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Jewish World Review May 9, 2005 / 30 Nisan, 5765
Bill O'Reilly
The politics of cowardice
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
It took the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old
girl to force the state of Florida to pass a law to protect children. Just
days after Jessica Lunsford was found murdered, buried alive, the state
legislature passed a law mandating a penalty of 25 years to life for any
person convicted of molesting a child under 12 years of age. And if the
molester ever did get out of prison, he or she would have to wear an
electronic monitor for life.
The law passed because of citizen outrage; the guy who confessed
to killing Jessica, John Couey, was a convicted sex offender who was running
around unsupervised.
The media made a big deal out of photographing Gov. Jeb Bush
signing the law, but why didn't he and every other American governor sign a
law like this years ago? Everybody knows that kids are being molested in
great numbers. A new study out of Hofstra University says that 10 percent of
American school kids are molested by their teachers !
Unbelievable.
The system that is supposed to protect children has broken down
in the United States for two reasons: First, there is no national database
for sexual offenders, so they can roam from state to state without people
knowing who they are.
And second, the apathy of some judges and prosecutors is
stunning. In Jessica Lunsford's case, John Couey failed to register as a sex
offender as required by Florida law, and the state did not track him down.
In fact, Couey's sister, his niece and another man admit they hid the
pervert when police were searching for Jessica. According to the niece,
Couey's sister then bought him a bus ticket so he could flee the state.
Investigators also believe that Jessica was being tortured
inside the trailer where those people lived with Couey. Yet no charges have
been filed by Florida prosecutor Brad King against the three individuals who
protected Couey and may have known about Jessica's abduction and murder.
This is simply obscene, but it is not unusual. King has told the
local media there is no law in Florida that would allow him to prosecute
these three revolting people. Lawyers I've spoken with disagree, but King is
standing firm despite growing outrage.
King's inaction is what kills children. An aggressive prosecutor
finds a way to bring those three to justice. A judge who cares puts child
molesters away for the longest time possible. But all over the USA this is
not happening.
Florida is ground zero for attacks on children, but they are
happening everywhere. Don't believe the propagandists who say the problem
has always been there or that it is no worse now. It is worse. That's
because our justice system is chaotic, and many judges are consumed by
politics, making liberal rulings that allow the most vicious people
imaginable to roam the streets.
Jessica Lunsford died for our sins. In the end, her gruesome
demise did motivate Florida pols to at least do something. But three people
who did nothing to save Jessica are still not being held accountable. And
the shame of our society continues.
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