[ofaolain]

http://cbc.ca/stories/2004/05/07/Sexoffender_040507

There is something really sick and twisted going on when a convicted child molester is allowed to Sue the Winnipeg Police Services for letting the public know hes was being released.

Read the story

[Rev_Blair]

This is an important case because it's going to set a precedent. The question isn't whether Elvis should be allowed to sue...he should be encouraged too, all the way to to the SCC because it's the only way this will be decided.


The problem is that the police have released this information, basically tried and convicted the man in the public's eyes again, which is a definite infringement of his rights. A full victory for police would arguably give them the right to to the same to anybody they don't like. We all need protection from that.

We also need protection from predators though. Elvis is a predator. There is no clear provision in the new law for that so that his individual rights do not override the rights of the community.

Hopefully the case will be decided someplace in between, with the government being forced to amend the law so that it specifically makes an exception for predators.

[AdamNF]

A bill was proposed in one of the US states (not sure which one but im guessing a southern one) that sex offenders should have to wait 10 days before getting a gun...it didnt pass.

[Evan]

If a sex offender ,either a child molestor or a rapist, is let or jail then the community he lives in or moves to should be notified of the fact that he is pervert. He will probably do it again. And if he doesnt great. But the fact is I dont want my GF or Kids running around a community where some guy could attack them. If he or she doesnt want people to know that he is a molestor or rapist then he should have thought of that before he did it the first time. He may have rights but so do we to protect ourselves. you cant kick his ass or kill him after you find out he molested your child. So you should be able to know what they are so you can keep your family away from him or her.

[Zenfisher]

I don't think he will win. I think the supreme court would rule that, the right of indivduals to protect themselves from a potential risk is greater than the rights of a known sexual predator.

[RoyalHighlander]

The rights of tyhe many out weigh the rights of the few...
they do it here in Edmonton all the time.. They announce it on the news here that so and so who has just been rerleased from the joinmt as a sex offender is at risk to re offend and to be careful with him/her.. I think they have a duty to let the public know when an individual like that moves in next door to me..

[Rev_Blair]

None of that is really allowable since the new privacy law came in, RH. They didn't write the exception in so now we have to wait for the courts to interpret the the law.

I don't think he will win either, but I do think that it's important that thise case go to court and I think that it's important that the police not be carte blanche to publish whatever names they please.

[RoyalHighlander]

Rev_Blair Rev_Blair:

None of that is really allowable since the new privacy law came in, RH. They didn't write the exception in so now we have to wait for the courts to interpret the the law.

I don't think he will win either, but I do think that it's important that thise case go to court and I think that it's important that the police not be carte blanche to publish whatever names they please.

I agree there has to be a limit as to who's names they publish, but I do think that the sex offenders should be published to protect the community.. For a while they were publishing the "Johns" names busted in any prostitue related cases too but I havent seen that in a while

[QBC]

We can debate the laws of this land until we are blue in the face. In my opinion, child molesters are the "worst" criminals we have today. They rob children of their childhood people. They take away the innocence from the innocent. While we debate the civil rights of the offender, who speaks for the children effected, and don't say the law. We are so focused on not offending the civil rights of criminals who never think of the rights of their victims. Something wrong with that I think.

[Rev_Blair]

Don't get me wrong, I think a predator's name and photograph should be published too, but I don't want the cops making that decision. Cops have a long history of making very bad decisions about who did what...there seems to be a new case of it on the news every week.

Taking away a person's rights based on what they might do in the future, and remember that Elvis has already served his time for what he did do, is a tricky thing. There needs to be plenty of expert evidence to back up the probabilities and so on. It is unclear how much of that there really is in this case.

[karra]

I couldn't agree more with the previous post by what's his name.

The jails are bursting at the seams with people who have been framed deliberately or simply by virtue of too many donuts aka laziness and an easy pinch. And they are just the ones you haven't heard about, yet I hope.

Cops are lazy - end of story. Now before you obscure defenders of various faiths and non-donominations burst a vessel or gut (if yer a copper) or have a serious haemmorrhage, let me explain something about cops. . . .

Young cops are great - they're gung-ho and full of vim and vigor - the ones that will come to your urgent assistance - but if they haven't written their promotional exam for the position of sergeant a year after they got their first-class constable confirmation and passed it - then they are pretty much useless and relegated to being a constable the rest of their 25 - 35 years on the job - kinda depressing right? They think so too.

If they write the exam, pass and get promoted within a year or two of writing then there is hope for them, for next comes staff-sergeant (exam) then inspector (exam) then staff-inspector, superintendent and deputy chief (metro rankings) - all of these promotions and appropriate pay rises can be had for the young gung-ho constable who quickly attains a better than passing grade on his sergeants exam - of course the road to success is filled with potholes and bumps as the recent news re corruption, fraud, sexual assault, extortion etc etc and so on and so forth is evidenced in Toronto. Besides those pitfalls available only to the very corrupt and sick, are the pitfalls inherent in any employment situation such as - Are you married? Are you a member of the Masons? Are you Catholic? Are you living common law? Are you a dormant or latent homosexual? Do you contribute to the United Way? All of those are just a few of the insane questions asked during a promotional interview.

So, bottom line is, the young gung-ho flatfeet are anxious to impress, hence they will be quick to appropriately arrest.

The slightly older and really older dead-ended failures and consumers of massive amounts of donuts avec double-doubles sometimes including insane amounts of alcoholic beverages are not so quick to arrest as opposed to make the crime circumstances fit their suspect - then you're screwed - Just genesis.

Nonetheless, the jails are filled with innocents - so are graves.

E&OE natch. . .

Disclaimer: none of da above has diddly to do wid de topic bud I reserve da right to address dat at a later date and time of my choosing . . . .