The boy’s lawyers argued that the fact that registration as a sex offender was mandatory constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The court’s majority opinion written by Chief Justice Mark Cady found that registration for juvenile sex offenders is punishment, but is not cruel and unusual. Article – towards the bottom Decision
Read MoreYear: 2018
CO: Judge tells man arrested in Aspen that sex offender registry is not punishment
A California man did not suffer cruel and unusual punishment or lack of due process after Aspen police charged him a year ago with failing to register as a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreEmotional Support Group Meeting – June 23, Los Angeles
ACSOL will host an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday June 23, 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 their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges.
Read MoreVA: Police: Scammers targeting elderly, sex offenders by demanding money with person info
[wset.com – 6/21/18] LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Virginia State Police said they have been alerted to an alarming increase in phone scams targeting seniors and convicted sex offenders. Police said scammers are threatening people into paying hundreds of dollars in gift cards. One popular scam making the rounds across the state is where the caller tells the person, most of the time an elderly person, on the phone that a relative has been arrested and incarcerated so they need money in order to be released from jail. Police said the…
Read MoreSex offenders need not apply
[narsol.org – 6/22/18] By Mike W . . . At our core we cherish opportunity and equality as key American values. They define us. They make us who we are. Any obstacle that inhibits opportunity and equality is not only a major barrier; it is discrimination when it limits people unnecessarily. When discrimination is a barrier to opportunity, we have a responsibility to eliminate it. We must not tolerate discrimination in any form. One of these barriers to opportunity and equality is the sex offender registry. The registry is a…
Read MoreOH: Reagan Tokes Act passes Ohio House
[10tv.com – 6/21/18] A bill named after murdered Ohio State student Reagan Tokes cleared a major legislative hurdle. The Ohio House version of the Reagan Tokes Act was passed 83-3 during a floor vote Wednesday afternoon. “This is huge day, certainly thrilled that this received such bi-partisan support,” Rep. Kristin Boggs, D – District 18 one of the primary sponsors of the bill. … House Bill 365 would dramatically change how violent felons are sentenced to prison and how they are watched once they are released. The legislation followed a…
Read MoreNY: Ortt criticizes Cuomo’s parolee voting plan – does not bar sex offenders from entering schools to vote
[niagara-gazette.com – 6/20/18] The restoration of voting rights for more than 24,000 paroled felons has triggered concerns that dangerous sex offenders will be entering schools to cast their ballots on election day. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat seeking a third term this year, issued an executive order in April that made parolees eligible for conditional pardons for the intention of allowing them to participate in elections. By using his executive powers, the governor was able to bypass the Legislature. State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, argued Wednesday that Cuomo’s move…
Read MoreCA: California moving to “evidenced based” policies for Sex Offenders
[UPDATED LINKS 6/23/18] [floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/21/18] California, which has the largest sex offender registry in the US, has been taking steps in the right direction over the past couple of years. The State recently migrated towards a “tiered” system that would allow some registrants (those deemed “lower” risk to re-offend) to be removed from the registry eventually. While the plan wasn’t perfect, because it tiered people based on offenses rather than actual risk, California is now seeking to enact a new bill to help them introduce empirical evidence into their…
Read MoreFL: Face Scans for International Travelers at Florida Airport
[voanews.com – 6/21/18] ORLANDO, FLA. — Florida’s busiest airport is becoming the first in the nation to require a face scan of passengers on all arriving and departing international flights, including U.S. citizens, according to officials there. The expected announcement Thursday at Orlando International Airport alarms some privacy advocates who say there are no formal rules in place for handling data gleaned from the scans, nor formal guidelines on what should happen if a passenger is wrongly prevented from boarding. Airports in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New…
Read MoreVictims’ advocate wants unlimited Facebook access — does that apply to all?
[narsol.org 6/21/18] By Sandy . . . I read with interest “Facebook block riles advocates of sex crime survivors.” Racheal Gonzales of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has posited an interesting position: Governmental officials and representatives should not be able to block constituents who disagree with them on their Facebook pages because it prohibits the critics’ ability to make their positions known and exercise their right to free speech. Emboldened by a ruling that said our president could not do that, Ms. Gonzales says she wants this policy extended to all. NARSOL…
Read MoreME: Maine’s Parents of Murdered Children chapter will honor registered sex offender
[newscentermaine.com – 6/20/18] BANGOR (NEWS CENTER Maine) — In 2006, William Elliot was sought out and shot because he was a registered sex offender. On Sunday, he will be honored by the Maine chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. His mother, Shirley Turner, says he was on this list because he had consensual sex with an underage girlfriend. “But he was 19 when he got involved with a young girl and ended up on the Maine sex offender registry.” She said. Turner says she’s surprised that Elliot will be honored…
Read MoreDE: Lawmakers eye local residency restrictions on sex offenders
[washingtonpost.com – 6/21/18] DOVER, Del. — The state House is poised to vote on a bill preventing municipalities from establishing housing restrictions for sex offenders that are stricter than what state law requires. State law prohibits sex offenders from residing or loitering within 500 feet of school property. The bill to be considered Thursday would restrict the ability of municipalities to impose broader residency and proximity restrictions. Supporters of the measure say the Department of Correction sometimes has difficulty tracking sex offenders released from prison because overly restrictive local ordinances…
Read MoreHI: Cause of Action for Shaming Sex Therapy May Not Accrue Until after Release from Prison
[prisonlegalnews.org 6/7/18] On August 29, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held “it may be reasonable for an incarcerated individual who is told she must resurface past sexual trauma to overcome them to rely on these assurances, and to view associated feelings of emotional distress as normal, contractive responses incidental to the healing process.” In its ruling, the appellate court found it was error to deny a request to amend a complaint to allege the plaintiff was not aware she had been “injured by the therapy program until sometime…
Read MoreCA: Senate Public Safety to Consider Residency Restrictions Bill on June 26
The Senate Public Safety Committee will consider Assembly Bill 514 during a hearing on June 26. If passed, the bill would prohibit some people convicted of a sex offense involving a minor age from living within 1,000 feet from a day care center or a family day care home. The bill is the result of significant changes to a previous bill focused on medical waste that was introduced by Assemblyman Rudy Salas, a Democrat from Bakersfield. “This bill would not achieve its stated purpose of increasing public safety,” stated ACSOL…
Read MoreNC: They never asked for $500,000 — but they got it. N.C. spending gets little scrutiny
North Carolina’s new budget includes $500,000 in taxpayer money to keep better track of sex offenders by cataloging where they work, what cars they drive — even where they are known to travel. But the state agency that oversees the current tracking system never asked for the money. And the lobbying group for the state’s sheriffs learned about the plan only shortly before the budget was approved. Sheriffs are tasked with monitoring offenders. Full Article
Read MoreMA: Psychologist said serial rapist was not dangerous
[eagletribune.com – 6/13/18] A psychologist who has spoken on behalf of child rapist Wayne Chapman was also hired as an expert in a 2012 case involving the potential release of another sex offender. Dr. Joseph Plaud said he could not diagnose Lucas Ortiz — who had been dubbed a serial rapist and imprisoned for sexually assaulting numerous boys — with any sexual or mental disorders, according to a court decision. He said Ortiz showed no “deviant arousal” in an exam designed to measure sexual response to audio and visual stimuli.…
Read MoreDeadly collateral consequences of the “non-punitive” sex offender registry
[narsol.org 6/18/18] By Michael M . . . It is easy for some people to feel that no matter how oppressive the hardships imposed upon former sex offenders may be, they probably deserved it. The most common refrain we see posted by unsympathetic social media commentators typically contains some variation of, “He (or she) should have thought of that before they committed their crimes!” While such a response may be emotionally satisfying for the person who makes such a statement, the unspoken assumption is that any punishment, no matter how…
Read MoreUK: The Experiment with Lie Detection Should Be Ended
[andybalmer.wordpress.com – 9/24/16] The polygraph machine – or ‘lie detector’ – has long been tied-up with sex and sexuality, from the use of the device to out homosexuals during McCarthyist witch-hunts to the recent use of polygraphs to monitor convicted sex offenders. Reports of the success of this programme warrant scepticism and careful analysis, not least because the machine doesn’t detect lies, but also because the history of polygraphy tells us that it is a slippery slope from using it in one area to its spread into all realms of…
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