Missouri has about 19,300 people listed on its sex offender registry. That figure is expected to decline soon because of a law taking effect this month. St. Charles Republican State Rep. Kurt Bahr, who sponsored the provisions included in a Senate bill, tells Missourinet the changes will show three levels of sex offenders, instead of one, depending on the severity of the crime committed. “My goal wasn’t to recreate the wheel. It was simply to make sure that we are fully compliant with the federal law that is fully established…
Read MoreMonth: August 2018
Public Comment — Registering College Students as Sex Offenders
[medium.com m- 8/16/18] [posted by John DavisJohn Davis, a retired public official and international lawyer and writes on current gender issues] From Perses institute Washington, D.C. Public Comment — Registering College Students as Sex Offenders Re: 83 Fed. Reg. 37,526 (August 1, 2018) 30 Day Notice of Action (copy attached) Email Dispatch: Samantha.Opong@usdoj.gov; OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov Dear Samantha Opong: The Perses Institute is a global NGO that fosters gender balance and equality in institutions worldwide. We respectfully submit comment on the agency’s proposed collection of information on Campus adjudications of sexual misconduct, and, any…
Read MoreACSOL Emotional Support Group Meeting in L.A. on Saturday, August 25
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones. They are usually held the fourth Saturday of each month, so this year they are planned for: Aug 25, Sep 22, Oct 27, Nov 24, Dec 22 The next meeting is Saturday, August 25, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. The meeting, which is based upon 12 Step principles, will provide registrants and…
Read MoreRegistration Influenced by Racial Bias, Ohio Study Claims
The classification of sex offenders based on the risks they pose to the community following their release from prison is subject to racial bias, according to a study published in the Criminal Justice Policy Review. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Everyday People Expungement Fair
[www.lareentry.org] If you have past criminal convictions of any kind and you want to find out if you can remove it or you need help getting it removed, reduced, or expunged then register for this free expungement clinic. Saturday, September 8th 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Holy Trinity AME Church 200 E. 68th Street, Long Beach, CA 90805 Attorneys and paralegals from the Los Angeles County Public Defenders Office will be onsite providing free post-conviction relief. This event will be in place of our regularly scheduled monthly record changing clinic.…
Read MoreOn America’s Civil Death Penalty: The Sexual Offense Registry
Oscar Wilde, writing from his cell in the Reading Gaol where he was imprisoned for homosexuality at the end of the nineteenth century, observed that “society reserves for itself the right to inflict appalling punishments on the individual, but it also has the supreme vice of shallowness, and fails to realise what it has done. When the man’s punishment is over, it leaves him to himself; that is to say, it abandons him at the very moment when its highest duty towards him begins.” In America, few aspects of law…
Read MoreWI: 10 things new data shows about sex offenses in central Wisconsin
Most victims of sex crimes in Wisconsin are teenagers. And most sex offenders are teens under 18, too. That’s according to recently released data from the Wisconsin Department of Justice on criminal sex offenses, broken down by county. The figures provide a detailed look into the frequency and nature of these crimes in our communities, as reported by local law enforcement. It’s important to remember, however, that not all sex crimes are reflected in these offenses — police crime statistics don’t represent all crime. Full Article
Read MoreElections 101: Don’t Use Same Address as a Registered Sex Offender’s
[redstate.com – 8/10/18] I’m not an expert on how to run electoral campaigns, however, in some areas, it is simply common sense to take prudent measures before announcing to run for any public office. I’m afraid in this case, common sense has left a political candidate’s brain when he announced his candidacy for a local public office. Like putting down a home address that is same as a registered sex offender’s. Chris Haulmark, a Democrat, is running for a Kansas State House seat in District 15. He ran unopposed and…
Read MoreEngland: York trainspotter wrongly branded sex offender on Facebook
[bbc.com – 8/10/18] A woman who branded a trainspotter as a sex offender in a Facebook post is being investigated by police. The man, who has learning disabilities, was seen using binoculars in bushes near York railway station on Tuesday. The woman reported him to police who established he was a keen trainspotter. Police said she later uploaded a picture of the man on to Facebook and “wrongly branded him a sex offender”. They have launched a malicious communication investigation. Yorkshire breaking news: Nine-year-old victim of seaside rock fall named;…
Read MoreAK: Court – Some sex offenders don’t have to register
In a decision that combined two cases pending before the court, justices said a strict reading of the 1994 Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act does not grant the Alaska Department of Public Safety leeway when determining whether an out-of-state sex crime matches an illegal act under state law. Until the decision, it was up to DPS to determine whether someone convicted of a sex crime outside Alaska would be required to enter their names into Alaska’s sex offender database if they moved here. Now, it’s not clear what standards will…
Read MoreAustralia: _____loses bid to halt deportation over criminal convictions
[smh.com.au – 8/7/18] A middle-aged man who has lived in Australia for 50 years has lost a court bid to halt his deportation after his visa was cancelled on character grounds. ______, 57, migrated to Australia from the United Kingdom when he was seven, and until recently lived at Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast where he worked as a tradesman. Read more
Read MoreNY: Couple raises concerns about 5 sex offenders living in nearby home
[news12.com – 8/4/18] SHIRLEY – A Shirley couple says five sex offenders are living together in their community nearly 80 feet from their home. Jennifer and Thomas Gritz, who have lived in their home for the past 14 years, say they no longer allow their 10-year-old son to play outside. “I want my son to go outside and be a kid – play in the backyard, ride his bike up and down the street. He doesn’t even do that unless one of us is with him,” says Jennifer Gritz. Laura…
Read MoreNJ: Court Stops Retroactive Application of Lifetime Registration Law
An appellate court in New Jersey has ruled that the state government cannot retroactively apply a new law that requires life-time registration to registrants who had the possibility of relief from that registration at the time they pled guity. According to the Court, the restroactive application of the new law would be “manifestly unfair” to registrants. “Although the New Jersey court based its decision on the intent of the state legislature and not on the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution, it reached the right decision when it…
Read MoreWA: Judges Denies Lakewood’s Request To Stop Sex Offender Relocation
[patch.com – 8/6/18] LAKEWOOD, WA – A Pierce County judge has denied Lakewood’s request to stop the transfer of three sex offenders from McNeil Island to a private residential adult treatment house in the city. On Friday, Lakewood officials asked Pierce County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin to stop the transfer. Although Martin denied that request, the city’s is still engaged in a lawsuit against the state to stop the transfer of sex offenders from facilities like Western State into residential treatment facilities. Read more about this important precedent
Read MoreNC: Court Determines GPS Tracking Devices Unconstitutional
The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the state government’s requirement that registrants wear a GPS tracking device is an unreasonable search which violates the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Court’s decision is based upon the state government’s failure to prove that GPS tracking is “effective to serve the State’s interest in protecting the public against sex offenders.” “This is a courageous and wise decision,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Our hope is that courts throughout the nation will choose to follow it.” In its…
Read MoreChina: College pitcher with sex-offender past spurned in China, too
[nypost.com – 8/7/18] Former star collegiate pitcher Luke Heimlich’s status as a sex offender has once again derailed his professional baseball aspirations. The former Oregon State ace had agreed to sign with the Lamigo Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League on Monday night. But on Tuesday, the league declined to approve the contract, as the CPBL has a no-tolerance policy for players with criminal records. Read more
Read MoreMA: Court Recognizes Harm to Registrants, Rules in Their Favor
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council, the state’s supreme court, has ruled in favor of registrants who were trying either to terminate their duty to register or to change the tier level on which they were situated. In doing so, the Court recognized that there are significant challenges facing registrants including stigma and legal restrictions that make it more difficult to find stable housing or employment. The Court also recognized that the effects of registration are “continuing, intrusive, and humiliating” and could lead to threats of physical harm. Further, the Court…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Register Today as a Los Angeles County Poll Worker
[ACSOL] The Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters has adopted a policy that prohibits anyone convicted of a sex offense from working as a poll worker. This policy defies logic and violates both state law as well as the federal constitution. According to state law, anyone eligible to vote is eligible to serve as a poll worker and will be paid to do so. Most counties abide by that law by allowing individuals convicted of a sex offense from serving as a poll worker during an election. With the importance…
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