You know that guy who lives next to you? The one who helped you find your lost dog? The one who returns your Entertainment Weekly when the mailman goofs? Well, guess what? He’s a sex offender. So don’t go trick-or-treating at his house. Better yet, don’t even acknowledge him as a member of society.
At least that’s how Maryland’s law for sex offenders comes off sounding. Maryland is instituting a regulation during Halloween requiring sex offenders to post on their doors a pumpkin sign that reads “No candy at this residence” as a notice of their former felony to potential trick-or-treaters.
They must also stay at home, turn off all the lights and not answer the door. The state is also sending letters to every household in the state, informing them of the meaning of the sign. Not posting these signs will count as a parole violation for the sex offender.
The signs are meant to provide a form of relief for parents who worry about where their children trick-or-treat. However, such signs target people who have served their time in prison and who try to move on with their lives by hoping to reintegrate back into the society they were isolated from during their punishment.
By forcing sex offenders to post these signs, we not only take away their opportunity to restart their lives correctly, but also indirectly reveal that we have little faith in the prison system that released the sex offenders to begin with.
In a letter to these offenders accompanying the signs, Patrick McGee, director of the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, claims, “By making a commitment to refrain from participating in Halloween activities, you will enable the children and parents in your neighborhood to enjoy the holiday without undue anxiety.”
Though the signs inform parents of the residences of former sex offenders, will they really allow the neighborhood to “enjoy the holiday” knowing that their neighbor, whom they enthusiastically greet every morning, must make a display of his or her past? Will parents lie to their children when they ask why Mr. So-and-So next door doesn’t have any candy?
Moreover, if parents are worried about potentially unsafe places their children will trick-or-treat, shouldn’t they accompany their child that night anyway? Or have they forgotten that potential felons (such as, I don’t know, murderers and kidnappers) other than sex offenders exist?
Furthermore, engaging in a Halloween activity with their neighbors in a manner such as giving out candy is a safe way for these past offenders to integrate back into society.
Such small yet meaningful allowances are what enable them to move on from their offenses and feel that they can live peacefully in the company of others.
What is the point of being released from prison if a sex offender is not able to demonstrate that he or she can participate in community activities?
When sex offenders have been released from prison, it means that the courts and correctional department of the state acknowledge that the time they served has corrected them.
Imprisonment is a punishment of isolation, meant to reprimand wrongful behavior by separating offenders from society because by breaking the law, they have demonstrated their inability to be a part of that society. But once they are released back among others, it means the proper authorities trust them enough that they can resume their lives as active members of communities.
Consequently, the actions and lifestyle of ex-prisoners in regard to their surroundings ““ in this case, being able to pass out candy to neighbors ““ illustrates whether their time served has helped reform them. How are former prisoners supposed to show that they have changed if not given the chance?
Allowing a prisoner to engage with society in as normal a setting as passing out candy on Halloween will enable the state prison system to test its correctional methods. If we compel sex offenders to post such signs on their doors, not only do we make it more difficult for them to accomplish reintegration, but we also demonstrate a lack of trust in the prison system and the idea of rehabilitation.
Requiring such a sign to be posted conveys the message that we distrust our correctional institutions and the judgment of state authorities with regard to such matters. If that is the case, then why even bother to incarcerate people and then let them out?
Rather than pointing to the offenders’ behavior, these signs only serve to point back at us. Maybe these signs signal our own insecurities about the prison system instead of claiming them as solutions for safety.
If you feel the posting of these signs conveys a deeper meaning, e-mail Tehrani at ntehrani@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.