Oregon: A man is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the crime of public indecency. “Getting caught masturbating on a MAX train,” the local mass transit system. How did the stakes get this high? There are some prior convictions, but no dead bodies, and there’s a “mental health disorder.” Life in prison without parole (LWOP) is no slight matter–incarceration until death which leaves no hope for change or redemption. LWOP has been called, by those who are not satisfied with tilting poison into veins and other modes of state-sanctioned executions, the real death penalty. Have a look at The Oregonian’s report, below. Also below is an elegant essay by Alexandra Stupple concerning the role of *disgust* in courts’ reckoning with sex offense cases. –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire
The Oregonian | March 10, 2017
Habitual sex offender, public masturbator gets life in prison for latest crime
By Everton Bailey Jr.
A sex offender with a long record and compulsion for public indecency was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday for his latest offense — getting caught masturbating on a MAX train.
Terry E. Iversen, 49, was sentenced after a three-hour hearing in Washington County Circuit Court in which Judge Oscar Garcia heard from the defendant’s victims, current and retired detectives who investigated sex-related cases where he was either convicted or not charged, and a probation officer who advocated Iversen spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Iversen pleaded guilty to public indecency in January, a felony because of his past sex-related convictions. The true life sentence is permitted under a “three strikes”-like Oregon law aimed at predatory sex offenders. MORE:
http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2017/03/habitual_sex_offender_public_m.html
National Lawyers Guild Review | Fall 2014
Disgust, Dehumanization, and the Courts’ Response to Sex Offender Legislation
By Alexandra Stupple
Introduction: Sex offenders have been subject to unprecedented restrictions and punishment. The government’s treatment of sex offenders is a clear example of the dangers of laws derived from and upheld because of the emotion of disgust. Disgust has led to a dehumanization of this category of people, which has led to a stripping of their constitutional rights. The law’s treatment of sex offenders is a clear example of why the law should eschew employing the emotion of disgust during all proceedings. In addition, the courts’, particularly the Supreme Court’s, treatment of the other branches’ actions regarding sex offenders is illustrative of why the law needs to insist upon empirical data in support of legislation and why the courts should not always defer to the other branches’ findings. MORE:
https://www.nlg.org/nlg-review/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/NLGRev-71-3-final.pdf
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