Struggling to keep tabs on paroled offenders - New York Times

Not fun.

We know what we should to sex offenders, but the US is too sissified to do it.

It sounds to me that the police state everyone feared for under George Bush is now becoming an absolute full-fledged reality under Obama.

Not to be too off-topic here, but how can stories like this surface and a person not think about tracking people's every movement, threatening to throw someone back in prison for having a shotglass on the fireplace mantle, and the very threat of going back to jail every day is not much of an answer to rehabilitation.

In all honesty it seems that sex offenders (even for extremely minor offenses) bear the worst burden because although every day in jail was served, it's like a lifetime sentence with these draconian laws.

It's very hard to be supportive, despite the "feeling" of security. It should be noted that in the above example, all the regulations in the world did not stop the determined offender from committing more acts.

Could it be that the net is too broad and is forcing parolees through an impossible life? Counseling sessions, polygraphs, drug tests, all of these services must be paid for by the parolee. These services which are mandatory for parole can cost upwards of $500 -$1000 a month just for compliance with parole. I don't know about you, but in this economy that is an absurd amount of money to "charge" someone just coming out of prison, considering how hard it is to get a job if you have to apply as a convicted felon.

It just does not sit right with me, knowing that the greater the law goes in correcting societal 'wrongs', the greater likelihood every one of us becoming criminals at some point. Did you know Obama's health care initiative comes with a 1 year penalty in jail for NOT buying the government-run healthcare plan?

This is an example of how laws have come too far in dictating behavior, instead of correcting it.