We can all become angry and frustrated with life. Some of us have been known to express that frustration in ways that later, upon reflection, seem foolish or even tragically self-destructive. John Walsh, with the help of a public that cannot have rational conversation about how to intelligently manage sexual criminality, has succeeded in turning his son’s memory into a curse on a nation.
Adam Walsh was abducted from a Sears department store in Hollywood, Florida, on July 27, 1981, and was later found to have been murdered and decapitated. Walsh’s father, John Walsh, became an advocate for victims of violent crimes and the host of the television program America’s Most Wanted. Convicted serial killer Ottis Toole eventually confessed to the boy’s murder but was never tried for the crime due to loss of evidence. [Toole] claimed [his motive was] that he wanted to make Walsh his adopted son… The police investigation of Walsh’s abduction was extremely inept, and they lost the bloodstained carpet from Toole’s Cadillac, the machete used to decapitate Walsh, and eventually, the car itself.
The Adam Walsh Child Act was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. The Walsh Act organizes sex offenders into three tiers and mandates that Tier 3 offenders (the most serious tier) update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements. Tier 2 offenders must update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration, and Tier 1 offenders must update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration. Failure to register and update information is a felony under the law.
To summarize, John Walsh took the horrible murder of his young son and turned it into a legacy that would have done NOTHING to have prevented the crime against his son. The inflamed passions around this subject have, however, resulted in legislation that has SEVERELY impacted the half million Americans convicted of sex crimes and their families including…their own children. The AWA has never seen any supportive research or a study of any kind. It never will. This is because the AWA classifies offenders solely based on the name of the crime of which they were convicted. A person’s likelihood of reoffending is not even considered. What the what? Yes, Tier 3 is “the most serious,” but what does “most serious” mean? It does NOT mean that the person is likely to reoffend. Offenders with crimes similar to John Walsh’s own history (see video above) have become Tier 1 or 2.
Consider Bill, a 45-year-old husband, father and grandfather who lives in Nevada where the AWA has recently become law. When Bill was 19 years old he had a 16-year-old girlfriend–26 years ago. The records clearly show the correct age of the victim; but the crime was charged under a law that has in its name the phrase, “…under the age of 14 years.” These sorts of legal fictions and mistakes in paperwork are common in plea bargaining. Bill was recently informed that he is now, per the AWA, a Tier 3 whose neighbors will be informed at their front doors of his crime from decades ago. They (and Bill’s employer) will also see his name in their newspapers and on TV news. The fact that assessments based on, get this, science, show he has no greater risk than any other member of the community–this too is irrelevant. He was fired upon showing up at work for being a Tier 3–as were three other men. How does keeping felons from getting or holding a job promote community safety?
Millions of dollars in precious resources squandered, police staff misdirected, millions of family members punished unjustly, unthinkingly. Adam Walsh deserves better from his father. We all do. Come, reason with us.
Link to Article: http://www.sexualfuturist.com/2014/01/05/the-bitter-legacy-of-adam-walsh/
There is a Video also embedded on the link above. Comments to this article is accepted also.
