Jeff Cason and Sex Offenders Article Critique

I found this article at http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/. This article was about Republican Todd Smith's opponent, Jeff Cason. It's also about the laws of the registry of sex offenders in Texas. Rick Casey, the author of the article is extremely sure of himself that he predicted how Jeff Cason would lie. He says he predicted it last May. The lie was about the Texan laws on sex offenders and changing things so that the matter would be dealt with common sense instead of punishment that was undeserved.
In May, Republican Todd Smith won by 131 to 12 "for a bill that brings a bit of common sense and compassion to Texas laws on registration for sex offenders". It was later passed with small changes. It targeted those who had commited the crime of having sex with someone who was at age 14. The victim had to be "less than four years younger" than the offender. This bill did not save any of the offenders from punishment. Usually the offenders were young males. This bill did give them a chance to be exempt from being added into the registered sex offender list for life. It made it possible for judges to hold a hearing and exempt them from the list if they met certain criteria. The sex had to be consensual. The single factor to make it a crime had to be age. These cases mostly ended in having a baby.They also lead to early marriages. Being a registered sex offender affects the support of the family. It's hard to pay a decent amount of child support and to support the family. Victims of these crimes are then put in a bad position, economically. The fact that some of these "sex offenders" actually try to be supportive fathers but are stuck in an everlasting problem makes it worse. Young men put in this position are more likely to commit crimes and are held accountable for them. "But they are, as Smith told his colleagues, "sinners" and not "predators". Smith thought of the legislation as "morally compelling". He also said, "Whether...Republican or a Democrat, if your opponent comes and says that you were soft on sexual predators, I make a personal pledge to come to your district and call that person a liar" (Casey 2010). Cason then sent out a piece of propaganda containing a picture of a battered girl and a false message of Smith letting sex offenders live in neighborhoods.
I think the article was for people who have been wrongfully convicted of being sexual predators and the families that are affected by these laws. I think the author does have some credibility because he's written dozens of articles for the Houston Chronicle. The claim is that Jeff Cason is a liar because he basically states in his propaganda that Smith is letting sexual predators live in people's neighborhoods when the bill doesn't allow it. The propoganda is also the author's evidence. I agree with his logic because not every offense is true, the non-offenders should be treated with more respect. His logic makes sense because being registered into the sexual offender list for life is unfair if the person wasn't guilty and it makes it difficult to support the family that resulted from the crime.