Many sex offenders use their cars to commit their crimes, driving to see someone they meet online or prowling parks and schools, Kleefisch said. He picked green because children associate it with Mr. Yuk, a symbol designed to warn children of poison.
"We chose the color bright green because many children have learned to stay away from Mr. Yuk," Kleefisch said. "We want parents to know if there's a car with one of these plates lurking near a playground, beware.
" It all sounds like a good plan: warn parents and kids that there is a sex offender on the loose in their area. Safety can only be guaranteed through information, right? There's only one problem.
Since the law would only apply to convicted sex offenders (obviously you can't determine who might be a sex offender before they actually commit the crime), it would apply to people who have supposedly "paid their debt to society," and, therefore, are promised a reasonable right to pursue a "normal" existence. That would not be possible if this bill became law. This piece of legislation begs an obvious question: If we, as a society, are this concerned about these people re-offending that we have to "mark" them in order to warn others, then what are these people doing out of prison in the first place?
Why have them walking the streets at all, much less driving? Isn't the point of incarceration to keep criminals off the streets until they can reach some point of rehabilitation? If they are not rehabilitated, they need to remain in prison, plain and simple.
To simply release a sex offender merely because they served a certain number of years does a disservice not only to the community and the victim(s), but to the sex offenders themselves. This is not so much an issue about green license plates and sexual offenders, as it is an indictment on our justice system. At some point, we need to philosophize on the purpose of punishment in the criminal justice system in our society.
If the purpose is to simply serve time and move on, then so be it. But if the purpose is truly to attempt to rehabilitate those who have run afoul of the law, then we need to support the system and trust in those administering the sentences. Green license plates will not magically make sex crimes go away-just because they're green, that doesn't make them a lucky charm.
Only an overhaul of the state criminal justice system, with specific treatment and incarceration options for offenders of any type, will begin to make other states green with envy. While we applaud Kleefisch for his attempt, we advise that with the numerous ways offenders could easily circumvent the law, he might want to return to the coloring-excuse us-drawing board.
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