Let The Punishment For Pimps Fit The Crime

Regarding "Cornyn, Poe file sex trafficking bill" (Wednesday City & State), kudos to a bipartisan group of senators and representatives for confronting a social problem that can only be described as epidemic in numbers and scope.  The tougher punishment for “Johns” in particular will go a long way to reducing demand.

That said, the proposed sentencing guidelines for the pimps and traffickers that kidnap girls and force them into prostitution are timid to say the least: 15 years to Life for trafficking girls under 14; 10 years to Life for victims 14 to 18.  This punishment does not begin to fit the crime. 

Studies show that prostitutes are 40 times more likely to die from their profession than average workers, and that life expectancy from the time they enter “The Life” is around 20 years.  They die from drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, a far greater susceptibility to commonplace ailments, and murder.  The vast majority will die young, and all of the causes are directly attributable to the people who enslaved them and profited from them. 

So instead of simply giving slavers harsher prison terms, why not include the death penalty?  If it is true that the average prostitute is conscripted at age 14, and lives to the age of 34, there is no doubt that forcing girls and women into prostitution is murder.  Use existing kidnap law as a template.  Federal sentencing guidelines for kidnapping permit execution if the kidnap victim dies, and states like Georgia allow it if the victim is ransomed or sustains bodily harm while in captivity. 

The sex slavery trade is a kidnapping for ransom that never ends, with daily rape and torture thrown in for good measure, followed by death.  If we can all agree that this crime is more heinous than kidnapping, we can enact the appropriate sentences and get the problem under control once and for all.

Texas should lead the way.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX