles often invoke the language of civil rights to justify their actions, by noting that up until quite recently homosexuality was classified in the DSM as a paraphilia, too. So, the argument goes, it is just a matter of time until society stops defining sexual attraction to children as a deviant sexual orientation, just as we have (presumably) ceased to consider homosexuality deviant. Another technique pedophiles commonly use is to suggest that their targets sexually tease or provoke them into action, such as when a young girl turns cartwheels in a skirt, thereby exposing her underwear and "inviting" sexual advances. And, those of us who spent an entire summer reading the pre-sentence investigation reports of convicted sex offenders can attest that there is no end to the creativity and imagination pedophiles use in justifying, defending, and legitimizing their sexual predation of children.
The question, of course, is whether pedophiles can help themselves, or whether they are too sick for punishment. Ironically, I generally am opposed to criminalizing illness, like with drug and alcohol addiction. It's no secret that our prisons are teeming with addicts who would be better served by substance abuse treatment than lockup. But, when it comes to sexually molesting kids, all bets are off in my book. We should treat pedophiles for their illness you say? Well then, may I recommend a double dose of potassium chloride?
Update: Ugh. Turns out he had a MySpace profile in which he proclaimed how much he "love[s] younger girls"...and that he's into "ab/dl" (that's "adult babies/diaper lovers" -- thank you UrbanDictionary.com!) This article has a link to his MySpace page for those so inclined to view it. (Warning: MySpace page is semi-NSFW).
5 comments:
Thank you for finally putting "Progressive" and "looney leftie" together. It is nice to have people finally speak the truth. Hugs and Kisses, me.
Ok now on a serious front. Holy Crap! Unreal. This is the most incredible thing I have ever read in my life. How the f' does something like this happen!
I also think there is another layer of seriousness to your post. I think there are many in the looney left camp wit this closeted retributionist attitudes. There is an assumption that the garden variety criminals are nearly always victims of life circumstances and thus, to some degree, less culpable. Yet something that appears to be a shock to their personal conscience should be dealt with in the harshest ways - Hate Crime legislation is such an excellent example of this.
For the record, this is one radical righty against the death penalty. Yep, even for the Counselor.
That's an interesting point, Scoob. In other words, if the crime is reprehensible enough, folks who typically oppose particularly harsh sanctions (or who favor treatment-based alternatives, for example) are quick to suggest that we "hang 'em high"? I never thought about that before. Although certainly my post would seem to offer evidence in support of your theory! LOL!
P.S. I hope that my post did not communicate a sense of surprise at this story. Appalling? Yes....but surprising? Absolutely not. I don't think any of us who study crime for a living very often find ourselves genuinely shocked by the depths of human depravity. Though I will admit to being mildly surprised that OJ was dumb enough to get his ass arrested for armed robbery...
I must be in the minority. yes, I am incredibly shocked that a federal prosecutor would be involved in such henious behavior. As if sex with minors isn't bad enough, with a 5 year old being sold by her mother - wow, it doesn't get much worse than than.
I think the idea I raised is actually much more common than you might think. Listen, I won't suggest there isn't a lot of contradiction on the right, etc. Seriously, I get that. But its the left that has more so than not pushed for mandatory arrest polices for alledged DV perps and hate crime. These are harsh punishments have been largely accepted (I get the DV thing, but not many people seroiusly questioned it before replication studies came out). Let me tell you, if I took a firm stand against hate crime legislation here, I would be considered a trouble maker - a right winger who wants minorities or gays to be victims of crime. The ironies I perceived go so much deeper on political issues. Not that I want to raise the abortion issue, but let me give you one solid example that I personally experienced. We interviewed (and hired) someone that did sucha great job talk on making sure that communication between parents and children should be considered legally protected conversation (eg. doctors, lawyers, etc). In case folks don't know (I didn't even think about it), parents communication with juvenile suspects isn't. So, my colleagues are dismayed (rightfully so) - and I listened to all of the rhetoric about protecting the most innocent among us, how could we let children be treated like this, etc. Yet most of them would probably support late term abortion (where we partially remove a BABY from a mother, use pliars to open up the BABY's skull, and suck out the BABY's brain). I can't wrap my mind around how you can reconcile these two often co-occurring perspectives. Is there anyone more vulnerable?
Ok, I said I would avoid the deeper discussions. Anyone have any good jokes about porn?
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