As summer comes to an end, we are waiting for justice. We are waiting for a judge’s decision in our challenge to the International Megan’s Law. We are waiting for cities to eliminate residency restrictions. We are waiting for a tiered registry bill to be introduced in the California state legislature.
Why does it take so long? Why can’t judges, city officials and state legislators stop the punishment of registered citizens NOW?
Perhaps it’s due to habit. For many people, including judges and elected officials, have adopted the habit of viewing registered citizens as “monsters” who always re-offend and cannot be cured. Their habit is based upon myth and supported by the media rather than empirical evidence such as the CDCR report which states that the rate of re-offense for registrants on parole is less than 1 percent.
Perhaps it’s due to complacency. For many people, including judges and elected officials, are complacent because their personal lives have not been directly affected by the punishment that continues to be levied against registrants and their families. What else can explain their lack of compassion when a registrant cannot find a decent job or adequate housing? What else can explain their lack of understanding when a registrant and his family can no longer live together due to residency restrictions passed decades after his offense occurred?
Perhaps it’s due to fear. For many people, especially judges and elected officials, fear that they will lose the next election if they are viewed by the public as friendly to registrants. Their fear is so deep that they are willing to violate the state and federal Constitutions despite an oath they swore to uphold them.
To the many people described above, we have the following message: Stop your habits! Snap out of your complacency! Move through your fear! Do what is right, not what is popular.
The time is NOW to view registrants as who they truly are – human beings who deserve a second chance – and not lepers of society. The time is NOW not just to allow, but to support, registrants as they re-enter society so that they can live with their families and contribute their skills and talents to society.
This is the future we see. And we will support those, including judges and elected officials, who share our vision when we vote in November.
I would like to discuss some presence restrictions, and other issues of San Joaquin Parole Department. I am only speaking of my case and I think you can help!
As to why, that is how it is with most laws. This is business to these people and not rushing things if the way of our legal system.
Well I guess that answers the question of abolishment. If you’re hoping for a tiered bill, you aren’t hoping for abolishment. Can’t imagine why someone would hope for a tiered registry when they know it’s just going to bump up the numbers on the higher tier’s. Can anyone show me a state that dropped more to lower than bumped up?
As a Registered Citizen (RC), I have this say TO YOU NON-RCs who refuse to treat me and my fellow RCs as humans:
SHAME on you!
Many of you non-RCs fantasize that you are enlightened by thinking things like these:
“If I had lived when America had slavery, I would have stood up to my neighbors as they called them inhuman and inferior to the white races”
or
“I would have definitely stood up for Native Americans as my fellow European Americans called them savages and committed genocide against them”,
Yet RIGHT NOW you treat me and my fellow RCs as subhuman, not worthy of basic human rights.
You feel very self-righteous in your beliefs, just as white Americans did as they enslaved and killed “subhuman” African Americans and Native Americans. You look the other way as whites did when Japanese were interned in WWII, as Chinese were beaten and pushed out of towns, as gays were abused and called predators, and many other people groups today are treated as political pawns, such as Muslims and Latinos.
Ironically, many of you non-RCs working against us are those very people groups that were abused in the past.
My wish is that all you non-RCs have a close relative prosecuted for whatever the latest fad crime is labeled as “sex offense”, such as sexting or urinating behind a tree while at a park. Then you will see firsthand what a Pandora’s box you have opened, and be stuck in a web of your own making.
Then maybe you will have some empathy for RCs and be willing to vote against hate-spewing politicians and laws that perpetuate inhumanity.
TO MY FELLOW RCs, I say: we must get out of our tiny bubble of comfort and be willing to speak up for ourselves.
Let’s show respect to each other in these discussion forms.
Let’s all subscribe to Janice’s Action Alert emails.
Let’s all work with family and friends to write letters and make phone calls when Janice has a call to action.
Let’s contribute as much as we can to ACSOL so they can take legal action against bad laws, lobby against bad bills, and spread the word to our fellow RCs about ACSOL.
Let’s show up in person to events Janice announces. Showing up in person has as huge impact, no matter what you may have heard from some RCs (who don’t show up).
We have a long road ahead of us, but so did African Americans. By being willing to take action, they made huge gains in civil rights.
So can we!
You rock, Janice!
The govt no longer works for and by the people. Our representatives are funneled into a system addicted to feeding off the people. Why does any citizen pay taxes to such a disfunctional beast? RSO’s especially are not truly repersented…so we are part of the problem by feeding the thing. IMO
I am not going to say what I think about people that advocate for a tiered registry because I have told myself not to post negative comments on personal levels but I will say I agree with everyone else that a tiered registry isn’t a compromise it’s a surrender and an acceptance of unconstitutional laws
.it’s very discouraging that it appears no organization believes or wants to challenge the Courts on the lies and false facts and on the real issues…sad
We will never be taken seriously if we continue to regard ourselves as something we are not: Citizens.
If you are not treated exactly the same as a citizen, you are not a citizen.
We are not citizens and we are not Americans. We owe nothing to the United States.
I agree with some of the comments that a tiered registry will only support the thought that the registry is legal. A registry is wrong in every way. Once people have served their time, including probation/ parole, that needs to be the end of the punishment. Also, who will determine the tier level and under what grounds? Nobody can predict anyone’s future recidivism, and the Static 99 is an absolute joke. Some said to fight this by demanding the statistics to prove the recidivism rate, and to go by the facts and not just assumptions. How hard is it really to do a powerpoint presentation, proving that all their “facts” are wrong and can;t be the basis of an inhumane and wrongful punishment for so many citizens. We need to show the facts to the public who deserve the truth. If we want to protect the children, the public has a right to know the truth. We are done feeding lies and hysteria. The public deserves the truth!!
Telling the public facts is only a SMALL but necessary part of the way to eliminate the registry. Why? The courts may pay attention to facts and find in our favor, but people vote their feelings—especially FEAR–and rationalize supporting bad RC laws by picking and choosing only facts that justify their fear.
Your car cannot immediately shift from 60 mph to going in reverse. There must be a transition of slowing down, then reversing.
Similarly, there is no way a paranoid, fearful public that has been brainwashed with lies about RCs for decades is suddenly going to say, “Wow, those statistics and studies you just told me completely took away my fear of all RCs! Let’s dump that registry!” That is pure wishful thinking. That is NOT how humans change belief systems.
There MUST be a transitional time that addresses that INCREMENTALLY lowers their fear using PROOF. The obvious way is to let them see how thousands of low-level RCs who are released over a period of a few years do NOT re-offend.
Then they must see the same results for higher-level RCs.
Then they must see how shortening the time to get off the registry still doesn’t cause an increase in offenses.
Then the whole justification for the registry will collapse. And the registry will crumble due to lack of support.
Janice is the expert in navigating public opinion and laws.
We are not.
I vote we support Janice and stop tearing down her plans.
How about you?
Assuming you want to remain an uncompromising idealist of “Absolutely No Registry”, please do not badmouth the excellent strategy that Janice advocates. We get enough negativity from those who hate us. Don’t spread their poison for them.
I am all for fighting against International Megan’s Law and most certainly, the senseless residency restrictions. But it is the fight for a “tiered” registry that worries me most. Not just the fact a tiered registry will rely on the STATIC-99R scam; but as others mentioned, it gives the message a public registry is effective when the evidence is to the contrary. The registry does nothing but hinder rehabilitation. Registrants in other states talk about how a tiered registry has done little to none in helping them. I could be wrong; but I suspect many may end up very disappointed with the tiered “risk” based registry proposed by CASOMB. A upper LIFETIME tier not defined by the objective fact of criminal conviction, but by the subjective (and seemingly bogus) number scored by the STATIC 99. Again, I hope that I am wrong.
How about who? Everyone has given their wishes and comments, they overwhelmingly say no tiered system.
You’re analogy falls flat. We are dealing with peoples lives, THEIR lives and they’ve spoken. We don’t need to wait for the public to get it… all we need is for the courts too.
Anyone with a rational mind and a little history on tiered systems knows it’s a bad idea for multiple reasons.
This reminds me of the people calling for a constitutional convention. They actually expected the states to reel in the feds when the states are made of the same filth the feds are. They’re power hungry corrupt opportunists.
So what in the hell would make them favor you or I in legislation…
You’re only way forward is through the courts, unless you want to wait 50 years before the public and the politithugs catch up.
Sorry, that’s not smart strategy and nobody should stay quite about it if they think it. After all of the news about recidivism rates and damage the registries causes, you want people to just go with whatever is suggested?
That doesn’t stand up to logic, sorry.
I’d like to add more..
Her and her team are advocates right? Has anyone asked what we want? Has there been a nationwide poll I’m unaware of? I’d think giving people what they want as an advocate would be a good place to start.
She’s done great on living restrictions, they’re working on IML and a number of other attacks which are great too but those aren’t the biggest problems.
Being on the registry is the biggest restriction to a stable life. What good does the lifting of a living restriction mean when you can’t find work because everyone and their brother outs you to the boss in less than a week. Try and run a business like that, see how long your customers keep coming in. How about all of the love you get from the public? Death threats, cars and property vandalised, family harassed… I could go on and on.
This all, from being on the registry itself. So you want people to get onboard with something that causes fundamental harm to them AND take the high risk of possibly getting bumped up to all of the previous fun, plus increased time and more restrictions.
Yeah, sign me up for that shit. I’m dying for it.
the standards the feds have to be compliant to get the hit list bribe $$$ is to have a tiered system; although Florida is a compliant state, there is no tiered system in place.
how many billions of dollars and pain and suffering on just the residency restrictions are costing the tax payers defending all the law suits taking place across the country and taxes from people who can’t find work because they can’t even find a place to live let alone work..
I was just informed that I was correct that organizations and individuals can be sued in a false lite action..it seems like a no brainer that these organizations and individuals are projecting us in a false lite and with all the evidence that’s now out there that they should’ve know that it is a false lite and that they are actually desamating it with reckless disregard for the truth and that their actions are causing great detrimental affects.
I think it’s great that ACSOL continues to fight against residency restrictions and IML.
However, I agree with many of you that a tiered registry is not a good idea. It’s simply troublesome that there are 20 year and lifetime tier levels, even under this tiered registry proposal. Yet by CASOMB’s own admission, even “high-risk” labeled registrants are no more likely to reoffend when offense-free in the community for 17 years. Why, then, does CASOMB not propose the maximum tier level at 17 years? Why are 20 years and lifetime levels even necessary?
Remember, CASOMB is the same organization that endorses the polygraph and the sex offender registry when neither are based on science or empirical findings. Same with the questionable Static-99R… which CASOMB incorporates into this phony baloney tiered registry. It’s disturbing to say the least.
I dont care what people on this site say about this comment I’m saying it anyways…
I will partially repeat myself and expand on my comments…I am dumbfounded have zero faith that any of these organizations really want to eliminate the registry…it is beyond a reasonable mind that none of them have brought suit on the real issues that can not be ignored by the courts i am not going to keep regurgitating the issues we all know the answer to that… i hate to say it but none of these organizations have anything to gain by ending registration…it’s very naive to not question the motives of any and every one especially organizations that are growing and benefiting off the registry…slam me with all your hate speech but im telling you but it can’t be much harder or expensive to present and argue the real issues that can end the registration scheme..it actually seems like a much easier and credible arguments then all these lame technical issues…dont get me wrong i have benefited from these technical wins here in cali and I do appreciate what has been successful here i just feel if we want real change we are going to have to do it ourselves..
we need our rights back ,the public is hooked on this REG , and that’s not our problem , we did not sell it to the public , but that is not even the point ! the point is that judges are not going by the very clear CA constitution , or the US Constitution ! what kind of freedom can we have living like this? I am not for a tiered system at all! eliminating this registry is the only way we will have a real life with our family and friends , I am sick of being used like a cruch by people that are sold a bill of goods by the crooks that are keeping them sick rather than working on moving on ,now we are being raped over and over , and we have no choice in the matter , we are forced to relive our nightmare ,
amen 72 if these organizations really care and want to abolish the registry they will challenge the Courts justification for these laws and totally refute the false facts and straight out lies that was used to justify these laws…I am not an attorney but any reasonable mind will tell you the following issues are just the starting point for a successful challenge…
Issues.
(1) The sex offender registration and notification laws (CA Penal Code § 290, Sex Offender Registration Act) violate my constitutionally protected liberty interest in my reputation which is protected under the federal due process clause in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 on “due process, equal protection and the right to travel”.
(2) The sex offender registration and notification laws (CA Penal Code § 290, Sex Offender Registration Act) violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 on “due process, equal protection and the right to travel”
(3) Sex offender registration and notification laws (CA Penal Code § 290, Sex Offender Registration Act) violate my constitutionally protected liberty interests by infringing on my freedom of movement and my freedom of association which is protected under the Fifth and Fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 on “due process, equal protection and the right to travel”
(4) Sex offender registration and notification laws (CA Penal Code § 290, Sex Offender Registration Act) violate my constitutionally protected right to liberty and to be free from unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive official actions, which is protected under the Fifth and Fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 on “due process, equal protection and the right to travel”
(5) The sex offender registration and notification laws (CA Penal Code § 290, Sex Offender Registration Act) violate my constitutionally protected right to procedural due process which is protected under the federal due process clause in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 on “due process, equal protection and the right to travel” with an irrefutable presumption of future offending that is universally untrue and which provides no meaningful process to determine such facts.
The registry will never go away; at least not in our lifetime. That is a fact that will remain until the Supreme Court rules otherwise. Until then, I openly welcome a tiered system because at this moment, we have nothing. We Californians are on it for life regardless of the nature of offense.
I truly believe that once California has its tiered registry the fight will continue. 46 other states have tiers but that doesn’t prevent them from fighting against the registry. They are not sitting back waiting for their registration to expire. They are still fighting against those restrictions that prevent them from maintaining their inalienable rights. They are still working to prove that the registry even with its tiers is still violating the Constitution. I say it’s better to fight as a tiered state than a lifetime registration state.
So, Janice, thank you for all that you have done and are continuing to do. Push for that tiered registry because in this state, a fight against the tier is a fight to maintain lifetime registration.
Ever heard of being compelled to re-register whenever you get a new car or get rid of the old one?
My buddy says they are trying to pull that b.s. on him. He’s got money and gets a new car every few months, they expect him to go down there and update (aside from the annual)! LOL.
My husband is on PRCS in Fresno County, his probation Officer has done nothing but set him up to fail by her application of the residency restriction. My husband owns a mobile home in a mobile park, which is next to a school. For the purposes of measuring the 2000 ft required to be between his residence and a school, his PO is measuring from the front door of our mobile home to the closest boundary of the school, as “THE CROW FLIES,” in a straight line. However, the “straight line” goes over a 5 ft blook wall, across an Irrigation District easement, across a canal full of water, and over a 6 ft. chainlink fence. IF his PO measured the 2000 ft. from the ENTRANCE to the mobile park, our mobile home would be over 4000 ft. from the school. The PO has created her own definition of “PRIMARY ENTRANCE.’ We argued the point that one cannot access our mobile home without FIRST entering through the entrance to the mobile home park. As a result of his PO’s blanket application of the residency restrictions, he has registered with the PC290 office as “transient”. The Officer’s at the PC 290 office told us they have no problem with the address where our mobile home/mobile home park is located and that they will not come arrest him for being there, and that the Fresno County Probation Dept (AB 109) Officer in charge of ALL PC 290s hangs her hat on residency restrictions and is, in affect, an habitual B____! We are homeless, it is over 100 degrees in Fresno, and due to my husbands transient status, he wears a GPS and we must find places to charge. As a result of this restriction, he is unable to find employment, and I am recovering from cancer treatment. Why isn’t anyone else up in arms about Fresno County Probation’s unconstitutional application of the residency restrictions?? Its blanket one size fits all attitude? We are at our wits end and ready to give up!!!!!!!
My husband is on PRCS in Fresno County, his probation Officer has done nothing but set him up to fail by her application of the residency restriction. My husband owns a mobile home in a mobile park, which is next to a school. For the purposes of measuring the 2000 ft required to be between his residence and a school, his PO is measuring from the front door of our mobile home to the closest boundary of the school, as “THE CROW FLIES,” in a straight line. However, the “straight line” goes over a 5 ft blook wall, across an Irrigation District easement, across a canal full of water, and over a 6 ft. chainlink fence. IF his PO measured the 2000 ft. from the ENTRANCE to the mobile park, our mobile home would be over 4000 ft. from the school. The PO has created her own definition of “PRIMARY ENTRANCE.’ We argued the point that one cannot access our mobile home without FIRST entering through the entrance to the mobile home park. As a result of his PO’s blanket application of the residency restrictions, he has registered with the PC290 office as “transient”. The Officer’s at the PC 290 office told us they have no problem with the address where our mobile home/mobile home park is located and that they will not come arrest him for being there, and that the Fresno County Probation Dept (AB 109) Officer in charge of ALL PC 290s hangs her hat on residency restrictions and is, in affect, an habitual B____! We are homeless, it is over 100 degrees in Fresno, and due to my husbands transient status, he wears a GPS and we must find places to charge. As a result of this restriction, he is unable to find employment, and I am recovering from cancer treatment. Why isn’t anyone else up in arms about Fresno County Probation’s unconstitutional application of the residency restrictions?? Its blanket one size fits all attitude? We are at our wits end and ready to give up!!!!!!!
I have some questions, and I don’t know if this is important to think about but here it goes, let’s say that the IML is lifted, what happens then? will the requirement of doing the notification and sending of green notices to the countries end? will registrants be able to travel internationally again without being flagged and denied entry to a country? what could happen if the IML is lifted?
Janice can you please explain to me and many others on this site why you and your team will not prepare and file a complaint that includes the real issues that could topple the entire registration scheme especially challenging the court’s justification for these laws that was and is based on lies and deception also right to reputation right to equal protection right to travel right to be free from unreasonable arbitrary oppressive official actions right to freedom of association and I could go on and on but those are all fundamental rights that are being infringed upon with absolutely no justification or due process ???
I’m always grateful for the help and your determination in this matter. I can see how those in our judicial process are afraid of making a ruling. We are labeled as monsters by the public and ostracized by others who don’t know us. I’ve been fortunate, however, I do not want to be known as one of the lucky ones. I want to see changes and tiers with limited time frames being registered.
What needs to be noted as well is the unfairness of prosecuting those who fit this criteria. I do keep a low profile and because of this, people in different capacities of law enforcement have said things to me not knowing I am a registrant.
One case:: Yet another Sheriff Deputy was found to be having sex with a minor. His wife divorced him and he was just transferred to another department. The reason I was told was that he just got too involved in his line of work.
There is a double standard on who gets registered and who doesn’t. This is one of the many reasons we no longer hear and/or read about those who carry a badge being arrested and charged.