BobYoMeowMeow
05-22-2010, 06:27 PM
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(May 21) -- California gubernatorial candidate Douglas Hughes has made quite a name for himself in recent weeks -- not so much by surging ahead in the polls, but rather by promising, if elected, to create a "Pedophile Island" for convicted sex offenders.
"I read the newspapers, and always somewhere buried in the paper somebody has raped, tortured, kidnapped and so forth," Hughes told AOL News. "We are not getting anywhere [by] putting them back in the neighborhood. ... It's like any alcoholic, sex or drug addict -- have it around you, and it's just a matter of time before you do it again."
[B]
Hughes, a 73-year-old Republican and retired business owner, has been a resident of California since 1955. According to his political profile, he believes his biggest assets as a candidate are his relationship with God and his "practice of moral principles." His top priorities are children, jobs and border control.
If elected governor, Hughes says, he will give all convicted pedophiles a choice: remain in prison for life, leave California permanently or live on Pedophile Island -- a self-supporting, downright Utopian community he has envisioned.
"On the island, they can live their life out there, farming and ranching," Hughes said. "They can be their own entity, and it won't cost the taxpayers a dime."
Hughes has the perfect location in mind, too: Santa Rosa Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park. According to the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Santa Rosa is the second largest of the eight Channel Islands and consists of 53,195 acres. Once a thriving cattle ranch, it is now used for recreational activities, including kayaking, camping and hiking.
Hughes said convicted sex offenders could form their own society there, something he details on his website:
The first of pedophiles to go to the island would be a lead team for their society such as police, fire personnel, judges, fish and game agents, forest rangers, ranchers, farmers, building contractors, surveyors, and the like to establish the island community.
Once housing and farms have been established, Hughes said, they will create their own island constitution. "Of course, it would have to be looked at to make sure there aren't any holes in it," he added.
While escape is always a possibility, Hughes said he would institute regulations to minimize the risk.
"[The island] can be invaded anytime by the military," he said, adding, "The [residents] will have their own currency because if they did decide to build a boat and slip it off ... they [won't] have real tender. [Plus,] they better have a good boat because it's full of sharks around there."
Thus far, Hughes' idea (which is not exactly unique, as comedian George Carlin once joked about a similar island Utopia for criminals) has been receiving mixed reviews.
"I think the idea of putting offenders on a 'self-sufficient island' is ridiculous and [shows a] borderline-Nazi mentality," said Jaime Shockman, an office manager for the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office in Oregon who has spent years dealing with sex offenders.
"Sex offenses are emotionally charged issues," she continued, "and people don't think of the ramifications of sending these offenders to an island to live, and what that statement sends to society. ... This island idea is a very slippery slope that society should not engage in."
Not everyone, however, is entirely against the concept.
"From a crime victim advocacy perspective, it would be a wonderful idea," said Polly Franks, executive director of the Franks Foundation, which works to protect children from sexual predators. "I wholeheartedly support the notion. I am just not sure about the realities of it short or long term or how things would go, assuming he could get it voted through."
While such answers remain unclear, Hughes did say he has a plan for avoiding red tape and immediately implementing his idea, if elected.
"The way I am going to pull it off is under a state of emergency [proclamation], because you're not going to get it through legislation," Hughes said.
Calif. Gubernatorial Candidate Douglas Hughes Touts 'Pedophile Island' for Sex Offenders - AOL News (http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/calif-gubernatorial-candidate-douglas-hughes-touts-pedophile-island-for-sex-offenders/19487289)
why does it have to be Republicans and religious politicians?
anyways everyone knows sex offenders are bad
but an island made for them?
why not invest that money in education?
(May 21) -- California gubernatorial candidate Douglas Hughes has made quite a name for himself in recent weeks -- not so much by surging ahead in the polls, but rather by promising, if elected, to create a "Pedophile Island" for convicted sex offenders.
"I read the newspapers, and always somewhere buried in the paper somebody has raped, tortured, kidnapped and so forth," Hughes told AOL News. "We are not getting anywhere [by] putting them back in the neighborhood. ... It's like any alcoholic, sex or drug addict -- have it around you, and it's just a matter of time before you do it again."
[B]
Hughes, a 73-year-old Republican and retired business owner, has been a resident of California since 1955. According to his political profile, he believes his biggest assets as a candidate are his relationship with God and his "practice of moral principles." His top priorities are children, jobs and border control.
If elected governor, Hughes says, he will give all convicted pedophiles a choice: remain in prison for life, leave California permanently or live on Pedophile Island -- a self-supporting, downright Utopian community he has envisioned.
"On the island, they can live their life out there, farming and ranching," Hughes said. "They can be their own entity, and it won't cost the taxpayers a dime."
Hughes has the perfect location in mind, too: Santa Rosa Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park. According to the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Santa Rosa is the second largest of the eight Channel Islands and consists of 53,195 acres. Once a thriving cattle ranch, it is now used for recreational activities, including kayaking, camping and hiking.
Hughes said convicted sex offenders could form their own society there, something he details on his website:
The first of pedophiles to go to the island would be a lead team for their society such as police, fire personnel, judges, fish and game agents, forest rangers, ranchers, farmers, building contractors, surveyors, and the like to establish the island community.
Once housing and farms have been established, Hughes said, they will create their own island constitution. "Of course, it would have to be looked at to make sure there aren't any holes in it," he added.
While escape is always a possibility, Hughes said he would institute regulations to minimize the risk.
"[The island] can be invaded anytime by the military," he said, adding, "The [residents] will have their own currency because if they did decide to build a boat and slip it off ... they [won't] have real tender. [Plus,] they better have a good boat because it's full of sharks around there."
Thus far, Hughes' idea (which is not exactly unique, as comedian George Carlin once joked about a similar island Utopia for criminals) has been receiving mixed reviews.
"I think the idea of putting offenders on a 'self-sufficient island' is ridiculous and [shows a] borderline-Nazi mentality," said Jaime Shockman, an office manager for the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office in Oregon who has spent years dealing with sex offenders.
"Sex offenses are emotionally charged issues," she continued, "and people don't think of the ramifications of sending these offenders to an island to live, and what that statement sends to society. ... This island idea is a very slippery slope that society should not engage in."
Not everyone, however, is entirely against the concept.
"From a crime victim advocacy perspective, it would be a wonderful idea," said Polly Franks, executive director of the Franks Foundation, which works to protect children from sexual predators. "I wholeheartedly support the notion. I am just not sure about the realities of it short or long term or how things would go, assuming he could get it voted through."
While such answers remain unclear, Hughes did say he has a plan for avoiding red tape and immediately implementing his idea, if elected.
"The way I am going to pull it off is under a state of emergency [proclamation], because you're not going to get it through legislation," Hughes said.
Calif. Gubernatorial Candidate Douglas Hughes Touts 'Pedophile Island' for Sex Offenders - AOL News (http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/calif-gubernatorial-candidate-douglas-hughes-touts-pedophile-island-for-sex-offenders/19487289)
why does it have to be Republicans and religious politicians?
anyways everyone knows sex offenders are bad
but an island made for them?
why not invest that money in education?