In regards to Jessica Hutchinson’s letter of Sept. 16, Maine’s sex offender registry is about as protective as a guard dog without teeth. If an offender is determined to strike again, they will.

The registry is just the politicians’ way of making us think we are safer. It only serves to label people, and makes it difficult to readjust back into society.

The justice she speaks of lies in the sentence handed down by a judge. One should be allowed to move on after their sentence is served. The registry is a life sentence, and as we saw, a death sentence for two men in April who had served their time.

A tiny percentage of those on the registry make national news and fuel the hype. Most violations of probation are substance abuse-related and involve no further sex crimes. The answer to this never-ending problem is treatment and appropriate sentencing, not creating a separate and persecuted percentage of the population.

Eventually, the registry will reach a saturation point, as will our communities. Instead of 2,500 on the list, it will be 25,000. It will make itself obsolete.

There has got to be a better, more constitutional way to deal with this issue. Handing out scarlet letters hardly makes us safer. Real protection will come from improved laws such as a two-strike law for offenders. This will be as protective as a guard dog with teeth.

Michael Milbury, Windham