Opinion ID: 1819622
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Evil to be Corrected

Text: As I will explain, the 1997 amendments to section 948.03(5)(a)(7) seek to minimize reoffense by improving the statutory containment process. Specifically, according to the sponsor of the senate bill that resulted in the session law, the purpose of the changes was to implement the recommendations of the National Institute of Justice regarding a new type of supervision for convicted sex offenders. Fla. S., tape recording of proceedings (April 25, 1997) (on file with Florida State Archives) (Senator Burt). The new type of supervision for convicted sex offenders to which Senator Burt referred, which was also cited in the Staff Analysis, [34] was a five-part model containment process recommended in the NIJ Research. Kim English, et al., Managing Adult Sex Offenders in the Community  A Containment Approach, Nat'l Inst. Just. (Jan. 1997). The NIJ research recognizes that offender-specific probation or parole conditions play a crucial role in implementing its strategy and recommended fourteen sample conditions. Id. at 5. The top priority of these conditions is to eliminate opportunities for reoffense  to protect victims and the general public. Id. The research specifically noted that the recommended strategy targeted thoughts and feelings ... as a starting point for risk management, because deviant thoughts and fantasies by sex offenders are precursors to sexual assault, and, therefore, are an integral part of the assault pattern. Id. Accordingly, treatment providers and supervising officers should instill in offenders the dictum that deviant attitudes and fantasies are not acceptable. Id. In light of the purpose of section 948.03, and especially of the critical role thoughts and fantasies play in preventing reoffense, the majority's supposition that the 1997 amendment seems intended [by the Legislature] to narrow the prohibition's scope is clearly erroneous. Majority op. at 808. Instead, as first revealed in the session law title, the Legislature supplemented the existing antipornography ban with new restrictions to prevent recidivism and protect the community, especially potential victims. Because the session law title, the existing status of the law and the history of the statutory change, and the evil to be corrected all reveal an unambiguous legislative intent to expand the prohibition to include telephone, electronic media, computer programs, or computer services that are relevant to the offender's deviant behavior pattern, this Court is obligated to interpret the statute to help achieve that intent, not frustrate it.