Before They Start to Whine

I can see this one coming…. We’re about to hear how society’s inability to understand (forgive? embrace?) Joseph Duncan caused him to re-offend. The people who argue against Megan’s Law will point to Duncan’s weblog, and will defend his ongoing (and increasing) paranoia as a result of his public status as a Registered Level 3 Sex Offender. Had we been more accepting (etc.), he would have moved on with his life and never bothered another innocent soul.
The bald truth of the matter is that a predatory sex offender – particularly pedophiles – are often not reformable. With or without registration, the odds were high that this monster was an enormous risk to us all. (Note – like everything else, there is debate about this. However, a propensity for pedophilia and boys puts Duncan in the highest recidivism group.)
He was paranoid, I think, because he didn’t want to go back to prison (can’t imagine why!). It appears that he truly didn’t like it there. Gee. Yet that didn’t keep him from his predilections. What that should tell all of us, sadly, is that fear of the punishment is not enough of a deterrant. Myself, I don’t think there is a deterrant that would work. Much has been written about Joseph Duncan, mostly by him. You can view his archived blogs here (courtesy of Zora’s Domain). Some excellent thought and analysis has been provided on Steve Huff’s “Darkside” blog, here.