• Terrorism : Tracking predators Terrorism : Tracking predators From the Chicago Tribune May 7, 2005 Some recent stories of kidnapping and murder have exposed gaps in Megan’s Law, which requires the 50 states to register sex offenders and make
• Terrorism : Tracking predators
Terrorism : Tracking predators
From the Chicago Tribune May 7, 2005
Some recent stories of kidnapping and murder have exposed gaps in Megan’s Law, which requires the 50 states to register sex offenders and make information on them available to the public.
The measure, named after Megan Kanka of New Jersey, who was raped and murdered in 1994 at age 7, leaves the details of enforcement to the states. The burden to register belongs to the offenders and, when they move out of state, so does the burden to register again in their new state. Problems can arise when residents and police are not alerted to an offender who is new or who has returned to the community. …
Public registries have provided an effective compromise between the desire of ex-offenders to get on with their lives and the need of their neighbors to be alerted to potential risks. …
Other states have similar laws and provide Internet access to their registries. Nevertheless, each state maintains its own list and standards. A national standard and registry would make it tougher for a sex offender to escape the law’s grasp by traveling to a new locale.
From the San Francisco Chronicle May 11, 2005
When is a terrorist not a terrorist? When he’s an anti-Castro “freedom fighter” hiding in Florida.
The White House should lose no time in deporting Luis Posada Carriles, a prime suspect in the midair bombing of a civilian airliner that killed 73 people in 1976. It was a terrorist act by any definition. After a career spent fighting Fidel Castro, Posada, 77, has reportedly slipped into Florida.
Federal authorities have clammed up, saying they don’t know of his whereabouts, though his presence is widely accepted by Cuban-American leaders there. The official blindness can be blamed on upside-down political priorities. Washington is paralyzed when it comes to offending the Cuban population in Florida, even in a case as over-board as this one. … Permitting Posada to hide from his crimes in Florida shouldn’t be an option. Terrorism must be confronted wherever it is found.
- Provided by the Associated Press
