ABSTRACT

The quote above was provided to me in a very detailed letter by a former client, a well-educated and erudite individual who struggled with post-incarceration life. For him – although he did not see himself as a monster, he did apply a number of less harsh pejoratives to himself – society was shackling him on release from prison with the harsh social restrictions placed on ex-offenders, especially sexual offenders, but what he objected to most were the harsh labels that the media and neighbours applied to him. He was likely correct that most saw him, a recidivist who had victimized prepubescent individuals, as a monster or extreme deviant, a creature to be shunned if not worse. The question is whether we should regard sexual offenders, even dangerous repeat offenders, as monsters.