NCJ Number
210742
Journal
Harvard Journal on Legislation Volume: 42 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 2005 Pages: 355-415
Date Published
2005
Length
60 pages
Annotation
This article examines the use of non-legal sanctions to minimize the costs of criminal punitive measures, with a specific focus on the use of Megan’s Laws to sanction sex offenders.
Abstract
One of the current debates surrounding the use of non-legal sanctions concerns the extent to which legally induced non-legal sanctions, such as Megan’s Laws, should be used to shame and punish offenders. The author argues that the use of such non-legal sanctions can lower official criminal justice costs when coupled with effective legal sanctions. This assertion is supported by an examination of Megan’s Laws, which require the publication of the names of convicted offenders. Since the 1990s, every State has enacted some type of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law (SORNL) with the explanation that such laws keep the public safe. This article argues that SORNLs are actually a form of punishment that works by publicly shaming offenders. Part 1 of the article outlines the argument for the use of non-legal sanctions as a punishment, examining the benefits and drawbacks of both legal and non-legal sanctions and probing the interactions between the two. Part 2 offers a case study of the legally induced non-legal sanction of publicizing the names of sex offenders. The content and weaknesses of SORNLs are presented as the author argues that SORNLs should be seen as a sanction-generating tool. Part 3 evaluates the policy implications of using SORNLs to generate punitive non-legal sanctioning. Topics under examination include the legal limitations of the use of SORNLs, the rights of sex offenders, the reintegration of sex offenders, and the flurry of plea bargaining created by the use of SORNLs. The author concludes by calling for caution in the design of non-legal sanctions as a form of punishment given their potentially problematic nature and the various and complex ways they can interact with legal sanctions. Footnotes, appendix