By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Remember back in September when I told you about the Rutgers University professor who thought there was link between obesity and racism, Save Jerseyans?
Now we’ve got another one – this time from my alma mater (the Camden School of Law) – arguing that it’s time to stop treating pedophilia as a crime (via NYT):
“It’s time to revisit these categorical exclusions. Without legal protection, a pedophile cannot risk seeking treatment or disclosing his status to anyone for support. He could lose his job, and future job prospects, if he is seen at a group-therapy session, asks for a reasonable accommodation to take medication or see a psychiatrist, or requests a limit in his interaction with children. Isolating individuals from appropriate employment and treatment only increases their risk of committing a crime.” [emphasis added]
That’s Margo Kaplan, an associate professor at RU Camden.
And to be 100% fair, she makes a few valid points (e.g. throwing a bunch of crazy people in a cell for 10-20 years and then releasing them isn’t making society safer), but a string of segregated albeit good observations does not a good thesis make.
I’m not disputing that it’s a disorder, Save Jerseyans. I am disputing the implicit premise that disorders absolve individuals of moral culpability for heinous acts. I’m also disputing that last comment in bold; setting loose some of society’s most dangerous predators in highly-social environments despite their high recidivism rates is, respectfully, a dangerously bad idea.
Professor Kaplan attempts to draw a profound and far-reaching criminal justice/psychological conclusion from what is essentially a legal essay written by a legal expert. Color me skeptical…
Crimes are only crimes if committed by the proletariat, not those who believe the right things and think the right things and care about the right things. And if you question that you’re RAAAAAACIST.
I, for one, am tired of all the ‘disorder” nonsense providing cover for people’s mental and psychological weaknesses. It didn’t take long for baby boomers to bring down and destroy our nations common sense values.