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"Sex-offender costs to skyrocket"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy and effective piece in today's Des Moines Register.  The piece spotlights how legislators seem willing, even in tough economic times, to "spare no expense" when it comes to regulating sex offenders.  Here are excerpts: The state law requiring [a sex offender] to be subject to "probation for life" was enacted in 2005. The law is intended to better protect Iowa children from sexual predators, who, previously, could walk out of prison after serving their time with few restrictions. Few Iowans have been aware of the law change.  Only this year, as the first of those offenders have begun to trickle out of prison, has the cost of the monitoring become a significant concern. At a minimum, Iowa's experiment with lifetime monitoring will cost about $168 million over the next 20 years, a Des Moines Register analysis has found...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 19, 2009 (boomark / email).