In the eyes of modern citizens, sexual assault is among the most detestable of crimes. It isn't surprising, then, that the law shows little regard for the rights of sexual offenders. However, even criminals retain some rights. Through an act utilitarian analysis, it can be shown that the harms of monitoring sexual offenders for life outweigh the benefits.

Statistics for the utilitarian analysis are taken from a relevant 2012 study (Gies, Stephen, et al.). First, consider the cost of being monitored. Assume that a monitored criminal experiences $15 of harm per day. Since the average criminal involved in the study is 42 years old, and the average male lives to be 71, the total cost of monitoring for one criminal is $158,775 (29 years * 365