James Jones can be found on the state list of sex offenders

By Mary Polleys
James Jones can be found on the state list of sex offenders, 19 years after his conviction as a 17 year old. The law states that listed sex offenders are not allowed on school property, and now that his children attend school, the law has made it difficult to be part of his kids’ lives. Now that his son is graduating from the eighth grade, Jones can not attend the ceremony, a decision made by St. Joseph School District Superintendent Melody Smith, the only person who can allow registered sex offenders on school property in certain cases.
Jones served 5 years time for his crime, having sex with a 15 year old when he was two years the elder. He is now trying to lead a normal life, raising his children to value education. As Jones stated on AOL news, "I'm always preaching education to my children. How does that make me look if I'm not there at graduation?"
Buchanan County, which St. Joseph School district resides in, decided as a whole to deal with sex offenders as a group, rather than take on each individual case, and the decision will continually keep Jones away from all of his children’s school related activities, from plays, to musical performances, NHS inductions, and their high school graduation. He has signed an agreement acknowledging the restriction, which means he can’t claim ignorance if he is found on school grounds, and his continual protest means that police are more aware of him than anyone and are ready to arrest him if he is seen.
This situation points the finger at a flaw in the law, pretty recently instated. As of August 2006, law went into effect prohibiting sex offenders from going onto school property without permission from the district superintendent, which seemed fair, seeing as the aim of schools is to protect students. However, there are certain ways in which the law can be seen as unfair, as is the case with James Jones and his family. What is the harm in allowing a man who served his time, and has been a behaving member of society for 14 years to sit in the audience while his son graduates from the eighth grade?
In each case of a sex offender, the case should be reviewed by the superintendent, with certain things to be taken into account, such as time served, amount of time passed since conviction, nature of the crime convicted, whether or not they are a repeat offender, and their relationship with the child in question. Grouping all sex offenders together as if they are all the same is a form of prejudicial treatment.
James Jones is not the only one paying the price for his crime 19 years ago. His son, and his other children will miss out on the experience of looking out into the audience and seeing their parents sitting there cheering for them.