“Put them all in prison forever.”
That wasn’t said by an internet commenter. It was said by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters while discussing people convicted of sex offenses following “Operation Checkmate.” According to News4JAX, the Sheriff stated: “I think you should put them all in prison forever. That’s just my opinion. Or, we get rid of them completely because my experience tells me that they can’t be cured. And if you get one, you interview them. If they’re honest with you, they’ll tell you they can’t be cured. They’re probably in the safest place that they can be.”
The Sheriff is not saying people should be punished according to the law. He’s not saying people should serve the sentence imposed by a judge. He’s saying an entire class of people should be imprisoned forever, regardless of what the law provides, because he personally believes they “can’t be cured.” That is not law enforcement. That is prejudice!
The reality is that decades of research have shown that people convicted of sex offenses are not a homogeneous group and that already low recidivism rates decline dramatically with time, age, and offense-free behavior. Most never reoffend at all. Yet here we have the chief law enforcement officer of one of Florida’s largest cities publicly declaring that every one of them belongs in prison for life and can’t be cured!
Statements like this should concern everyone — not just registrants and their families. We expect sheriffs to enforce the law fairly and objectively, not to substitute personal bias for facts and evidence. When a sheriff openly declares that an entire group of citizens is beyond redemption, it raises serious questions about whether those individuals can ever expect fair treatment from his agency.
Whether someone is popular or unpopular, sympathetic or unsympathetic, justice requires facts, evidence, and individual assessment. Not blanket assumptions and fear-driven rhetoric. A sheriff who believes an entire class of people should be imprisoned forever despite what the law says has forgotten his role. His job is to enforce the law, not rewrite it based on personal opinion. Someone like this should not be in office because he’s a danger to the community.
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JSO is still continuing to milk this story. I follow their Facebook page and yesterday they caught an “illegal” from this sting. What stood out to me was the fact he chatted with the “teens” but didn’t meet. They went after him anyways. Im curious if anyone else chatted and chose not to meet,and if so, we’re those the individuals JSO has been bragging about online having warrants and eventually being found. I also found it interesting that JSO made a point to tell parents that “even though your kids are on a site geared for kids” to stay vigilant. They literally just admitted to using adult sites for these stings.
Waters was just stating a universal consensus of what ALL law enforcement think.
Has FAC and anyone else issued a complaint about this sheriff’s comments to the city counsel and mayor?
If not that should happen and include copies of evidence proving his claim is a lie.