VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, [5], 6, 7 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:06:34 03/29/03 Sat
Author: Jan
Subject: Should this person be released? (m)

http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4788993/20869703.html

The paper in my town had an ap story on this today but I can't find a link to it, so this is from the Des Moines Register.

****************************************************
Inmate's transfer worries neighbors
A man who authorities say has threatened to harm children is being transferred from jail to a halfway house.
By MELISSA MYERS
Register Staff Writer
03/29/2003


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neighbors of a Des Moines halfway house where an 18-year-old inmate will be moved Monday say they take seriously the man's alleged threats to rape, maim and molest children.

"The way he's threatening little kids is scary," said Kay Davis, 61, who lives a block north of the Fort Des Moines Correctional Facility and fears for children in schools and child care centers.

Des Moines police and other law enforcement officials are worried, too. They issued a rare public safety warning Friday to get the word out that Jesse Dee Souder - now in the Hardin County Jail on an assault conviction - will be moved to Des Moines to complete 180 days of his sentence.

Police said Souder made verbal threats while in custody but did not target an individual.

Souder's uncle, Steve Souder, who lives near Martensdale, expressed concern that his nephew can make good on his threats.

"If this kid is such a threat, then maybe they should put him somewhere else," Davis said. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I worry."

Fred Scaletta, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections, said he understands neighbors' apprehension.

While Souder "has made some serious threats," Scaletta said, "there's not much that can be done. Our hands are pretty much tied with this particular case."

Officials said they plan to monitor Souder while he's at Fort Des Moines and deny him participation in a work-release program.

Beyond that, Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Tony Steverson said, "after he serves his sentence he'll be free to walk, just like anyone else."

Mike Salmon, Parent-Teacher Association president at Studebaker Elementary School south of the correctional facility, said officials' promises to watch Souder closely for six months are little comfort to parents.

"If the authorities know of his intent, I can't see putting him in this type of facility," Salmon said, noting that several inmates of the facility have walked away in recent months.

"It backs to a park that is heavily wooded," he added. "On the other side of that are Studebaker and McCombs schools. If he escapes, the woods are a big danger."

He would like to see Souder confined to a treatment program to deal with fantasies that authorities describe as a "type of thinking that is always on his mind . . . day in, day out."

The subject likely will be discussed at Tuesday's PTA meeting.

"It's amazing to me that somebody at some level can't have him committed," Salmon said. "Give me a break. If he gets out and harms or kills somebody, what's to keep the public from saying 'My hands aren't tied.' I can't tell you what I'd do to him if he tried anything with my kids."

******************************************************
The ap story stated the kid has no history of sex crimes or crimes against children. So, the question is, do the authorities have the right to issue "a rare public safety warning?" Or, on the other hand, does the system have an obligation to find some way to keep this guy incarcerated (seems like he has severe mental health issues to me).

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.