A new report by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission takes aim at the disturbingly common practice of forcing juvenile sex offenders to comply with sex offender registries, often for life. Its conclusion: “Remove young people from the state’s counter-productive sex offender registry . . . There is no persuasive evidence that subjecting youth to registries improves public safety or reduces risks of future offending. The research does not indicate registries repair harm to victims.” Full Article
Read MoreDay: April 3, 2014
One size fits all isn’t always wise (Op-Ed)
Few public policies galvanize bipartisan political support like measures that target convicted sexual offenders. Lengthy prison sentences, registration and civil commitment for the most dangerous offenders are among the tools used to mete punishment, protect the public and serve justice. But as The Pilot’s Louis Hansen reported Sunday, Virginia’s practice of committing violent sex offenders to a lifetime on a public registry, and requiring them to jump through bureaucratic hoops long after they’ve served their prison sentences, can sometimes prove problematic. Hansen’s report on Willie Combo, an aging offender who recently…
Read MoreRecently identified Fresno sex offender murdered
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Days after a Fresno man was identified as a sex offender, he turned up dead. Now, two people will stand trial for his murder. ____ ____ was stabbed to death in Sept. 2012, just days after a sex offender sweep. An autopsy showed ____ was stabbed 58 times before his body was dumped near Chandler Airport. When U.S. Marshals and local police went door-to-door tracking sex offenders, ____ ____ was right where they expected him. The sting apparently blew his cover, though, and made him a target. Full Article
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