What happens to convicted criminals after they’ve “paid their debt to society?”
Go to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s website:
You have to pay money to look at a lot of their criminal history records, but the sex offender database is free for anyone to search.
Click on Sex Offender Search, click that you agree to their caveats about the information not being perfect, then scroll down to “Search An Area.”
Put in your zip code and see what you find.
Write a 2 – 5 page essay telling:
- How many sex offenders live in your zip code (If you don’t have any, which isn’t likely, pick a friend’s zip code)
- What are some of the crimes they were convicted of committing? What were some of the victims’ ages?
- How do you feel about them living in your area?
- How do you feel about everybody knowing their criminal past if they’ve reformed, and are just trying to live in peace?
- Should this type of information be more easily available (for other crimes, for example) to help us protect ourselves, or less easily available to help former offenders reenter society?
Submit this assignment in Microsoft Word. Cite your sources. Add your bill tracking update.
Additional Resources
This discusses a bill passed by the Texas Legislature in May, 2011, which addresses (to a small extent) the thorny issue of “Romeo and Juliet” crimes – meaning sex between older teenagers and younger adults (Juliet, in the Shakespeare play, was 14). Minors are not deemed legally able to “consent” to sex, but should we treat what is (at least to them) a consensual relationship between a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old the same way we treat truly forced sexual assault?
How many Texas kids have incarcerated parents? We’re not sure.
