Will sentencing child rapists to death deter future child rapes? Of course not, but deterrence isn’t the only reason to mete out the death penalty. The concept of retributive justice underpins our nation’s criminal laws. In our pampered, politically correct, psycho-babbling society, we’ve forgotten that criminals must be punished -- not merely removed from society or rehabilitated -- and punishing criminals is just, whether or not punishment deters future crimes.

Our government is charged with protecting citizens and punishing lawbreakers, and perverts who hurt the most vulnerable citizens should receive harsh punishment. Man’s idea of harsh punishment, however, pales in comparison to God’s. One day each of us will face the ultimate Judge. I hope Kennedy and other child rapists suffer for all eternity in the deepest bowels of hell.

Distancing sex offenders 2,000 feet from schools, parks and other places where children gather is another contemporary idea, and one that California voters have embraced. Parents simply don't want sex offenders living across the street from schools and parks.

Again, a few cities have cried foul, claiming that it is nearly impossible to find housing with the distancing restriction and thus homelessness among sex offenders is sure to occur in abundance. But so far, the claims have been based on guesswork, not actual incidents of homelessness. Densely populated San Francisco County may be the exception. But I have always said if there is a bona fide problem with housing, then I would support revisiting the distancing for that county -- maybe adjust the distance to meet San Francisco's needs.

In the meantime, let's give Jessica's Law time to work. In doing so, we will heed the will of the people who believe in this law. 

Federal law requires colleges to publish reported crimes affecting their students. The numbers of reported sexual assaults -- the law does not require their confirmation -- usually run under half a dozen a year on private campuses, and maybe two to three times that at large public universities. So what reality does lie behind the rape hype? I believe that it's the booze-fueled hookup culture of one-night, or sometimes just partial-night, stands. Students in the '60s demanded that college administrators stop setting rules for fraternization. The colleges meekly complied and opened a Pandora's box of boorish, promiscuous behavior that gets cruder each year.