Submitted by “Robert” – Like most of us registrants here, I come here daily and a select few other websites in the country for my daily news and updates.
Yesterday, Florida Action Committee posted (November 10, 2016): Must Watch: Patty Wetterling Speaks at Birchwood City Council Meeting with the comment “It’s incredible to hear Patty Wetterling speak with such tremendous insight and empathy for human-kind (victims and offenders).”
This is an incredible video clip because there is so much going on here. As noted by FAC, Patty Wetterling is an exceptional human being. She is an exceptional American citizen. And her knowledge and understanding of sexual conduct and laws in this country are second to none. We all know about the Wetterling’s story of their son Jacob. This women’s decades-long quest for answers for her son’s death has led her on a journey where she has not been blurred from seeing the truth.
There are so many things playing out in this amateur video that you must have good background of several issues to understand what you are seeing here. This is no description with the video. This appears to be a monthly town meeting in a small rural town of 870 people located 125 miles from Paynesville, Minnesota where Jacob Wetterling was murdered on October 22, 1989. The Wetterlings have three other children. This is small town, rural USA.
What appears to be playing out here is the State of Minnesota had released one of their MSOP confinees into this small rural town of 870 residents with little notice. The event seemed to have set off moral panic in the community and the guy was violated and returned to MSOP. Patty was present at the town meeting on behalf of the Wetterling Foundation to help mediate the crisis for this small town.
Also present at this meeting was the relative of the confinee who seems to have had a traumatic encounter with the community in the short time her relative lived with her.
Patty Wetterling is amazing here because she has immersed herself into law enforcement as well as victim/ offender management since her son’s death. She has a complete understanding of the bad child safety laws and their effect as well the actual truth of sex crimes and recidivism rates. The effect of many years of bad laws, fear mongering and false beliefs all playing out right here in this small town.
In this video, she even shares a story of a sex offender staying her and her husband for a few months where she experienced first hand the effects of the registry. Just think about that for a minute……what this women has been through, that she has three other children…..how brave and intelligent she is to be able to reason herself through her emotions and see the world from the registrant’s perspective.
Think about how different she is than John Walsh, Mark Lunsford, the Kanka family, Representative Chris Smith and the majority of our lawmakers.
Just imagine how powerful this women could be for a voice of reason if she were able to stand before Congress to testify on reforming America’s sex offender laws……….
To Janice and moderator: I hope you’ll post the one hour presentation of Patty Wetterling. It’s over at Florida Action Committee site. For example, one of the big influences on Patty was when she took into her home a family friend knowing he was a registered sex offender….Your Fearless group especially needs to see it. Hank, Nebraskans Unafraid.
Thank you, Robert. As always, nice to listen to someone who is not crazy. M T W T we can agonize over what the crazies are doing. On Fridays and the weekends let’s have something that restores our hope.
Thank you, Robert. It is great to read about people supportive of us RCs trying to live responsible lives.
Yes it is nice to see someone with the courage Patty Lettering possesses, demonstrates, and symbolizes what the majority of Americans do as well. Since there are nearly a million or so RCs in this country and the vast majority are tolerated and allowed to move on with some form of life. We have all gone through the same thing by accepting the faults of others, since many of us and other Americans have been abused by people and yet we tolerate and continue to accept them.
After participating in this site I have come to realize we are not solely the victims of those affected directly by sex offenses. We seem to be fair game to anyone who has been a past offender, been the victim of a failed family, failed relationships, failed lives, political ambitions, etc. And with the scrotus blessing we are now the only class of people that are legally allowed to be discriminated against, even to the point of exporting our vulnerability to the entire world.
It’s odd, because whenever I go an do my personal reporting I get treated with respect. The last time a female detective constantly referred to me with my first name that took by surprise because I try to put up an angry front, because I have to go to the same place I was originally arrested and charged with my offense at. Most of them consider registration a form of probation and really wish they didn’t have to deal with it. My state has a tiered system.
I’m not even sure how they justify it because not only are you incarcerated, but you also receive mandatory supervised release. Supervised release is imposed to insure your reintegration into society even after a very short term of imprisonment, so if youroing to be required to register anyways what’s the point of supervised release?. In addition, in this state violence can mean simply touching someone, not forcible compulsion, coercion, or threats or actual physical violence. So this is one example of how a tiered system can and does result in false fear and misapplication of leveling. The point is, yea, some people will get off a registry but others will have little avenue for redress and will be stuck out in the ocean all alone. I don’t even see the point in being removed when any state can put you back on one should you decide to move there? So to me the whole basis for arguing for a tiered system is meaningless, and kind of being slowly strangled rather than just being hung.
Now there seem to be persons in this site who seem to be rather critical and selective about what I post, and all I can say is if you don’t agree with me, please respond with your own ideas rather than using mine. I really appreciate original thoughts rather than tit for tat reflection. It’s so cheap, and you know who you are.
In any case, as I’ve said, when there are enough of us and our family members and friends have had enough, this nonsense will end, cause as we all know, nothing lasts forever. I am somewhat surprised by the total absence of the NAACPs input and the ACLUs limited help. But as I’ve said, we are being victimized across the board by anyone with emotional baggage. Just my point of view. Please feel free to add your thoughts, but only your thoughts, don’t readdress mine.