On Thursday April 7, 2011, Lonnie Johnson, a child sex offender and rapist was set free under constitutional rights. If a person is seen as incompetent for trial they cannot be properly convicted. “Under Utah law, a defendant fits that condition if he suffers from mental illness, cannot understand the charges against him or is unable to participate in his own defense. For a civil commitment, a doctor must find that a person's mental illness makes him a danger to himself or others.
The court ordered doctors to attempt to restore Johnson's competency but about a month ago they said they had seen no improvement despite 2½ years of treatment…State doctors have determined Johnson is not a substantial danger to himself or to society.” This means that he will not be admitted into a mental health institution unless he is considered as a threat to himself or others and that he could walk free tonight.
Ten family members of Johnsons victims protested outside the Provo Courthouse and over 100 people from over 20 states have called court administrators. Inside Johnson was described as smiling and winking at his victims as he entered the courtroom, knowing that he was going to go guilty, but free.
This sort of catch 22 in the law has got to stop. This man is guilty whether he is competent or not and should be convicted fully for his alleged crimes. It isn’t a guess whether or not his offenses will be repetitive. How can he not be considered a threat when he has already proven 21 times that he is? This is disgusting!
To read full article, click here:http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705370164/Judge-orders-legally-incompetent-sex-offender-released.html
1 comment:
what makes me so upset about this kind of stuff is that they ALL ARE OBVIOUSLY mentally sick. TO me that shouldn't matter. If you do something, you need to face the consequences. &if someone really isn't aware, they still shouldn't be allowed in society so they can do it again. I totally agree, we should have a ZERO TOLERANCE with this stuff.
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