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Statistics can be a quagmire.

There are many ill-considered drug laws with long mandatory sentences for simple possession. This fact, combined with limited budgets, results in violent criminals being released early so that junkies who have been clean for years can sit in the pen.

You also have to look at what defendants pled to or were convicted of, versus what they actually did. The person in the OP was originally accused of raping nine children and was convicted of four charges.

The typical child molester probably had many victims who did not report the crime, or the report could not be developed into criminal charges.

Also please keep in mind that recidivism is a four-syllable word that flattens out some important distinctions. A recidivist thief steals stuff. While that kind crime is a burden on the victims and the economy as a whole, it does not cause painful injuries. A recidivist child molester or rapist causes injuries that can destroy a life. Some victims never get over it.

I think it's important for sentencing and parole to be handled on a case-by-case basis, not generalities. There is no question that the offender in the OP should never have been released. The judge said so at his original sentencing, but the offender has survived with HIV longer than expected.

- Jim

Nearly everyone involved in the criminal justice system thinks a large number of offenders are mentally ill or have severe problems like alcoholism, drug abuse, congenital mental retardation, or brain injuries. Texas spends tens of millions a year treating these people as prisoners.

Unfortunately, the only way to get them into custody is for them to commit a violent offense, like the subject of this thread. The total cost to society is huge. Sometimes they kill dozens of people or leave victims with injuries that are never fully healed.

Also unfortunately, the entire process is politicized. No one in any state has been able to come up with an ideal solution that satisfies all the competing interest groups.

I have to add that state hospitals or asylums pre-1970 were not benign places. People with problems like Down syndrome or autism were often treated like animals. This is a separate problem from psychotic violent offenders.

- Jim

I personally don't care whether this guy was executed, locked up in prison for the rest of his life, or locked up in the looney bin. He should not have been out on the streets.

I can see the value of probation and parole (which a lot of people disagree about). However, someone who violates his probation or parole should be back in the slammer for the duration of his sentence.

Way too many serious crimes are committed by people who have been convicted of multiple felonies and are on parole and out on bail for another crime.

Also note that everyone talks about how badly child molesters are treated in prison, but his creep survived 11 years. I don't know if he was in a medical unit or what.

- Jim

This news story is sickening. Literally sickening.

In Portland, Oregon, Sunday, a parolee was arrested and charged with attempted murder, sexual assault of a child, and other offenses.

The 49-year-old white man allegedly forced a 10-year-old boy into the bathroom of a fast-food restaurant, locked the door, and attempted to sexually assault him. The boy fought back and resisted the assault. The suspect then stabbed the boy multiple times.

The boy's father tried to break down the door, which a manager unlocked with a key. The suspect then shoved the victim out of the bathroom and locked himself in. He claimed to have a firearm. After several hours of negotiation with police, he surrendered without further incident.

He was charged with attempted murder, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree arson, coercion, furnishing false information to a police officer and four counts of first-degree assault.

The boy required treatment at a hospital for life-threatening injuries.

The suspect was convicted in 1993 of "sodomy and recklessly endangering another" after allegedly raping nine children. Thirty-nine other charges, including attempted murder, were dismissed in a plea bargain. The attempted murder charges were based on the fact that the offender was HIV positive and could have infected his victims.

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and served 11. He was paroled in 2004.

Apparently he had disobeyed the conditions of parole. He had arrested for drug possession, burglary, and other offenses. He also had landed in a hospital during manic or psychotic episodes.

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- Jim