A man living in remote Northern Minnesota used a moose antler to murder a 77-year old neighbor who had convicted of a sex offense over 40 years ago, but had been law-abiding ever since. The killer was found incompetent to stand trial after a psychologist testified that he suffered from a persecutory delusional disorder because of his obsession with pedophiles and his unsupported conviction that the neighbor must be stalking his infant daughter. Society’s irrational belief, stoked by both news media and politicians, that child sex offenders are certain to re-offend (despite statistics showing their recidivism rate is below 10%) literally drives some parents insane.
This is one of a string of such incidents in which mentally deranged individuals think elderly men with a long-past offense are socially sanctioned targets for murder. Such violence is further spurred by messages such as “Shoot Your Local Pedophile” and “Dead Pedophiles Don’t Reoffend” on popular clothing and bumper stickers offered by mainline retailers. One organization is attempting to pressure retailers to stop selling such merchandise.
