Sadly, the rumors are true. The body of the 17 year-old girl Chelsea King was found on Tuesday, March 2 in the creek where she was believed to be running by. To tell you the truth, I was sure they would find her alive. She had a very large group of people supporting her and expecting her to arrive home safely. Unfortunately, the hope was gone on Tuesday.
John Albert Gardner III, a 30 year-old man already spent five years in prison before he was connected with the rape and murder of 17 year-old Chelsea King. Gardner was taken into custody and faced questioning about the disappearance of the 17 year-old.
The most upsetting part of this case is the fact that this man wasn't locked up for life. Gardner being once before a sex offender should not have been let back out on the streets again. ANY sex offender shouldn't be allowed out of jail. I think that they deserve the most harsh punishment by far. It isn't fair to these young girls who aren't able to fight themselves off of these men, especially gardner. He looks to be about 200 or so pounds just in his mugshot. Myself being a runner and enjoying hikes on the mountain; I'm even afraid to go on the mountain by my house back home because of sick people like this.
I am STRONG for John Albert Gardner III receiving the death penalty. You should be too after reading the stories!
I most defiantly agree with you that he should receive the death penalty. The biggest problem that we have with sex offenders is that we cannot lock them away forever. There are different levels of sex offenders. There are men who at the age of 18 have sex with their girlfriends that are 16 and are now forced to register as a sex offender. The legal system really needs to reevaluate what it means to be a sex offender. Of course, there are different levels that apply to a sex offender, but their needs to be a more strict watch on where they go after they are released. A person can get out of prison, change their name and repeat the offense. They are supposed to register as soon as they are released but many of them do not. It is a horrible thing that happened to this young woman and it most likely could have been prevented. The sad thing is that our legal system cannot be fully aware of who will reoffend and who learned from their punishment. Law enforcement can only point out which criminals are most likely to reoffend. Once the person serves their time that is all they can do. It is nearly impossible to keep strict surveillance on every person re-entering society. Obviously, they are the most likely to re-offend, but it is never one hundred percent. Hopefully, law enforcement will analyze any mistakes that were made in this case and prevent future attacks on women. The problem is that this is not the first case of a repeat offender committing murder and it certainly won’t be the last.
ReplyDeleteKelsie I could not agree with you more. Sex offenders are sick people that prey on people that are smaller and weaker than themselves. Whether they rape or molest younger people they are committing a terrible crime that leaves permanent scares on the people they sexually harm. They should get the death penalty because taking another persons power away when they rape or molest people. They also are mentally hurting their victims that is almost always irreperable and a lifetime of hurt!
ReplyDeleteKelsie,
ReplyDeleteWow. I think you are right to question our system's response to sex offenders. Critical studies scholar Angela Davis wrote a book called Are Prison's Obsolete? (http://www.ecobooks.com/books/prisonsobsolete.htm) in which she questions the effectiveness of our prison systems. In response to the obvious question of "if we don't have prisons what do we do with the criminals?" she offers an idea about systems of accountability. I have not read the book in full, but I wonder how we wrestle with this issue of having such terrible people out there and also having a system of justice that allows people to walk after serving their time in a container that does not necessarily rehabilitate/change them. . .
Really controversial and interesting stuff Kelsie! As you can see, your posts garner attention and debate from your peers. We need you to post more! Try to schedule in some time twice a week to blog about a new controversy. Even if it is a 20 minute freewrite. . .keep on writing!