Dateline: To Kill a Predator . . . by Jesse Wegman (huffingtonpost.com) . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-wegman/dateline-to-kill-a-preda_b_41911.html

Well, Dateline: you finally got what you wanted - a live execution, with cameras rolling. Are you satisfied? A man is dead, technically by his own hand: Louis Conradt, an assistant district attorney in a small Texas town, about to be arrested for chatting online with and planning to meet a minor (he thought) for sex. He did not actually leave his house, but he did talk about it online, and in Texas that's enough to constitute a crime. So the cops descend on his bungalow with Dateline in tow, and they get the goods, if not the guy: a loud bang echoes from inside the house as their cameras approach. Moments later, Conradt is wheeled out on a stretcher, his bloody hair waving in the breeze.

In that moment, the immensely popular "To Catch A Predator" series - until now a unique brand of soft-core entrapment porn - crossed a line, not merely filming reality, but creating it. For over a year, the show has been playing cop, judge, jury, and jailer; now, without blinking, it has assumed the role of executioner. And in doing so it joins Nancy Grace and Sally Jesse Raphael in the pantheon of shows that pushes people to the brink, and then over it. Indeed, it one-ups those shows, which didn't have the cameras on when the trigger was pulled. Of course, the Dateline team is appropriately mortified: the suicide was "a devastating tragedy, a shock to all of us," as host Chris Hansen solemnly put it. I'm sure it was.

(snip)

I have no interest in coming to the defense of men who troll internet chat rooms and solicit sex with minors. But something about this relentlessly smug ritual of humiliation turns my stomach. It is a theater of cheap morality, wrapped in an orgy of self-righteousness, and played out in an endless, pitiful parade of contrition. No doubt, these men are pitiful, if not quite pitiable: lonely men of all ages, races, ethnicities, income levels, and relationship statuses whose private fantasies have slipped over the line. For some it is clearly the first time; for others, clearly the hundred and first. Some seem to understand that they have crossed that line. "The internet and real life are two different things," a 27-year-old diner employee says. Well, yes, but the idea doesn't seem to sink in. Even if one could argue that the borders of the line are intentionally and aggressively blurred by "barely legal" porn sites and chat rooms where no one is who or what they claim to be, in the end it's irrelevant: each of these men has driven himself (hundreds of miles, in some cases) to what he believes is the home of an underage boy or girl, expressly for some non-virtual sex. Seedy business for sure, and illegal, and the men are rightly apprehended. But is Dateline really doing this for the children?

- more . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-wegman/dateline-to-kill-a-preda_b_41911.html

$$$$$$$$ with the show. It is never about kids only $$$$....

based on....?

...if TCAP forces creeps think twice about pursuing our children, then it serves the public interest. And in that respect, TCAP is more effective with bigger ratings. Therefore, if the show plays-up the drama to get bigger ratings, so be it.

And FWIW, I'm sorry the guy elected to kill himself, but that was purely his choice alone.

Gee, what about our legal system? Innocent until proven guilty? The whole notion of entrapment, which is essentially the premise this show works off of?

Somehow I think that peoples' opinions would be a lot harsher if the show was "To Catch a Dope Smoker". Sadly, many people can't seem to understand that this is where we're headed.

Sorry, we did will public humiliation long ago as a means of punishment, we shouldn't be bringing it back.

TCAP documents the process by which the perpetrators are apprehended.

And you better research just what entrapment is. If these prosecutions were based on entrapment, they'd never get a single conviction in court.

Sexual predator = victim (at least potential)

And besides, haven't you ever watched "Cops"?

They bust dopers live on TV all the time.

One less predator after our kids. No tears here.

good enough for me!

I didn't see the show but saw a snip of that horrible suicide. MSM has really gone mad.

I feel zero sympathy for child predators, but I start to worry when I see media organizations acting as law enforcement, especially when it leads to the suicide of a perp who SHOULD have faced the criminal justice system. Instead all we get is bread and circuses: technicolor images of a dead predator and the smug satisfaction of one less haunting our streets.

I believe it all started with "Cops", and continues with shows like "TCAP" and "Dog: BH". It seems that folks feel so victimized in this country that there is little satisfaction unless the perp is not only apprehended, but publicly humiliated in the process. It also has seemed to slip the mind of the folks who produce, as well as consume these shows, that even predators have rights: they have the right to due process, and a fair trial. If Americans are going to be satisfied with this style of "justitainment" (sorry, Mr. Colbert), we might as well bring back the stocks and guillotine.

in serious investigations of election fraud, 9/11, how this country was led into a war based on bogus intelligence, the treasonous outing of an undercover CIA agent, etc.

"Bread and circuses" is right.

killed himself, but so what. He was the lowest form of scum. I wonder how many people he put in prison for doing the same thing he was. He got off easy. They would have tortured him in prison. And rightly so.

To Dateline, To Entrap A Predator, are you happy now? Hanson, you basically killed a person.
To Parents, wake up and see what your children are doing online.
To Predators, get your sick ass some help. Leave the kids alone.

Wow.

They would have tortured him in prison. And rightly so.

Welcome to Democratic Underground, ladies and gentleman! The ten o'clock torture porn session is always different than the eight o'clock show!

but if this asst. D.A. put someone in prison for the same thing he was doing you can bet the D.A.'s stay will be shall we say uncomfortable. Would I torture him, never. But I'm not in prison, and haven't committed the same crime as a D.A. I'm sorry but I don't have much sympathy for people who commit this crime.

"Oh well, I'm not for torturing, but what happens in our prisons to people is - ahem - shall we say, "uncomfortable" (wink wink ha ha - I'm using a litote for humor, because torture is a bit funny!), and I don't have much sympathy, because I secretly believe that torture is - in fact - a form of justice (though I would NEVER do it myself, hahaha; best leave that form of justice to the brutal criminals, who I secretly support in all their outrageous depredation), but I will dodge that with mealy-mouthed bullshit proclamations, ho hum, la di da."

A more despicable line of argument would be nearly impossible, outofbounds. What vapid tripe.

I don't think so, put Your words in someone else's mouth. Have a fine day.

I've been saying the following for years:

"In that moment, the immensely popular "To Catch A Predator" series - until now a unique brand of soft-core entrapment porn - crossed a line, not merely filming reality, but creating it."

"If you have not yet had the pleasure of catching this juggernaut - and make no mistake, pleasure, both thwarted and fulfilled, is a central element of the show - it relies on a simple conceit: steer an ancient law-enforcement technique - the sting - into the depths of internet sex."

"If it's the former, he gets a running start of maybe three steps outside the house before a half dozen cops jump out of the bushes, yell a lot, and order him to the ground at gunpoint. This is, of course, the show's money shot - the thrilling, morally uncomplicated climax of justice served, with a heaping side of humiliation."

To Catch a Predator is WEIRD fetish porn. Very weird. Exactly. If you are a consistent viewer of this trash, I consider you AS SICK as the pedophiles. It's disgusting. And so are you.

"If Dateline were in fact interested in protecting children, it would spend less time orchestrating the carnival of shame and more time shedding light on a sickness that needs serious and swift intervention, both legal and psychological."

I think that people can have a variety of opinions on issues such as the overlap between journalism and police work that is part of the TCAP shows. And there are certainly different views within the professional community regarding treatment of offenders. Likewise, people can watch a program on NBC/MSNBC that has a segment of TCAP, and have a variety of opinions on its value or lack thereof.

Because a person watches COPS, Forensic Files, Cold Case Files, or any number of programs on crime and justice, and that would hardly make them a drunk driver, a bank robber, or a murderer. Of course, there may be some people who cheer for the criminals, hope they get away, or otherwise identify with them. But most viewers probably don't. I think most people recognize that robbers and murderers pose a threat to society, and are pleased to see them arrested and brought to justice.

There are more people who pose a danger to children in most if not all communities, than there are bank robbers or murderers. I'm not sure how pedophiles would be considered more deserving of our sympathy than any other group of criminals who victimize innocent human beings. I think that claiming that people who watch the program are as sick as the pedophiles is an emotional, irrational stance.

I know someone who works for the group Perverted Justice, who sent me his chat logs and phone calls, when I told them about this thread and the article.

I am not going to post that link, but will post a link to Perverted Justice where you can find all the information to make up your own mind on the case. It is extremely graphic and disturbing.

http://www.perverted-justice.com/

Louis Conradt, an assistant district attorney in a small Texas town, went by the AOL IM of Inxs00.

On the left hand side of the home page you will see Conviction Logs. His information is directly under the box of conviction #155. Inxs00 Terrell, Texas.

There you can read all of his chat logs and listen to his phone calls.

First, the presumed 13 year old was the first one to ask ASL (age, sex, location). THAT is a hookup question. If you just wanna talk, why bother with those things. The presumed 13 year old was also very stupid, giving his location with too much detail - Dallas, and then asked for more detail about the other's location.

The presumed 13 year old also asked for a picture, and then offered a picture. Then the presumed 13 year old gave out an email.

Red flags are going up for me here, since I would not consider that to be normal 13 year old behaviour. This is a 13 year old who is looking to hook up.

TCAP and PEEJ make it sound like it is an innocent conversation that suddenly turns to sex, like these are guys who goto parks and coerce unwilling victims. Instead they goto chat rooms looking to hook up with others who are doing the same thing. It's a virtual singles bar, not a virtual video game arcade that lures kids in.

Plus, this is a 13 year old who claims a cousin took him to a frat party where he "got totally wasted". Whoever this "perv" is hooking up with, it is not some naive innocent 13 year old. It's a 13 year old who willingly walked into a virtual singles bar. Not a teenage hang-out, but a virtual singles bar, and acted like he was there to score too. Did this 'perv' go looking for a 13 year old? Would he have turned down a 17 or 19 year old who similarly came on to him, because he's a 'pedophile'?

For a 'predator' he sure is going after 'prey' that is both willing and experienced.

As far as the guy that blew his head off, he obviously had some major issues and I can't see for a second how Dateline owns any responsibility in it. Obviously he was a dangerous character if he went to such lengths, so though his death might be tragic in its own way one can't help thinking that maybe someone else's life is now no longer in jeopardy.

Sure, Dateline has ratings at interest as well. I mean duh. But the heart of what they're doing is still fine and I for one don't criticize for a second their efforts at nabbing some of these vile pieces of filth before they fuck up some kid's life.

Fuck them, the scumbags.

don't you know that makes you as bad as the people on the show? That they'll next be after the "dope smokers," and then the jaywalkers! :sarcasm:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I came of age in the "free love" 60s and 70s and I remember very well just how hard it was to coax a sweet young thing into making the beast with two backs when you had a nice car, money, hair and plenty of dope to smoke.

These middle aged guys who are expecting to score some underaged poontang through typing a few garbled syllables on an IM are indulging in fantasies way beyond the wildest acid trip I ever took in my ridiculously debauched youth.

I've seen the show a couple of times and thought it was mildly revolting, a couple of the guys even admitted they'd watched the show before and *still* turned up.

"Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity."
-Robert A Heinlein

Any person convicted on DNA evidence of rape on an adult should SERVE 25 years. On a minor Natural LIFE, on a child 12 or under the death penalty should be on the table.

Sexual assault is a tremendously destructive thing in a persons life. So this shitbag killed himself rather than face the reality that he is a miserable child molester.

To bad every one who has intent to molest little kids doesn't eat their gun.

While I feel bad that this person ended their life, I do think they should have been tried by a jury and sentenced by courts.

Who cares why dateline is doing it. These dicks are on camera and logged trying to screw little kids.