[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] As part of the International Megan’s Law, the US Marshals Service has been notifying receiving countries when a registrant is traveling. You can imagine how the immigration officials in a country you are traveling to will react when they receive a warning from the US Marshals that you are arriving. Travelers have been intercepted upon arrival, interrogated and turned back on the next flight. In most cases, they are denied entry, unable to attend to business, visit family, attend a loved one’s wedding ceremony or simply see the…
Read MoreMonth: April 2018
FL: At schools, sexual predator monitoring should start inside the classroom
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] Within the past three weeks two teachers from Lake Howell High School were arrested, as usual this was picked up in the news cycle. What stands out to me is how the news reports these arrests, it is reported as just a matter of fact simply to state that it happened. Every October almost every news station has a segment on Halloween and how parents must check the SOR to make sure their kids are safe during trick or treating. Lets put this in perspective for a moment,…
Read MoreME: Maine Towns Allowed To Ban Sex Offenders From Parks, Fields
[mainepublic.org 4/23/18] AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine towns will be able to ban sex offenders from any state or municipal park, athletic field or recreational facility serving children. A new law allows municipalities to prohibit sex offenders from coming within 750 feet of such property. Officials in Madawaska had argued that state law only allowed municipalities to ban such individuals who come near property leased to nonprofits. Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed Democratic Rep. Roland Martin’s bill into law on April 18, and it will take effect three months after lawmakers…
Read MoreMO: Missouri’s awful choice
[handbasketnotes.blogspot.com 4/23/18] This is a terrible story about terrible legislation in Missouri, terrible legislation that offers hope to some. Almost all sex offenders in Missouri are on a state registry for a lifetime, whether they made a one-time mistake, or made repeated or extreme offenses. Rep. Kurt Bahr, R-St. Charles, wants to make it possible for certain people to petition to remove their name from the list and for the registry to be more transparent for the public. A Senate committee heard a bill that already has passed the House…
Read MoreSecond Women Against Registry National Conference is August 17-19, 2018
[womenagainstregistry.org] Read the full description [note: Janice is speaking!] Theme: Empowerment & Momentum ~ A March to Victory Announcing The 2nd Women Against Registry National Conference St. Louis Missouri (Maryland Heights area) August 17, 18, & 19 Early Registration Open Now April 1 – May 31…………….…..………$125 After June 1………………..……….……$150 A Great Opportunity to Network, Learn, & be Inspired DON’T MISS IT! Fri. August 17, 2018; 1:00-5:00 PM Sat. August 18, 2018; 8:00-5:00 PM Sun. August 19, 2018; 8:00-12:00 PM The schedule for the 2018 Conference is in the planning stages…
Read MoreCA: Senate Public Safety Committee Stops Two Bills
During a hearing today, the Senate Public Safety Committee stopped two bills, SB 976 and SB 1143, that would have harmed registrants as well as their families. The first of those bills (SB 976) would have expanded the definition of “violent felony” to include all felony sex offenses. That change could have resulted in longer prison sentences as well as no consideration for early parole. The second of those bills (SB 1143) would have required registrants convicted of an offense involving a minor to disclose their status as a registrant…
Read MoreWith A.I. and Criminal Justice, the Devil Is in the Data
[aclu.org 4/9/18] If we have learned anything in the last decade about our criminal justice system, it is how astonishingly dysfunctional it is. Extensive investigations have revealed persistent racial disparities at every stage, a different kind of justice for the haves and the have nots, and a system that neither rehabilitates individuals nor ensures public safety. In short, the system is in crisis. Rather than scrapping everything and starting anew, many criminal justice stakeholders have turned to technology to repair the breach through “risk assessment tools.” Also labeled artificial intelligence,…
Read MoreFacts, statistics and links regarding sexual offending
[narsol.org] The palm card is a collection of the most salient facts regarding sexual offending, quickly available for reference or for distribution. Since space is at a premium, citation references are omitted with one citation being given that will point here. Read the statistics
Read MoreMN: Minnesota Senate passes bill to tighten sex offender, mental health commitment rules
[startribune.com 4/23/18] A proposal that would make it more difficult to release convicted sex offenders and people with mental illness is gaining new momentum at the Minnesota Capitol, as the state faces growing legal pressure to free some patients from its embattled sex offender program. The proposal comes in direct response to a court decision earlier this year that permitted the full discharge of a 51-year-old sex offender, Kirk A. Fugelseth, who has admitted to molesting more than 30 boys and girls and who was confined to the Minnesota Sex…
Read MoreSex Offender Laws are Grounded in Cruelty, NOT Reality (A Response to the Oklahoman OpEd)
[once-fallen.blogspot.com 4/23/18] Back on April 10th, The Oklahoman published a biased pro-registry Op-Ed entitled “Sex Offender Laws Grounded in Reality, not Cruelty.” I wrote and submitted a rebuttal piece but they’re too cowardly to publish the truth. Thus, I thought I’d share the OpEd here: Sex Offender Laws are Grounded in Cruelty, NOT Reality By Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com, Anti-Registry Activist In response to a similarly titled Op-Ed, I wish to counter that numerous CO registry laws were properly struck down as unconstitutional in a US District Court and…
Read MoreIndia Just Approved Death Penalty For Child Rapists
[factswt.com 4/22/18] According to an announcement from the government of India, the death penalty will soon be imposed upon those convicted of raping a child who is under 12 years of age. An ordinance was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the cabinet. That ordinance will allow the death penalty in order to combat a rise in crime—including sexual violence crimes. According to Indian media, the ordinance has been sent to the President. While there are a number of crimes punishable by death in India, executions are…
Read MoreCollateral Banishment of Spouses and Children
[sosen.org 4/23/18] I don’t read the comments on articles about “sex offenders” anymore. Most of the time anyway. But occasionally, I can’t help it and I find myself scrolling to the bottom to see if there are comments. I almost always regret reading them. Recently I read through the comments on a Facebook post of a local news channel. The comments ranged from suggesting we save the tax payers money and put the accused out of his misery, wishing for him to be raped and beaten, and one particular comment…
Read MoreCA: The Catalyst: Thelton Henderson
[themarshallproject.org 4/23/18] s the judge climbed the watchtower stairs in Pelican Bay prison, he heard muffled gunshots below. When he reached the top, he looked into the prison yard and saw bodies lying in the dirt. One was his law clerk, spreadeagled on the ground in his suit, alongside dozens of inmates. Guards stood over them, guns aimed. “My clerk was thinking he’s gonna die and this is his last day on earth,” Judge Thelton Henderson recalled. What appeared to be the taming of a riot was actually an audacious…
Read MoreMA: From the Capitol: Democrats reject common sense fixes
[journalstandard.com 4/20/18] This last week in Springfield has me thinking about common sense more and more. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have run roughshod over what I believe are common sense solutions. It certainly seems that common sense isn’t so common, and I began to wonder how the term originated. … The Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Subcommittee voted down House Bill 4318. After a rapist gets out of prison they can move right next door to their victim. You read that correctly. There are no living restrictions for…
Read MoreFederal Courts Examining Constitutionality of Sex Offender Registries
[o4anews.com 4/20/18] Back before the judicial system became a sprawling monster of inefficiency and inequity, justice was served in America. The punishment fit the crime, and once you got out of prison, ALL of your rights were returned, including gun ownership and voting rights. Not so much in America today. In the “kinder, gentler” America as GHW Bush would have called it, sentences do not match the crimes, and convicted felons are released according to their sentences, but there’s a catch. If you’re a sex offender, your sentence doesn’t end…
Read MoreCA: Dangerous flaws in Proposition 57 could result in early release of sex offenders
Thanks to Proposition 57, hundreds of sex offenders could be released into our communities through an early parole program. As strong advocates for public safety and most importantly as mothers to our respective families, the prospect of having sexual predators leaving prison early is, to say the least, stomach churning. Full Article
Read MoreThis Case Could Help Prevent Congress From Outsourcing Its Power
[heritage.org 3/8/18] Gundy v. United States could result in a ruling that would challenge Congress’ tendency to delegate lawmaking authority to executive offices. Key takeaways: SORNA established a comprehensive system of registering sex offenders and requires offenders to register in the jurisdiction where they live, work, or go to school. In practice, however, Congress delegates quite a bit of authority to executive branch officials and administrative agencies. When Justice Neil Gorsuch was on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he dissented from the court’s denial of an en banc…
Read MoreNY: Prosecutors Aren’t Just Enforcing the Law — They’re Making It
[injusticetoday.com 4/20/18] Just a few months ago, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo seemed sure that criminal justice reform was imminent. During his annual State of the State address in January, he called for a legislative package that would limit civil asset forfeiture, reform discovery, reduce trial delays, and most notably, significantly reduce the use of cash bail. “For far too long, our antiquated criminal justice system has created a two-tier system where outcomes depend purely on economic status — undermining the bedrock principle that one is innocent until proven guilty,” Cuomo said.…
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