The USA Today had a cover story on November 18, 2007 that explained how the nations Sex Offender's Registry is making the problem worse. The laws are making it impossible for sex offenders to find legal residency. So they are forced to be homeless.
I can't imagine how anyone thinks this is a good idea. Wouldn't someone who was so outcast by society that he is forced to live under a bridge be more likely to re-offend -- just so he can have a roof and three square meals a day?
From the USA Today:
Sex offenders, who are required to register with police and often barred by law from living near places where children gather, list addresses such as a tent, "near a bike path," "behind a cemetery" or "woods behind Wal-Mart."Another article from the same edition of the USA Today:
Sex offenders are likely to behave better if they have a stake in their community and "something to live for," says psychiatrist Fred Berlin, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic. Sex offenders are increasingly being shunned and isolated. "They are the modern-day lepers," he says.
