____ ____ is not the poster boy for one-trial learning. He has several sexual assault convictions behind him and was civilly committed for eight years. But he was released from civil commitment last year. That means that he was found no longer to be at a dangerous risk of re-offending. He could live in the community, monitored, as a registered offender. Full Article (National RSOL) Related RI: ACLU to sue over Level III sex offender housing ban RI: Outcasts – Level III sex offenders in R.I. can’t live within 1,000…
Read MoreDay: October 22, 2015
British court blocks extradition of sex-abuse suspect, saying California law violates human rights
A British high court has refused to extradite a former Orange County choir director who fled the U.S. before he was to stand trial on sexual abuse charges, ruling that a California involuntary commitment law would violate his human rights. Full Article Related England Refuses to Extradite an Alleged Sex Offender (slate.com) with High Court decision More time over US ‘fugitive’ Roger Giese extradition case (BBC)
Read MoreSex Offender Registry Laws Don’t Make As Much Sense As You’d Thought
The need for criminal justice reform has gotten a lot of attention recently, but there’s one aspect that rarely enters the conversation — sex offender registries. Online records of people convicted of sexual crimes are intended to keep everyone, especially children, safe from sexual predators — the words “sex offender,” after all, illicit the image of a violent rapist or child molester. However, just like American jails and prisons, these state registries are overcrowded and may be doing more harm than good, which is why Americans should be talking about…
Read MoreIN: 20-year-old on sex-offender registry gets leniency
An Indiana man, who was looking at spending more than two decades on the sexual offender registry for a dating app hookup, got some good news. A judge has resentenced Zach Anderson to two years’ probation — a decision that will keep him off Michigan’s list and possibly off Indiana’s as well. Anderson was 19 when he had sex with a 14-year-old Michigan girl who had told him she was 17. Even if the sex was consensual and even if the girl did lie about her age, it is not…
Read MoreAL: For Offenders Who Can’t Pay, It’s a Pint of Blood or Jail Time
Judge Marvin Wiggins’s courtroom was packed on a September morning. The docket listed hundreds of offenders who owed fines or fees for a wide variety of crimes — hunting after dark, assault, drug possession and passing bad checks among them. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” began Judge Wiggins, a circuit judge here in rural Alabama since 1999. “For your consideration, there’s a blood drive outside,” he continued, according to a recording of the hearing. “If you don’t have any money, go out there and give blood and bring in a…
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