BishopAccountability.org
	Sex Abuse Victims React to New Supreme Court Ruling Re Death Penalty/child Sex Crimes Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests June 24, 2008 http://snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2008_statements/062408_reaction_supreme_court_ruling_dealth_penalty.htm Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915 home) Research shows that only 10% of all child predators are ever convicted. So let's hope this ruling will prod lawmakers to stop enacting increasingly draconian penalties for this tiny minority and focus on real reforms that will help catch the 90% who escape detection and consequences for these horrific crimes. Legislators seem increasingly obsessed with playing 'I'm the toughest on child molesters ' rather than taking the most effective step to protect kids: eliminating or extending the archaic, arbitrary, predator-friendly statutes of limitations, which prevent most victims from exposing predators in court. We urge death penalty advocates to re-focus their energies on broader proven strategies that better safeguard kids rather than just please voters. (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)
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