The Devil's Disciple

Westley Dodd may die at the end of a rope, but he leaves behind a controversial law against sex offenders

IT TAKES A CERTAIN ACT OF FAITH, THE first time a mother and father let their children go out and play by themselves. Faith that sons and daughters will cross streets safely, that they will abide by their curfew, that they will remember not to talk to strangers. Faith that when they go to the park, someone like Westley Allan Dodd will not be there waiting for them.

Westley Dodd is the man who shook the faith of enough people in the state of Washington to prompt legislators to pass the U.S.'s most unforgiving, possibly unconstitutional, laws against sexual predators. After...

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