The General Assembly,
Accepting the premise that sexual predation is a particularly heinous crime,
Agreeing that a balance must be found between public safety and the rights of convicted persons, however,
Believing the target’s claims about the positive effects of putting people on a list and higher recidivism for sexual crimes are incorrect,
Opining that a convicted person can change,
Convinced that any equitable justice system must be based on rehabilitation and the public good rather than a private desire to use the state as a means for revenge,
Arguing that finite punishment should not be extended indefinitely by remaining on a public list of convicts, and
Finding the following flaws in the recently passed Sexual Predator Registry Act:
- It requires a list of some past offenders to be made public, including their place of residence and employment, enabling vigilantism with little apparent gain. Any completely innocent associates of a past offender who live or work the same place, such as a family member, cohabiter, or co-worker, also risk exposure or being targeted by vigilantes.
- It requires information to be spread across World Assembly member nations without regard for presence or lack of transnational risk of a repeat offence, lowering the utility of the list for law enforcement internationally. Moreover, information on past offenders could instead be used to target them regardless of actual or current criminal suspicion.
- It contains no statute of limitations, requiring many past offenders – now rehabilitated – to be continuously reassessed despite their exclusion from the list for long periods, demeaning the subject and leading to member nation’s police forces being diverted away from current priorities.
- It does not require the conviction and presence on the list to be relevant to a background check, increasing the risk listed ex-convicts are unhireable even for positions with no material opportunity for sexual predation. People deprived of gainful employment may depend on public assistance or turn to crime for support.
- Unrestricted dissemination and possible reproduction of the lists makes it difficult for a pardoned or exonerated person to escape the stigma of having previously been branded a “sexual predator” by the target resolution, and enables vigilantes to copy the list without deleting those no longer considered “high risk”.
Hereby repeals the Sexual Predator Registry Act.
