This week in Jacksonville, a registered Sexual Predator, Donald Davidson was charged related to the molestation of a 10 year old and the murder of her mother.

According to news sources, here’s what we know about Donald Davidson:

  • – He was a registered Sexual Predator from the 2004-2005 molestation of girls under 12.
  • – He was still on probation for that crime when, in June 2010 he attacked a 22 year old pregnant woman.
  • – He was released from prison in September, just a few months ago.
  • – In addition to repeat sexual offenses, he had a long criminal history including several violent offenses.
  • – He had a history of drug abuse.
  • – He was compliant with all terms of his supervision just prior to the murder.
  • – He was on a GPS ankle bracelet, which he cut off just prior to the murder.
  • – He was driving a stolen minivan at the time of his arrest.
  • – He was a friend of the victim’s Husband/Father.
  • – His home, 5724 Canvasback Rd, Middleburg, FL 32068, was 2.3 miles from the closest school, Wilkinson Junior High. (Source: Zillow.com)

The crime is a heinous one. Everyone would agree that, if convicted, Donald Davidson should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

This crime will also undoubtedly bring with it a lot of  public outcry and demand for answers. Did Donald Davidson fall through the cracks? Were our state’s sex offender laws too lax? What can we do close these perceived “loopholes” to prevent this from ever happening again?

Lawmakers will be scrambling to provide solutions to appease the public and prove they are “tough on crime”. No doubt, if reason does not set in, this legislative session will contain another wave of enhancements to sex offender management policies which will be ineffective, costly and do nothing to fix a system that is so clearly broken.

Taking a look at what we know about Donald Davidson and the empirical evidence and facts, here’s what else we know:

  • – “Sex offenders” are not all the same and they do not represent the same level of risk, yet we subject them to the same scrutiny, same residency restrictions and they are listed side-by-side on the same registry. If we dilute our registry by including the majority (who represent low risk), it will take away the resources and focus that should be invested in tracking the minority (who represent high risk).
  • – Risk Assessments are essential. Donald Davidson had a substantial criminal history, that history included violent offenses, he had a history of drug abuse and he had a history of violating conditions of supervision. All of which are dynamic risk factors that would have likely put him at a very high risk level.
  • – Just like Donald Smith (who abducted, raped and murdered Cherish Perrywinkle) , Donald Davidson was compliant with registration. According to his FDLE registration information, Florida DOC just verified his residency information on 12/1. Registration did not prevent this crime.
  • – Currently there is a Senate Bill (SB 134) to put a GPS on all Sex Offenders for life. Donald Davidson cut off his electronic monitor prior to his crime. Going back to the first point, can you imagine how diluted the scrutiny will be if probation is monitoring tens of thousands of GPS’ instead of focusing on higher risk ones? Also, the GPS monitor did not prevent this crime.
  • – Last session, the legislature passed a new law that requires registration of all vehicles in a registrants household, regardless of whether they are owned or used by the registrant and rental cars too. Donald Davidson stole the car he was using. Legislators would be moronic to think that registrants are going to to register cars they steal. Vehicle registration did nothing to prevent this crime.
  • – Donald Davidson was a high-school friend of the murder victim’s husband. 9/10 of sex offenses are committed by someone known to the victim. Public registration to prevent “stranger danger” ignore that fact. Public notification did nothing to prevent this crime.
  • – 2.3 miles is over twelve thousand feet. That’s how far Donald Davidson lived from a school. That’s more than the usual 1,000 or 2,500 foot residency restriction that’s in place. Residency restrictions did nothing to prevent this crime.

 

Finally, what we know is that these tragedies will happen. They are heinous they are awful, but no matter how high we ratchet up the restrictions, they will happen. If someone is hell-bent on abducting raping and murdering, not a residency restriction, “internet identifier” registration nor an ankle bracelet will stop them.  If we want to argue that all “sex offenders” should be locked up for life and that would make all children safe, we need to remember that 95% of offenses are committed by first time offenders. Think about it… To truly prevent “just one more child” from becoming a victim, we would need to lock up every human being in their own individual cells.

Maybe, instead of the public crying out to their legislators asking politicians to “fill the cracks”, “close the loopholes” and “get tough”, which will undoubtedly lead to another round of laws that ignore the empirical evidence that is out there, it’s time to listen to the experts, scrap what’s not working and invest those resources into prevention programs, victim assistance and risk-based individualized safety plans instead of our failed one-size fits all approach?

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