In an apparently unprecedented series of rulings, the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overruled three of its own Friday opinions regarding state sex offender registration laws. In three separate opinions issued Friday, the court found 2011 changes to the sex offender registry law cannot be applied retroactively to offenders convicted before the law took effect. But then in a fourth opinion also released Friday, the court found that those rulings were incorrect. Full Article State v. Petersen-Beard: Decision – Oral Argument Video State v. Buser: Decision – Oral Argument Video Doe v. Thompson: Decision…
Read MoreMonth: April 2016
‘Untouchable’: Tribeca Review
The debut feature documentary from David Feige, former attorney-turned-author and now filmmaker, is a thorough and thought-provoking examination of its theme. But the theme is not quite as straightforward as the viewer initially assumes. What starts out as an exploration of the highly emotive, hot-button topic of sexual offenses – particularly those in which children are the victims – turns out to be an indictment of the problems in the American legislative process and its dogmatic and draconian legal system. Full Article Film Website Review: ‘Untouchable’ Questions the Unspeakable Truth
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting in San Diego – June 18
California RSOL’s June meeting will take place in San Diego on June 18. The meeting will start at 10 am at California Western School of Law, Room LH2 at 225 Cedar Street, San Diego, CA 92101 Topics of discussion will include general issues facing registrants and their families as well as pertinent current issues, such as the recent International Megan’s Law lawsuit. The meetings are intended for registrants, friends and family, associated service providers and other supporters. Government and media representatives are not invited to attend. Join us! Show up, Stand up, Speak up!
Read MoreHow can a sex offender be rehabilitated if following the rules does not count? (Letter to the Editor)
West Virginia lawmakers, upon discovering that a young man working as a legislative intern was on the sex offender registry, promptly fired him and are now revising the hiring process to prevent a registrant from being hired in the future. Full Letter Background Lawmakers to overhaul intern rules after sex offender hired
Read MoreAB 2569 passed by Assembly Public Safety Committee
The Public Safety Committee today passed an amended version of Assembly Bill (AB) 2569. The bill, authored by committee vice chair Melissa Melendez, originally removed an exemption for some registrants convicted of incest from being added to the Megan’s Law website. The amended version of the bill requires the California Department of Justice to interview the victim of the offense and to make a subsequent determination regarding whether information regarding the registrant should be added to that website. California RSOL opposed the original bill as well as the amended bill…
Read MoreWA: Time to revisit sex offender registration act
We see a recent state Supreme Court ruling on the public release of registered sex offenders as victory and a defeat. We are adamant proponents for access to public records and champion the critical role of that information to make sure our government and public agencies are being fair and just. When the state Supreme Court ruled that Donna Zink was entitled to access to information about thousands of low-level sex offenders, it overturned rulings of lower courts preventing the release of that data. Full Editorial Related WA: Supreme Court – Records…
Read MoreEvent Information: Reentry Housing Options for Sex Offenders
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 2:00 pm – Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00) Registered sex offenders face numerous barriers to finding stable housing when they return to the community from jail or prison. Improved housing stability reduces the likelihood of recidivism and makes it easier for registered sex offenders to comply with the terms of their parole or probation. However, creating transitional and permanent housing solutions for registered sex offenders often faces substantial push-back from communities, making it difficult to fund and operate these housing programs. Event Details
Read MoreMO: Sex-offender status poses a housing challenge for ill Army veteran
Army veteran Paul King struggles to find a place to call home. Shackled with poor health and a sexual-abuse conviction, King has seen his life deteriorate. Nearly blind and with failing kidneys, the 45-year-old King, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, has been in and out of hospitals over the past eight months. He lives in Peaceful Pines residential-care facility in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The small facility can house 20 residents. “I feel like I have been left here to die,” he said during a visit with his sister, Carol…
Read MoreJob opportunity for people struggling to find work
Hello, affiliates. As you may have read in a recent RSOL newsletter, I started a company called HomePro. One of the main reasons for starting this company was to provide an opportunity for those who are struggling to find work. We provide at-home telemarketing reps to do mostly survey work. It’s not a difficult job, and it can be a stepping stone to better opportunities, as I’ve found that it is generally easier to find a job if you already have a job. We recently made a change in the…
Read MoreWI: Sex offenders branded for life
____ ____ is a convicted sex offender who cannot escape his past. The 44-year-old Fond du Lac man served five years in prison for sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in 1991. He was 19 years old when he forced her to have sex with him, court records indicate. Full Article
Read MoreME: 10 years after sex offender murders, questions linger about Maine’s registry
One morning in March, Bangor Police Detective Jeremy Brock and Officer Dustin Dow made their rounds. Two of their stops included the Ranger Inn on outer Hammond Street and a boarding house on Union Street. Each week, Brock usually spends a day on such visits, checking that the 120 or so registered sex offenders in Bangor are living where they have said they’re living. … Little has changed in the registry despite the events of 10 years ago, when two Maine men listed on the registry were murdered by someone…
Read MoreME: This sex assault victim says the offender registry listing is more important to her than prison time
For Tina Dionne, it’s more important for the man who sexually assaulted her as a child to register as a sex offender than serve time in prison. Full Article
Read MoreSen. Runner Withdraws Bill From Hearing
Senator Sharon Runner has withdrawn Senate Bill 1021 from further consideration. The bill, which would have allowed local governments to prohibit some registered citizens from living in their cities and counties, was scheduled to be heard on April 19 by the Senate Public Safety Committee. Runner’s withdrawal of the bill is reported to be linked to her failing health, however, it may also be linked to the strong opposition to the bill voiced in letters submitted to the Committee by CA RSOL, the ACLU, the CA Sex Offender Management Board…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: IML – Court Denies Request for Preliminary Injunction
Today the dragon won. That is, the federal government was given permission to continue its implementation of the International Megan’s Law (IML). The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California denied our Motion for Preliminary Injunction which attempted to stop the government’s addition of a Scarlet letter to the passports of American citizens as well the government’s notifications to foreign countries that citizens intend to travel there. The court’s denial was based, in part, upon the legal concept of ripeness. That is, whether the issue was ready (or…
Read MoreNY: WE NEED TO RETURN POWER TO LOCAL GOV’T TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES FROM SEX OFFENDERS
(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C,I- East Patchogue) hosted a press conference today to highlight the need to fix laws pertaining to the sex offender registry to help keep our children and communities safe. Since the start of 2016, some level one sex offenders have been removed from the registry, while a State Appeals Court decision last year removed all local restrictions on where convicted sex offenders may reside. He was joined by his Assembly colleagues and Paul Alonzo, Program Manager of Parents for Megan’s Law. “In February 2015,…
Read MoreCongressman Nadler Introduces the Keep Kids Safe Act to Stop Sex Offenders Who Target Children from Owning or Acquiring a Gun
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation to prevent guns from getting into the hands of sex offenders who prey on children. Federal law prohibits persons convicted of a felony from buying, selling, or possessing guns or ammunition, yet it is perfectly legal for someone convicted a misdemeanor sex crime against a minor to acquire a firearm. The Keep Kids Safe Act of 2016 would close this safety gap, making it illegal under federal law for someone convicted of a…
Read MoreCO: Supreme court says towns can ban sex offenders
Can a municipality pass an ordinance that effectively bans any registered sex offender from living there? That was the issue in Ryals v. City of Englewood, which the Colorado Supreme Court decided recently. Full Column Opinion
Read MoreMN: Appeals court hears challenge to constitutionality of Minnesota Sex Offender Program
A federal appeals court in St. Louis heard oral arguments Tuesday about whether the state of Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program violates the Constitution with its practice of indefinite detention. The case before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals could force the state to make a series of politically unpopular reforms to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP), which has come under fire for its failure to release more offenders into the community. Full Article
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