Claxton was convicted in Washington
state in 1991 of molesting a 9-year-old
girl. He was 20 at the time, but his
mother said he was developmentally
much younger due to a brain injury.

I'm sorry, but I can't shed any tears over this man.

If you have molested a child in the past then this is your fate - DEAL
WITH IT....or opt out lke Clovis Claxton did.

SuZanne

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/11457721.htm


OCALA, Fla. - A convicted sex offender apparently committed suicide in
despair over signs posted in his neighborhood calling him a "child
rapist."

Clovis Ivan Claxton was found dead by his father Thursday with one of
the signs beside his body, less than a day after his release from a
psychiatric hospital.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office is investigating, and autopsy was
scheduled for Friday.

Claxton's death follows the high-profile arrests of sex offenders in the
separate killings of two Florida girls less than seven weeks apart.
State lawmakers have responded by passing a bill to require lifetime
supervision of some child sex offenders.

Bright yellow, laminated signs displaying Claxton's picture, date of
birth, address and the words "child rapist" appeared earlier this week
on utility poles in his neighborhood after a county commissioner
proposed posting such information in the community. The sheriff rejected
the idea.

"I think this is a clear example of an unintended consequence, which can
occur when we go beyond what we call police protocol when handling sex
offenders," Sheriff Ed Dean said. "I understand the concern of parents
for their children. But we must not allow hysteria to take place."

After seeing the signs, Claxton, 38, told the sheriff's office that he
felt "extremely scared and feels that people in the neighborhood are now
out to possibly hurt him."

When he threatened suicide, he was involuntarily committed to the mental
health hospital Tuesday and released the next day.

Claxton was convicted in Washington state in 1991 of molesting a
9-year-old girl. He was 20 at the time, but his mother said he was
developmentally much younger due to a brain injury.

Jane Claxton blames County
Commissioner Randy Harris, who proposed the flyers, for her son's death.

"Just don't get on the bandwagon," she said. "There's going to be other
(deaths) if Randy Harris has his way."

She said her son required constant care and recently relied on leg
braces and a wheelchair.

"He hasn't been in trouble for 18 years, and he's branded for life," she
said.
Harris said sex offenders need to take responsibility for their actions.

"I don't blame his death to the signs," he said, adding he was
undeterred in his quest to alert people to sex offenders living in their
neighborhoods.

Marion County northwest of Orlando has more than 600 registered sex
offenders

I'm sorry, but I can't shed any tears over this man.

If you have molested a child in the past then this is your fate - DEAL
WITH IT....or opt out lke Clovis Claxton did.

SuZanne

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/11457721.htm