Originally Posted by levite

Another +1 kudos to mixedmedia.

I think that this woman's actions were despicable. Had, God forbid, her kids actually been molested, and in the heat of the moment of finding out, she had gone after the guy with the bat, I would have understood.

And I certainly think that since he is a level-3 offender, she should have clearly and unequivocally told him never to speak to her kids again, she should have notified the police that he was speaking to her children, and she should have warned her kids about the guy.

But I'm sorry, a person is innocent until proven guilty. And once they have completed their sentence for a crime, they become innocent until proven guilty again. If you're suspicious of someone, call the cops. But nobody has the right to beat up ex-cons-- no matter what their crime was, or how heinous-- just because they think that what the person once did was awful. That's why we have a justice system.

Yes, child abuse is awful, inexcusable, horrendous, and unforgivable. We all know this, we all agree on it. But the equal protection clause applies to everyone. If a person has gone to prison and served their time, and been let out on legal parole, and is keeping to that legal parole, then there is no cause for attacking them. Doing so-- especially in the absence of any evidence of criminal activity-- is just insanely paranoid, and a gross violation of the ex-con's civil rights.

Rehabilitation may be next to impossible for such people, but we have to let them try.