Megan's Law

Megan's Law
/may"geuhnz/
any of various laws aimed at people convicted of sex-related crimes, requiring community notification of the release of offenders, establishment of a registry of offenders, etc.
[1990-95; after Megan Kanka, young New Jersey girl killed by a previously convicted criminal]

* * *

United States [1996]
      in the United States, a law requiring that law-enforcement officials notify local schools, day-care centres, and residents of the presence of convicted sex offenders in their communities. The law is named after Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old New Jersey girl who was brutally raped and murdered in 1994 by a twice-convicted sexual offender who had been living across the street from her home. In various forms such statutes were passed by many U.S. states in the mid-1990s. In 1996 it was adopted as a federal law in the United States.

      Concern about sexually related child abuse, and especially pedophilia, became intense during the 1980s, chiefly in the United States but also in Europe and elsewhere. Although the main threat to children continued to come from members of the victim's family, by about 1990 attention had come to be focused on sexual molestation committed by non-family members and strangers, and it was widely believed that offenders in such cases typically attacked many children before they were apprehended. In response, many U.S. states passed stringent sexual-predator laws (sexual-predator law). Under a law passed in Washington state in 1990, for example, convicted sex offenders whom prosecutors considered still dangerous were required to register with local police when they changed residence.

      Following the attack on Megan Kanka, New Jersey enacted a law that created a three-tiered classification of offenders based on prosecutors' assessments of how likely it was that the offender would repeat his crime, and it required that police notify local residents of the presence of high-risk offenders. The law was soon imitated in other U.S. states and in Europe.

      One unintended side effect of these laws has been the increase in the psychological trauma to which some victims were exposed. Traditionally, prosecutors attempted to arrange plea bargains with defendants in child-abuse cases in order to spare the child the ordeal of testifying in court. Some versions of Megan's law, however, require all persons convicted of a sexual offense against a minor, and not just those considered to be high-risk, to register with police. Thus, in the hope of avoiding the necessity of registration, which normally has devastating effects on the defendant's employment prospects, some defendants choose to go to trial rather than plead guilty. Megan's law has been criticized on other grounds by civil libertarians, who argue that the stigmatization and ostracism that inevitably result from registration constitute a second punishment for the same crime and make rehabilitation of the offender more difficult.

John Philip Jenkins
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Megan's Law — An informal name for a law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with law enforcement authorities, who then make certain information available to the public. Registered information varies from state to state, but it often includes the …   Law dictionary

  • Megan’s Law — ☆ Megan’s Law [meg′ənz, mā′gənz ] n. 〚after Megan Kanka, 7 year old N.J. girl raped and murdered in 1994 by a neighbor previously incarcerated for child molestation〛 any of various statutes requiring that public notification be given of the… …   Universalium

  • Megan’s Law — ☆ Megan’s Law [meg′ənz, mā′gənz ] n. [after Megan Kanka, 7 year old N.J. girl raped and murdered in 1994 by a neighbor previously incarcerated for child molestation] any of various statutes requiring that public notification be given of the… …   English World dictionary

  • Megan's law — a US law that says people must be told when a person who has ↑commited a sexual crime moves into their area to live …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Megan's Law — Sign at the limits of Wapello, Iowa; sex offender free districts appeared as a result of Megan s Law. Megan s Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public… …   Wikipedia

  • Megan's Law — Meg′an s Law′ [[t]ˈmeɪ gənz[/t]] n. law any of various laws aimed at people convicted of sex related crimes, requiring community notification of the release of offenders, establishment of a registry of offenders, etc • Etymology: 1990–95; after… …   From formal English to slang

  • Megan's Law — /may geuhnz/ any of various laws aimed at people convicted of sex related crimes, requiring community notification of the release of offenders, establishment of a registry of offenders, etc. [1990 95; after Megan Kanka, young New Jersey girl… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Megan's Law — Meg|an s Law [ megənz ,lɔ ] noun singular a law in New Jersey that makes it necessary for police to inform neighbors when a person who is guilty of a sex crime moves into the area …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation — The Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation is a non profit charity founded by the family of Megan Kanka with the intent of preventing crimes against children. Megan s death resulted in the New Jersey Legislature passing Megan s Law, which requires… …   Wikipedia

  • Law, Crime, and Law Enforcement — ▪ 2006 Introduction Trials of former heads of state, U.S. Supreme Court rulings on eminent domain and the death penalty, and high profile cases against former executives of large corporations were leading legal and criminal issues in 2005.… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”