The Death Penalty for Child Molesters? Lets Give it a Try

[resdepbrian]

I am new to this forum, for more about me I refer you to my post in the introductions area. Below is an article I wrote last week and submitted to my publisher for possible distribution next week. I would be interested in knowing what the members opinions are who participate in this forum....Brian

The Death Penalty for Child Molesters? Let's Give it a Try
By Brian C. Noell
January 18, 2007


It’s time for the American people to stop letting child predators roam our streets and prey upon our young.

This recent case in Missouri is just one of what seems to be a never ending number of real life tragedies playing out before us on a daily basis. As you may recall, on January 8, thirteen year-old Ben Ownby was forcibly taken at gunpoint while walking home from his school bus stop in rural Missouri. Fortunately for Ben, a young friend and a passerby were able to provide authorities with a fairly accurate description of the suspect vehicle, and that information eventually led the police in Kirkwood, Missouri to arrest Michael Devlin, 41, a part-time funereal home worker and pizzeria manager.

While at an apartment complex in Kirkwood to serve a warrant for another individual, Officer Gary Wagster and his partner, Officer Chris Nelson noticed a truck in the parking lot that closely resembled the vehicle described as possibly being used in the abduction four days prior. The two officers then questioned neighbors and residents in the apartment complex hoping to gather information as to the owner of the vehicle and their whereabouts. It was during this canvas that they observed Devlin leaving his apartment so they approached him. Devlin was co-operative at first, but in the course of questioning he became defensive and argumentative, raising red flags with the two officers.

Both Wagster and Nelson knew Devlin from the pizzeria he managed, “It was a total 180 degrees”, Wagster stated. “We were shocked, he was a very laid-back and quiet individual,” the officer said in an interview on CBS’s “Early Show”.

Officers Wagster and Nelson notified the FBI and the Franklin County, Missouri officials then staked out Devlin’s apartment awaiting their arrival. When the FBI arrived, Devlin refused them entrance to his apartment and they waited until Friday morning when Devlin left to go to work to enter the premises. Not only did they discover Ben, they also found fifteen year-old Shawn Hornbeck who had disappeared in October of 2002, while riding his bicycle. As yet no one knows why Shawn stayed as long as he did, having had numerous opportunities to leave, but psychologists believe he was manipulated into believing that further harm would come to him or his family if he did leave.

Authorities are now investigating Devlin in a 1991 disappearance of yet another eleven year-old boy from Lincoln County, Missouri. Charles Arlin Henderson, know as Arlin to his friends and family was like Shawn, abducted while riding his bicycle. According to Lincoln County Sheriffs Lt. Rick Harrell, there is a “striking resemblance” between Shawn and Arlin who vanished from Moscow Mills, MO, only an hour away from Devlin’s apartment.

Who knows what would have happened to Shawn or Ben had it not been for two civilians, and two very well trained and observant police officers.

There’s a reason people like Michael Devlin kidnap again, and that reason is because when their victims reach the age of maturity, they are no longer sexually attracted to them so they throw them away and begin their hunt for another child. In this case there was a good outcome, as good as one could expect anyway. Both these boys and their families will need extensive therapy for years to come, but at least they are alive. In all likelihood, Shawn would probably have been killed soon after the arrival of Ben, and his body most likely would never have been found.

It is time we start treating these people like the people they are. Child predators are the bottom feeders of our society, and should be treated as such. States should ban together and share a common set of laws and punishments for these people. There should be no second chances. People who abuse our children should be locked up for life and their offenses treated as ineligible for parole.

Another option would be to make these crimes capital/federal offenses, and give jurisdiction to the federal courts. The death penalty may not be legal in all of the states, but it is on the federal level and by making these capital offenses on the federal level, it makes these sick perverts eligible for the “big sleep” no matter where they commit their crimes. If we can make bank robbery and carjacking federal crimes, surely we could include crimes against our children. Or is the safety and security of our Cadillac’s and BMW’s worth more than that of our children?

It is time for us to put a stop to these people, and permanently removing them from society should be the first step.
c. BC Noell/01/07
http://blog.myspace.com/capt_brian

[Virginian]

Good luck - you can't even get the death penalty for murderers half the time, even if they are convicted, or for habitual DUI offenders who end up killing someone. We're not soft on the police enforcement of laws, we're soft on every aspect of punishment for those convicted of breaking laws.

[resdepbrian]

Good luck - you can't even get the death penalty for murderers half the time, even if they are convicted, or for habitual DUI offenders who end up killing someone. We're not soft on the police enforcement of laws, we're soft on every aspect of punishment for those convicted of breaking laws.

You make an excellent point....Sadly

[Piggybank Cop]

Convince the lawyers, judges and lawmakers; maybe they need to lose their kids to do something. However with lawyers I don’t think even that would help.

And unfortunately lawyers make up the majority of all the above listed segments of our society.

[1*girl]

I'm all for it, as this is one of my major soapboxes. However, there's that point Virginian made...

[Ducky]

Convince the lawyers, judges and lawmakers; maybe they need to lose their kids to do something. However with lawyers I don’t think even that would help.

And unfortunately lawyers make up the majority of all the above listed segments of our society.

I thought lawyers ate their young?

[J-WS6]

(FL) 794.011 Sexual battery.--

(2)(a) A person 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age commits a capital felony, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082 and 921.141.

(775.082 Penalties; applicability of sentencing structures; mandatory minimum sentences for certain reoffenders previously released from prison.--

(1) A person who has been convicted of a capital felony shall be punished by death if the proceeding held to determine sentence according to the procedure set forth in s. 921.141 results in findings by the court that such person shall be punished by death, otherwise such person shall be punished by life imprisonment and shall be ineligible for parole.)

[resdepbrian]

(FL) 794.011 Sexual battery.--

(2)(a) A person 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age commits a capital felony, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082 and 921.141.

(775.082 Penalties; applicability of sentencing structures; mandatory minimum sentences for certain reoffenders previously released from prison.--

(1) A person who has been convicted of a capital felony shall be punished by death if the proceeding held to determine sentence according to the procedure set forth in s. 921.141 results in findings by the court that such person shall be punished by death, otherwise such person shall be punished by life imprisonment and shall be ineligible for parole.)

I was not aware that Florida treated CSC as described above as a capital crime. I stand corrected. I suspect they did that after 2 highly publicized cases from the last few years. I could be wrong.
The next step of course, is for the prosecutors and the judges to start enforcing and stop making deals.

[Piggybank Cop]

I thought lawyers ate their young?

If we could only get them to eat each other.

[JLK]

they don't taste good unless you fry them. then they taste like chicken.

[conalabu]

Ya know, this is one place double jeopardy sucks. They need to get punished to the max. Civil, criminal, anything goes. Hook the f'ckers up.

[resdepbrian]

When I originally wrote the article I had stringing them up in mind.

[spcwes]

I think a few states have this law. I think FL, TX and GA have capitol punishment for sexual crimes committed against either 13yrs old or 8yrs old or younger, I can't remember.

[Ducky]

SC is in legislation for being able to fry people who've been convicted twice for child molestation. It's got some good support, let's see how far it goes.

[resdepbrian]

SC is in legislation for being able to fry people who've been convicted twice for child molestation. It's got some good support, let's see how far it goes.

I wouldn't want to be the LEO, Judge or Prosecuting Att. who has to explain that "justice will finally be served" to the child that became the second offense.

[Willowdared]

As yet no one knows why Shawn stayed as long as he did, having had numerous opportunities to leave, but psychologists believe he was manipulated into believing that further harm would come to him or his family if he did leave.

How hard do you think it is to convince an 11 year old that his parents would not want him when they found out he was sucking a man's dick, and getting f*cked in the ass?

[resdepbrian]

How hard do you think it is to convince an 11 year old that his parents would not want him when they found out he was sucking a man's dick, and getting f*cked in the ass?

I agree with you but I would have a hard time getting "psychologists believe 15 year-old Shawn was coerced by Devlin into believing that his parents would disown him because he was forced to suck Devlin's dick and be f*cked in the ass by him" past my publisher. Unless of course I was sending it to Hustler Magazine and not a local daily here in the Midwest.

I'm sorry if you didn't care for the terminology, but I didn't think it was necessary to paint a mental picture for my readers, as I'm sure most of them could figure this out on their own, just as you did.

I felt that there was no reason to add further trauma to this boy's life, four years was enough.

[mwstumm1]

Well I thought we were doing good till we put a stay on the guy who killed Trooper Green here in Indiana

[Willowdared]

I agree with you but I would have a hard time getting "psychologists believe 15 year-old Shawn was coerced by Devlin into believing that his parents would disown him because he was forced to suck Devlin's dick and be f*cked in the ass by him" past my publisher. Unless of course I was sending it to Hustler Magazine and not a local daily here in the Midwest.

I'm sorry if you didn't care for the terminology, but I didn't think it was necessary to paint a mental picture for my readers, as I'm sure most of them could figure this out on their own, just as you did.

I felt that there was no reason to add further trauma to this boy's life, four years was enough.

That wasn't really directed at you...it was directed at the continued focus on how Shawn behaved, as opposed to the sick bastard that kidnapped him, and his family that chose to ignore what was going on, not to mention all the countless adults who failed him for the past 4 years.

And I do think your wrong on one count - most people won't figure it out - they won't let themselves. Why do you think we say children are "molested" while adults are raped or assaulted? It's a word designed to soft pedal the experience for people that don't have the gumption to acknowledge the horror of the sexual abuse of a child.

We are so quick to hide behind the excuse that we shouldn't expose a child to further trauma by not discussing details, but what does a child make of that? That they need to feel ashamed, because it was shameful. Not that they have every right to scream their rage to the heavens.....THIS WAS WRONG!

That man stole a child from his hearth and home, robbed him of his childhood, deprived him the chance to develop a fully healthy sexual identity, and forever altered his ability to feel safe. And there are more out there like him.

Focus on the monster, not his victim.

[resdepbrian]

That wasn't really directed at you...it was directed at the continued focus on how Shawn behaved, as opposed to the sick bastard that kidnapped him, and his family that chose to ignore what was going on, not to mention all the countless adults who failed him for the past 4 years.

Thank you, and I didn't mean to make appear as if I was being critical to you, I was just explaining that certain aspects of a story have to be included...more about that below. However, I am uncertain as to what you mean by "his family chose to ignore what was going on".

And I do think your wrong on one count - most people won't figure it out - they won't let themselves. Why do you think we say children are "molested" while adults are raped or assaulted? It's a word designed to soft pedal the experience for people that don't have the gumption to acknowledge the horror of the sexual abuse of a child.

This is an excellent point, as was your statement on further traumatizing the child, and I thank you "broadening my horizon" so to speak. Your statements here do not go unnoticed, I assure you.

Focus on the monster, not his victim.

Unfortunately, I find that writing for a daily, often I will spend 60% of my column space refreshing readers on what has occurred, and not, as in this case, what should occur. The reason I wrote this commentary was not to tell the story of Ben and Shawn, but to convey my ideas of what we, as the public should do to punish the people responsible for these heinous crimes. But in the course of an average news cycle people move on, they forget the story from last week and focus on what is currently news for them, whether it be the airplane crash, the fatal bus accident or sadly the ongoing saga of Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. A front page story sometimes goes from page one, to the metro section page six in less than a week. So if it seems that my article concentrates on the victim, this is the reason. But make no mistake here, the real reason for my writing this article was to concentrate on the "monster", and to persuade others to do that as well.