Year: 2014

A German ex-parliamentarian is being investigated for possessing child pornography. Prosecutors and other experts are often forced to make difficult distinctions on whether a given image crosses the line into illegality. When it comes to the legal definition of child pornography in Germany, a large grey area exists. Just by entering relevant terms in a search engine or trying to open a picture on a computer, individuals can face prosecution. That’s because searching for and attempting to obtain child pornography are illegal in Germany, just as the possession of such…

Appellate court rejects “past as prelude” myth

In a strongly worded ruling, a federal appellate panel has ordered that a Native American man be freed from civil confinement due to evidence of his rehabilitation while in prison. Both a judge and an expert witness had downplayed this evidence, condemning the man as a future risk based on long-ago transgressions, the Fourth Circuit panel concluded. Full Article

Breaking our prison habit

It’s too soon to declare victory in the long struggle to end our tragic addiction to mass incarceration, but America shows unmistakable signs of finally shaking off the deadly craving — and not a moment too soon. More and more Americans are realizing our status as the world’s largest jailer comes at a shocking cost in dollars and human lives with little benefit to public safety. At the end of 2012, America had 5% of the world’s population, but more than 25% of its prisoners — more than 2.3 million, a…

Sentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders

Opponents of juvenile life without parole point out that the same limitations that make children less culpable for their criminal actions also apply to their experience in the courtroom. “Many young adolescents … are not developmentally and intellectually mature enough to be legally ‘competent’ to stand trial,” Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in their joint 2005 report. The report points out children’s unique vulnerability to making false confessions, not recognizing bad advice from their defense attorneys and not understanding what is at stake during their trials. Full Article

Costa Mesa City Council to revisit sex-offender park ban [UPDATED]

February 15, 2014February 19, 2014 Admin

UPDATE: Motion to repeal passes 5-0 The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to consider instituting a reward for help in identifying vandals and repealing a law that aims to rein in the movements of sex offenders. The Police Department has recommended that the council consider revoking a 2012 ordinance that bans registered sex offenders from entering city parks and sports facilities without law enforcement permission. Costa Mesa’s ordinance was similar to ones passed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and Irvine City Council. Two state appellate court decisions, however, have ruled against the legality…

NH: Sex Offender Says He Should Be Able To Attend Church

CONCORD, N.H. —A convicted sex offender took his fight to attend church to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. A lower court told Jonathan Perfetto that he couldn’t go to church because his suspended sentence prohibits him from being around children. Perfetto was convicted in 2002 of possessing 61 images of child pornography. Barbara Keshen of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union told the court that Perfetto, a Jehovah’s Witness, has a fundamental right to go to the church of his choice and should be permitted to be around the…

Community notification of the Looters of society

This information is going to be a bit hard-core. In a recent blog talk radio show titled Viva La Revolution on Activist Central http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ActivistCentral the narrator put forth the point that the government has made war upon registered citizens, their parents, spouses, siblings and children as well as their employers and friends. As pointed out perhaps we should consider ourselves the resistance fighters in that war and not just fight it at an intellectual level, trying quietly to present the overwhelming mountain of evidence that shows that 99% of the…

PA: Carbondale sued over Megan’s Law ordinance

A former Carbondale man forced from his home because his son is registered under Megan’s Law is suing the city and the mayor, alleging he was targeted for enforcement because he challenged the constitutionality of a city ordinance that limited where sex offenders could live. ____ ____ of Archbald claims his son, ____, was among 15 Megan’s Law offenders living in Carbondale in 2012, but he was the only one singled out by Mayor Justin Taylor for enforcement of the ordinance, which precluded registered sex offenders from living within…

Anderson sex offender shoots intruder in self defense

ANDERSON, Calif. – Shasta County deputies are seeking the last of three suspects in a shooting incident that left one man in critical condition. Investigators believe an Anderson resident shot an intruder in self-defense during an attempted robbery. Deputies said a woman came to the home of ____ ____, 56. ____, a convicted sex offender, told KRCR News Channel 7 how two intruders tried to rob him. “She pushed me back in [the house]. I realized she was involved in it, and she kept threatening me with a taser,” he said.…

OR: Sex offender safety in question after deaths at prison

The safety of sex offenders at two Eastern Oregon prisons has been put in the spotlight this month after a lawsuit and a series of unexpected deaths. Early February marked the third unexpected death of an inmate convicted of sex crimes in as many months at Two Rivers Correctional Institution, Umatilla. At the same time, an inmate at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, is awaiting a judge’s decision after suing the prison for separation of sex offenders from the rest of the population to protect them from other inmates. ____ ____, 41,…

Man haunted by sex offender with same name & birthdate

Imagine not being able to land a job because you have the same name and birth date as a convicted sex offender. A Buffalo man is facing that very tough situation right now. It is an indescribable frustration facing John Lamar Johnson, a North Buffalo man with family to provide for, who says he’s not giving up until his name is cleared. When your name is John Johnson, you know you’re not the only one out there. “I told my mom I wanted to change it. She said no, I gave you…

IN: Frigid temperatures leave ex-offenders out in the cold

There’s controversy in Muncie over where convicted sex offenders should be allowed to live and the issue is becoming more heated because of the bitter cold. Mark called the city’s Jackson Street bridge home after his release from prison, where he served time for a sex offense involving a minor. When temperatures turn dangerously cold, Mark and four to eight other child sex offenders came to Christian Ministry Shelter, until the director got the news they must all leave. Full Article

IL: Sex Offenders May Be Banned From Illinois County Fairs

A bill under consideration would ban registered sex offenders from going to county fairs. “There is a loophole in the current sex offender law that says you can’t work at the county fairs or you can’t be a vendor at the county fairs, but you can attend them,” Illinois State Representative Mike Smiddy told News 8′s Angie Sharp on Wednesday, February 12th, 2014. State Rep. Smiddy heard about the loophole following the 2013 Whiteside County Fair. The State’s Attorney for Whiteside County called him and explained an instance where a…

Our misguided child porn laws do little to protect children

In the letter he wrote on the day he hanged himself last month, Ryan Loskarn talked about the shame and guilt he felt after he was caught with child pornography. Loskarn, former chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), did not mention fear of prison, perhaps because he had already resolved to end his life. But for anyone in his position who planned to stay alive, the prospect of spending years behind bars would loom large. The legal treatment of people caught with child pornography is so harsh that they can end up…

6 Million Americans Without a Voice

The right to vote is the foundation of any democracy, yet nearly six million Americans are denied that right, in many cases for life, because they have been convicted of a crime. Some states disenfranchise more than 7 percent of their adult citizens. In an unflinching speech before a civil rights conference Tuesday morning, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. described this shameful aspect of our justice system for what it is: a “profoundly outdated” practice that is unjust and counterproductive. Full Editorial

Thoughts to Share…

Here are a few thoughts I had to share. Practice self reliance and personal accountability (behave yourself or get help) because any mistake will reflect on the whole registry. If you have a business, hire a registrant. If you’re an employee, recommend a local registrant. Be the best person you can be at all times so when your registration slips out society will have to reassess their view of who is registered. Then the politicians won’t be able to scare them into voting for some stupid law. Contribute to CA…

TX: Dallas man says he was wrongly included in sex offender database