Megan's Law

National Adoption of Megan's Law

In 1994, then-Governor Christine Todd-Whitman signed Megan's Law into New Jersey legislation, only two months after the untimely death of Kanka. In 1996, Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole proposed national legislation providing states with two years to enact their own state version of Megan's Law or risk the loss of their state funding. Then President Bill Clinton subsequently signed the federal version of the law into action in 1996. Presently, all 50 states have some version of Megan's Law. This legislation amended the previous Jacob Wetterling [Page 590]Act of 1990 and has a number of provisions that vary by state. With few exceptions, such as an offender's age and/or type of sexual offense, Megan's Law applies to all sex offenders convicted after the state or federal enactment of the statute.

Megan's Law seeks to protect the community from released sexual offenders by increasing the public's awareness of their whereabouts and by providing local authorities with a pool of possible suspects. The law operates with a number of conditions, including the registration, notification, and civil commitment of sexual offenders, the possible use of the death penalty or life imprisonment, the development of a central database, lifetime supervision of offenders, DNA, fingerprinting, and the right to refuse “good time” credits. The two most well-known provisions of Megan's Law are sex offender registration and community notification.

Sex Offender Registration

Sex offender registration is the less controversial of the two provisions. It is a practice that dates prior to Megan's Law and was the foundation of the Jacob Wetterling Act, which differs from Megan's Law mainly by not requiring dissemination of information. Under sex offender registration provisions, sex offenders are allocated a time frame, generally 72 hours, upon release from prison to register their information with the local authorities where they plan to reside. Offenders register on an annual basis for at least 10 years, and if deemed necessary, they register for life. The information that offenders provide includes their full name, their address, date of birth, Social Security number, a physical description, photographs, DNA, fingerprints, a place and address of employment if available, and a court or therapist's assessment of future dangerousness. Failure to comply results in criminal penalties, which often result in the offender's return to prison for a technical violation. In most states this is a crime of the fourth degree.

Community Notification

Notification of a sexual offender's residence has attracted much controversy. This procedure is intended to inform the community and past victims that a sexual offender is living nearby. The hope is that community members will protect themselves and their children accordingly. Generally speaking, although this varies slightly by state, the tier that an offender is placed into determines the level of notification. There are three tier levels. Tier 1 represents the lowest-risk sexual offenders and only requires notice to the police and the victims that the offender is likely to be encountered around their residence. Offenders are considered low risk if they are under probation or parole, are receiving therapy, are employed, and are alcohol- and drug-free. Tier 2 represents moderate-risk sex offenders; these people have difficulty complying with authority and supervision, lack employment, deny their offenses with no remorse, abuse alcohol and drugs, and have a history of violent behavior. These behaviors are believed to put an offender at a higher risk for recommitting a sexual offense; therefore their notification is broader. This level requires notification to organizations, educational institutions, day care centers, and summer camps.

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