Federal judge Carol E. Jackson ruled Monday that a Missouri state law restricting the activities and mobility of sex offenders on Halloween was to be blocked pending linguistic restructuring.
The law, which made it illegal for a registered sex offender to leave their house between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. or have contact with any children on Halloween was, according to Judge Jackson, unclear in its wording.
The rewritten law will specify whether registered sex offenders are allowed to celebrate Halloween with their own children or grandchildren and what constitutes a 'just cause' for said person to leave their home.
Still in place are provisions requiring sex offenders to post signs specifying their home isn't offering candy and to turn off their porch lights.
Attorney Anthony E. Rothert of Eastern Missouri's chapter of the ACLU asserted that the law as written constituted a double punishment.
"Once people have completed their sentences, you can't go back and punish them for the same crime."
Except that this is pretty far from punishing a person twice for the same crime. Many ex-felons, not just sex offenders, face restrictions on their lives that follow them, post-prison, for the rest of their days. This is not a second punishment; this is a continuation of the original punishment.
It makes more sense to restrict a sex offender's movements on Halloween than on any other holiday. Children are wandering the streets in droves and they're dressed up to the point where sometimes parents can't recognize their own offspring. There's a reason people worry so much about their kids getting abducted on Halloween: it's easy to abduct kids on Halloween.
If there were a holiday when souped-up computers came door to door with their serial numbers scratched off, we'd restrict the movements of people convicted of computer crimes. If there were a night when everyone left their car doors open, the cops would keep an eye on known car thieves.
It makes sense.
Putting logic aside for ethics, though, the law is a science of language. The language of this law is a little unclear and needs to be cleared up. So with that in mind, kudos to Judge Jackson for being truly committed to a just legal system. And to the Missouri State Police: Bring your A-game this Friday, so that this court decision is not remembered through a tragedy.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
