Monitoring Convicts Of Child Pornography

We'll begin with a question posed this morning at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: should a person convicted of possessing child pornography be required to wear a GPS monitor while on probation?

The SJC heard two cases on this issue today. Lawyers with Attorney General Martha Coakley's office argued that state law requires GPS bracelets for anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a child, regardless of the magnitude of the offense.

However, defense attorney Kathryn Hayne Barnwell told the court today that child pornography offenders shouldn't fall under that mandate because the offenders had no DIRECT contact with a child.

Child protection advocates disagree, saying that wearing GPS tracking devices on probation could prevent future crimes.

Ian A. Elliott, Assistant Professor with the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell