Due to draconian laws regarding where sex offenders can live, 9 men are now living in tents in the woods in Marietta, Georgia.  The office park/woods is one of the few places the men can live without violating the law.

The Georgia law bans the state’s 16,000 sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, child-care facilities and other areas where children gather.

Ahmed Holt, manager of the state’s sex offender administration unit, told The Associated Press that the camp is a “last resort” for homeless offenders who can’t find another place to live that complies with the law.

He said probation officers direct them to the outpost if other options fail, such as transferring to another county or state or sending them to a relative’s place that meets the requirements. Homeless shelters and halfway houses are often not an option, he said, because of the restrictions that bar them from being near children.

Since the story broke, the sex offenders have been evicted from the woods.  Is it any wonder that some of these men might re-offend or commit other offenses as the state of Georgia has left them little other choice?  Normal people would think forcing sex offenders to live in the woods is far scarier than providing free half-way houses for them to live in.