Elizabeth Smith

People, settle down. Listen to these facts. I know it may seem horrible that a sex offender was allowed to adopt. The stereotypes all sex offenders is a blanket. I personally do not believe that ALL sex offenders need to be barred for life from enjoying a family, or adopting a child. I do believe that much tighter scrutiny must be used before an offender can even remotely be considered. Not all sex offenders are the same, and not all sex offenses are the same. But we as a society have given all sex offenders and all sex offenses a blanket label as "horrible people who deserve nothing but death" This is wrong. People can reform, even sex offenders. The recidivism rates are much lower for these offenders than any other type of criminal activity. Incarcerated offenders go through extensive treatment programs prior to their release which only lowers these rates even more. Not only this but they suffer harsh ridicule, torture and abuse of their own while incarcerated by other inmates and guards. So much so, that the desire to continue types of offenses become less desirable, for fear of going back to prison to suffer more torture and abuse by their fellow inmates and peers. Most offenders, choose to change their lives for the better, take advantage of the programs offered while incarcerated to better and more productive citizens. Most are genuinely remorseful for what they did, and when they get released spend the rest of their lives trying to prove to society they have changed for the better. They are not machines that are pre-programmed. They too, like us are human beings. They are not "monsters". Most offenders families turn their backs on these people for one reason or another. This makes the release offender feel isolated, lonely, and in a constant state of depression. "No one loves them, and they have no one to love." This loneliness, this isolation increases the chances of criminal activity. I propose, instead of a blanket label on these individuals, we look at them case-by-case. Not exclusively as what they did in the past, but what they have done to make amends, their path to reformation. What they are doing today. Who they are as people today. Because we all know people can change, even convicted sex offenders. I have seen this with my own eyes. I could not believe it possible, until it was repeatedly demonstrated to me over a period of several years. I had a friend who married a convicted sex offender, who had a child by him, 25 years later, that child is grown up, and under multiple polygraphs the now adult reported no accounts of abuse by her adoptive father ever in her life. Nothing but pure love like a father should give their child came from this convicted sex offender. He never abused her, never had the thought to. He completed several institution and community based rehabilitative programs and completely turned his life around for the better. He has never displayed any indication he was still into what it was when he committed his crime. It is as if the person who did the crime, died, and a new man took his body. In a what, metaphorically speaking, exactly that is what happened. No people, I do not think that we should just had out a Golden Ticket to allow all offenders to adopt a child, but I do think that this "blanket label" and "blanket procedure needs to be lifted. Much tighter scrutiny needs to be utilized when a sex offender petitions to become an adoptive parent. I believe a level of supervision needs to be set in place if an offender is approved, and that what the offender has done with their lives during and after release, and show a degree of proof that they can be a safe parent. I feel that a reformation of our laws, no longer labeling all sex offenders under one blanket label, but rather looking at them case-by-case, and change our views and understanding of how the minds of sex offenders work. But I definitely agree with you, that under the current circumstances, this person should not have been able to adopt a child. However, had my proposal been utilized, and the offender demonstrated and an outstanding level of evidentiary proof that he was safe to become a parent, and only after full rehabilitation was proven, I would not see a reason do deny him a child, because I would know with confidence that that child will be safe.