This week, in another miscue, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that local municipalities can no longer prevent registered sex offenders from living within mere feet of schools, day care centers and playgrounds.
The New Jersey legislature is expected to act quickly to enact Megan’s Law modifications which will change that dunderhead decision by the high court. The ruling by the NJ Supreme Court demonstrates just how irrationally selective that body can be.
There are few things any more heinous that the mental ravage caused by psychopathic sexual predators, as they stalk and abuse New Jersey children. The statistics clearly show – over and over again – that the recidivism among this class of criminals requires close and constant monitoring of their whereabouts.
The court’s ruling has made it possible for malignant sex offenders to fly under the radar and to rent or buy a home close to a grade school, playground or day care facility anywhere in New Jersey. This is a chilling reminder that courts can often be devoid of the most basic understanding of what motivates criminal behavior.
Let’s hope that the New Jersey legislature has a better sense of judgment and fixes this loophole in Megan’s Law. If there is any misgiving whatever about the rate of recidivism for convicted sexual abusers, it’s better to give the benefit of the doubt to a community’s children than it is to provide comfort to the predators among us.
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