A story crossed the news desk last week that reached out and grabbed me.

It seems that an inmate serving a life term in Indiana for the molestation and killing of a 10-year-old girl named Katie got a strong dose of prison justice when an inmate or inmates tattooed “Katie’s Revenge” across his forehead.

All I have to say is “Way to go, jailbirds!”

Prison is a notoriously tough place for those who harm children. Even the most hardened con despises these folks, and considers them the lowest form of scum on the prison population food chain. Generally, most child molesters/killers have to be placed in protective custody for their own protection from the other inmates, as was the aforementioned Ray Stockleman, 39, after he received his prison tat.

Predictably, a whole legion of so-called human rights watchdog groups and the ACLU came out in defense of Stockleman, calling his forced inking an outrage and violation of his civil liberties. Oddly, none of these groups made mention of the violation of the rights of the little girl Stockleman brutalized and dumped in a southern Indiana creek.

My feeling on the issue is men and women who kill or molest children deserve no civil liberties. In fact, I believe they should ALL be tatooed with some identifying mark across their forehead. That way, we would know who to keep an eye on when we take our children out in public. It could be the new “Scarlet Letter.”

But why stop with child molesters? Why not tattoo all prisoners convicted of crimes in which another human being was harmed? Of course, you wouldn’t want to place the name of a rape victim on an inmate, so as to protect the victim’s identity, but why not brand the convicted with a big old “R” right in the middle of his brow as if he was an Angus bull? Anyone who forcibly takes a woman against her will is less than cattle, in my estimation. Except for Mrs. Leary’s famous bovine arsonist, cows have never hurt a soul that I’m aware of.

Garden variety murderers should also be emblazoned with the marks of the beast. If you take a life, that person’s soul should stare at you from your bathroom mirror for the rest of your days.

I’m also for branding or tattooing white collar criminals who suck away the pensions and retirement funds of senior citizens. I think the whole Enron crowd should be forced to sport a giant “C” for “conman” across their collective mugs. Same goes for TV preachers who cajole little old ladies into emptying their life’s savings into their TV church in the name of God. They’re no better than the money changers Jesus threw out of the temple and should be identified as such.

And what about politicians who betray the public trust? Shouldn’t they be punished more severely than a Congressional censure or the loss of their job? Take Dick Nixon, for instance — wouldn’t it have been fitting to stapel a “W” onto his forehead for Watergate? And of course, rabid Democrats will undoubtedly bring up another “W” — as in President George W. Bush — and say he deserves an “L” tattoo for his lying about those weapons of mass destruction. Hard core conservatives would perhaps counter that Bill Clinton should be held down so the letters “ML” — for THAT woman — could be engraved into his nose ... or maybe “P” for perjury.

However you look at it, there are plenty of ABCs for bad acting to go around.

— Wilkins is the editor/general manager of the Bladen Journal. He can be reached at 862-6602, or via e-mail at twilkins@heartlandpublications.com.