What to do about sex offenders

Prison sentences, no matter how lengthy, can't cure sexual predators. But neither has it been proved that castration works.
Virginia lawmakers who think castration is a simple solution to a complex problem should remember that even armless thieves can steal.

Lawmakers are worried, and rightly so, that if the worst of the worst -- serial rapists and violent child molesters -- are released into society they will again prey upon unsuspecting victims.

The challenge then is to find an acceptable remedy that protects the public from mentally defective criminals who can't keep from re-offending. Lawmakers thought they had this figured out with civil commitments. Rather than release sexually violent offenders after they've served out their sentence, those judged likely to re-offend are locked away on civil confinements.

But this tidy solution has two major glitches. First, civil commitments can't go on indefinitely, as treatment and rehabilitation are still the goals. Second, the cost is steep. Sen. Emmett Hanger told The Washington Post that the program will soon cost $50 million a year.

Last year, lawmakers began searching for more answers. They tip-toed around the topic of castration. This year Hanger wrote it into a bill that would have allowed sexually violent predators to opt for castration and reintegration into society rather than risk a lifetime lockup. By the time the Senate and the House got through amending the bill, it was boiled down to a directive that the attorney general study the feasibility of using physical castration as a treatment option.

Gov. Tim Kaine struck the term "physical castration" and broadened the study to look at a "full range of treatment options." Kaine reasoned that the "bill was overly prescriptive of matters best left to the professionals in our state mental health agency."

The Senate agreed; the House didn't. This doesn't mean, though, that the castration debate is over. Kaine is asking his top mental health officials to review options for sex offender treatment, and lawmakers will surely revisit it next year.

Hanger believes that giving offenders the option of castration would be more humane than locking them away for life, and it would cost Virginia far less money.

However, the question remains as to whether castration would prevent violent offenders from committing other crimes. It has yet to be proved that either surgical or chemical castration is effective.

The governor and lawmakers would do well to use the next few months to call together experts in sexual disorders and mental health to explore all options rather than to assume castration provides an answer.

Wives and Mothers of Prisoners of the State (WMPS, Inc) (253-584-9606)

Wives and Mothers of Prisoners of the State (WMPS, Inc) (253-584-9606) The Community Protection Act, RCW 71.09, (Washington State) was passed to protect the community from the sexual attacks of the state’s most dangerous sex predators. While the law was passed and the sex offenders are in confinement on McNeil Island, they still manage to offend.

Using front organizations, the sex offenders — the worst of the worst — are reaching out into the homes, parks, schools and playgrounds of our state every day. The nonprofit organization, Wives and Mothers of Prisoners of the State (WMPS, Inc), is a front for the child molester Richard Roy Scott, who is housed on McNeil Island.

Richard Scott, the 60-year-old rapist, has victims as young as seven years old and has stated that he has had more than 100 child sexual contacts (rapes). His targets have all been underage male children.

WMPS is registered with the Secretary of State with an office address listed at: 750 N 143rd Street, Seattle, WA 98133. Richard Roy Scott, along with the help of his three rapist partners, Samuel Donaghe, Joel S. Reimer, and Donald Owens, has created a front organization called, People’s Paralegal Services (PPS), PO Box 3701, Lacy, WA 98509.

The aim of PPS is to help child molesters adopt young children from other countries, fund the legal problems of child rapists and line their own bank accounts. Both the rapists Donaghe and Owens have long histories of raping young girls and boys.

Owens’ wife, a strange case, is now the community contact person for People’s Paralegal Services. It’s sad that she is a dupe in this immoral venture.

We ask that the elected officials in Olympia, Wash., stop the continued rape of our community by offenders who are at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. Tighten RCW 71.09.

Tighten their access to the community and limit their reach to our children and loved ones. Act now for our family’s sake. Write, call and e-mail Olympia and have this placed on the table for the next legislative session.