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Are Sex Offenders Ill?

By Corey Rayburnyung

One of the assumptions that plagues policy discussions about sex offender policy is that sex offenders are mentally ill.  This assumption usually leads to sometimes oppositional conclusions.  First, some believe that offenders are sick, but incurable.  This means they require constant supervision, restriction, and/or incarceration.  Others believe (or at least state they believe) that offenders can be "cured" which means they require constant supervision, restriction, and/or incarceration until they are "cured."  Either way, the result is largely the same.  Steve Erickson recently posted a rather lengthy discussion of how mistaken this assumption is.  I suggest you go check out the whole thing, but here is a key portion:As mentioned previously, the idea that pedophilia is a mental illness on par with schizophrenia or other strongly biologically caused illnesses of the mind is weak...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sex Crimes on March 26, 2008 (boomark / email).