Leeanne Smith’s response to my letter (Oct. 8) on Maine’s sex offender registry is confusing. She said my statement, “That it’s the politicians’ way of making us feel safe,” is “valid but seems misinformed.”

Which is it?

She disagrees that the registry is a life sentence. No comment on the rest of the statement regarding two men executed in April because of the registry. What about them? Did their lives have no value?

She asks, “Where’s protection for children?” Can anyone tell me how this registry physically stops the next incident or attack? She insinuated that prison isn’t enough, and that victims won’t be trusted or do well in society. This is simply myth, without facts to support it.

I stated that treatment, appropriate sentencing and a two-strike law would be much more effective. I believe in justice but also in the constitution. In my opinion, the registry violates the eighth amendment as unusual punishment. What other crimes are registered in this way?

I agree knowledge is power. However, zealots that believe everyone on the registry is out hunting children live in a paranoid world. Not all victims are children, not all crimes are of the same degree.

A victim’s pain is hard, but don’t balance pain with hate laws. Don’t paint everyone with one brush. Every human being is, and has, someone. People should remember that when they logon and click.

Michael Milbury, Windham