“Social media and online articles about these incidents boast ten or even 20 comments praising the vigilante for each one condemning the act of violence.”
Portez Smith arrived outside Jesse Grover’s Pennsylvania duplex early on Sunday, November 17th of this year, yelling through the closed door, “Grover, you’re a f—ing pedophile.” When Grover opened the door, Smith pulled out a gun and shot him to death. Grover was registered on Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry as a Tier I offender. This holiday season, Grover leaves behind his wife, parents, four siblings, four stepchildren, and numerous other family members. He is remembered for his sweet smile and as a beloved family member, a good friend, and a lover of reading, cooking, and music.
Grover’s murder is not the first registrant to face such a fate. Gary Blanton was a young married father living in the state of Washington when, in 2012, Patrick Drum shot him to death for being on the Washington registry for a consensual sexual act with another minor from 12 years prior. Drum then went to the home of registrant Jerry Ray and killed him. With the Washington sex offender registry in hand, he was on the way to shoot a third registrant when apprehended.
Charles and Gretchen Parker were at their South Carolina home when Jeremy and Christine Moody stopped in front of their house and raised the hood of their car. Charles was a mechanic and went outside to help. The Moodys entered their home and slaughtered both Charles, a South Carolina registrant, and his wife Gretchen (who was not on a registry), with a gun and knife. Like Drum, they already had targeted their next victim, another person on the sex offender registry, when they were apprehended. In the wake of these murders, the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) asked then-Governor Nikki Haley to have the home addresses of registrants removed from the public view of the online registry. The request was disregarded.
Smith’s rant at Grover reveals almost as much about his beliefs as his senseless act of violence does. It is commonly believed that everyone on a registry has a sexual offense against a child. This is not the case. In every state, virtually every crime that can have a sexual component carries with it an obligation to register. In many states, non-sexual crimes require registration. And, in some states, many of those required to register are minors. Blanton was the same age as his teenage girlfriend when he was convicted for consensual sex with her. (Her parents had pushed for an arrest when they learned of the relationship.) Statistics suggest that a third of the offenders against minors are themselves minors, and children have been put on a registry as young as eight.
The most concerning factor about these murders is that a segment of the community views these vigilantes as heroes. Social media and online articles about these incidents boast ten or even 20 comments praising the vigilante for each one condemning the act of violence. Recently, the glorification of “predator catchers” has driven groups of gangs and teenagers to show up at registrants’ homes to “carry out justice.” Numerous studies document various degrees of violence and harassment registrants and their family members face daily.
Blanton’s wife publicly asked that Drum’s supporters stop the harassment of her and her children. According to CBS News, the judge at Drum’s hearing admonished those who were in the courtroom in support of Drum. Leslie said she and her family had been spat upon, had things thrown at their car, had their house targeted, and more.
So what is the answer? The first, quickest, and most straightforward answer is a “band-aid” measure that NARSOL asked South Carolina to take: remove the home and business addresses from public view. This will at least require vigilantes to work a little harder to achieve their goals. Supporters of the registry argue that knowing where registrants live protects their communities, but the United States Department of Justice reports that more than 93% of the cases of sexual harm of juveniles are committed by someone known to the victim, and, according to one study, 95% of offenders in the State of New York were not registrants. Additionally research shows that sex crimes have the lowest recidivism rates of any crime class tracked, except murder.
The more long-term fix is not an easy one. It involves changing hearts and minds toward a willingness to put aside emotional responses and adopt a rational approach. Several decades of evidence-based data show us the sex offender registry is ineffective at every level. It does not make communities safer, protect children from sexual abuse, help those who have caused harm, or heal those who have been harmed. Instead, it puts families of registrants in harm’s way, impedes rehabilitation, destroys the opportunity to rebuild damaged lives, while also costing taxpayers.
One bright spot on the horizon is the increasing prevalence of restorative justice programs. These alternatives to harsh punishment for offenders and nothing for those offended bring the two sides together—for those who choose it—to dialogue, understand each other better, express remorse and forgiveness, and pave the road for future reconciliation. Because so much sexual harm happens within families, this is an excellent choice.
Most legislators claim to be fiscally responsible, data-informed, and against unfunded mandates. Yet they seem to forget these words when it comes to tightening the plethora of laws and restrictions (such as residence, proximity, and Halloween restrictions) that affect persons required to register. Politicians wanting to project a “tough on crime” platform turn to sex crimes because society’s taboo on anything sexual combined with the visceral nature of sex crimes causes electors and officials to abandon rationality for emotionalism. Meaningful reform will begin when enough citizens protest the waste of human lives and public monies and when decision-makers at all levels adopt evidence-based solutions to preventing sexual harm, as well as rehabilitating those with past sexual offenses.
Sandy Rozek is communications director and editor-in-chief at the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws and can be reached at communications@narsol.org.
John Dawe is NARSOL marketing director and managing director at the Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws and can be found @PARSOLOfficial on social media.
