[12news.com – original: 5/16/18, updated 5/24/18] PHOENIX – A loophole in Arizona law allows sex offenders to live near schools, in some cases just feet away from campus. Per state law, it’s only illegal for a sex offender to live within 1,000 feet of a school if that person has been convicted of a dangerous crime against children. According to the state sex offender registry, one sex offender in Mesa lives steps away from two schools, Ishikawa Elementary School and Stapley Junior High. The Maricopa County Adult Probation says his…
Read MoreYear: 2018
ID: Judge Rejects Idaho Sex Offender Registration Lawsuit
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s sex offender registration laws, but the 134 anonymous sex offenders who brought the lawsuit have the option to refile the case if they can show the current laws caused them actual harm. Full Article
Read MoreSC: Charleston sheriff unplugs mugshot websites
postandcourier.com – 5/26/18] Once upon a time, we named and shamed by putting the accused in stocks on the town square. Now we put them on the internet. I am omitting the names because it is impossible to sort the innocent from the guilty. “South Carolina Hottie Bookings,” on a website called Arrests.org, isn’t troubled by such details. On this one website, there are mugshots of 1,000 women arrested in South Carolina over the past two years, many on nothing-burger charges. Mind you, not one of them was convicted of…
Read MoreFL: Safety versus second chance: A home for sexual offenders has neighbors up in arms
[tallahassee.com – 5/26/18] Nestled in a pocket of land surrounded by the I-10 overpass and Mission Road sits the Moon Lane neighborhood. A dirt road that runs along the interstate wall leads to several mobile homes hidden behind a barricade of drooping trees and unkempt foliage. Cornered off and relatively quiet, homes are scattered around the unpaved road with no real boundaries. But, residents of the area are beginning to draw a line in the sand. Neighbors on Moon Lane are fighting to remove a rehabilitation home for sexual offenders…
Read MoreGA: Sex offender registry problems cost the state federal funds
Shortcomings in Georgia’s sex offender registration program are going to cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant money, according to a letter the U.S. Department of Justice sent to the governor. Full Article
Read MoreIn a move once reserved for Nazis, sex offender from Grand Prairie loses citizenship and gets deported
A Grand Prairie immigrant was stripped of his U.S. citizenship and deported to Nigeria after a felony conviction for indecency with a minor this week. Full Article
Read MorePA: Montgomery County lawmaker wants only sex offenders on state sex offender registry
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf plans to introduce a bill that would keep individuals convicted of crimes where there is no sexual motivation from ended up on the states sex offender registry. The lawmaker cited data that shows individuals with no sex crime accusations are being labeled as sex offenders.Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Science and Law Evolve Together, Sex Offender Registry Case Reminds Us
This is how law and social science are meant to intersect. The case reminds us that, as our knowledge of human behavior evolves, our approach to legal issues will evolve as well. Full Article Decision
Read MoreWV: West Virginia’s Fake News Regarding Sex Offenders
[blog.womenagainstregistry.org – 5/24/18] I thought it started out as a good news article from The Exponent Telegram in West Virginia. A judge was reading sex offender rules to a defendant at a sentencing hearing. The author of the article correctly noted that defendants at a sentencing hearing are focused on “sentencing” and probably not absorbing much of the information the judge is providing them regarding the requirements surrounding life on the registry. I had to agree that newcomers to the registry should be informed of what is expected of them,…
Read MoreConvicted of Violating a Law that Does Not Exist
[cato.org – 5/24/18] Herman Gundy stands convicted of violating a law that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t exist. You may recall from high school civics that the Constitution separates the powers of the federal government among three coordinate branches. You may also recall from “Schoolhouse Rock” that a bill becomes a law after it’s passed by the two houses of the legislative branch and signed by the president. Unfortunately for Gundy, things are no longer so straightforward. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) set up a national…
Read MoreFL: Police Now Shuffling Tent City Sex Offenders Around Miami-Dade
[miaminewtimes.com – 5/24/18] In 2009, California artist Scott Gairdner made the “Sex Offender Shuffle,” a viral video parodying Miami-Dade’s treatment of sex offenders. With a catchy beat and ’80s-style cinematography, the four-minute spoof of the 1985 Chicago Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle” mocked the way sex offenders are shuffled from one location to another under the guise of public safety. Nine years later, the sex offender shuffle is playing out in real life in Miami-Dade. After being forced to leave a longtime encampment near Hialeah, a group of homeless sex offenders…
Read MorePost-Prison Purgatory
[theinvestigativefund.org – 5/23/18] At Coalinga State Hospital, located in a desolate, dusty part of California’s Central Valley, 200 miles north of Los Angeles, 37-year-old Cory Hoch stands out. He’s well liked by other patients, and his dry sense of humor and lively intelligence come across almost immediately. His feathered earring and neon-green sneakers infuse some color into the surroundings, while his khaki scrubs identify him as a patient. Since the age of 19, Hoch has lived most of his life in some form of cage. He is one of the…
Read MoreRegistry Matters Episode 25 – Why GPS monitoring should be 1 of the 7 deadly sins
[narsol.org – 5/22/18] Why GPS monitoring should be 1 of the 7 deadly sins A malfunction in the charging could land you in jail. No access to power? Could land you in jail. Poor cell signal? Could result in being detained while proof is obtained. You could spend a week or more in jail for an unspecified violation. Spending time in jail could lose you your job which can lead to loss of housing. The GPS.gov website cites a 16’ radius of accuracy in the best conditions. Read more and…
Read MoreWhat People Get Wrong About ‘Political Will’
[governing.com – May 2018] At a recent Governing roundtable, I heard once again that the failure to act on a serious public problem was due to a lack of “political will.” Hearing this from people who are wise and good public officials always leaves me a little annoyed. I agree with David Roberts of Vox, who wrote, “To me, it has always sounded like the political equivalent of the Force in the Star Wars movies. It explains everything and nothing.” When you hear a public official or pundit say that…
Read MoreA Flurry of Bills Followed Larry Nassar’s Conviction. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.
[injusticetoday.com – 5/24/18] The history of child sex abuse legislation in the United States follows a well-worn pattern: a chilling incident rouses public anger and fear, to which lawmakers respond with expansive, emotionally charged legislative action. The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act, the first law to establish federal guidelines requiring states to implement sex offender registries, was named after an 11-year-old Minnesotan who was kidnapped and murdered by a suspected pedophile. Megan’s Law, mandating public notification about registered sex offenders when deemed necessary, was introduced directly in response to the brutal…
Read MoreNV: Giunchigliani amendment exempted teachers from bill expanding sex offender reporting laws
[rgj.com – 5/23/18] Democratic governor hopeful Chris Giunchigliani, a former teacher and state lawmaker, helped hollow out a proposed law that would’ve required teachers who have sex with an underage student to register as sex offenders. Then-Assemblywoman Giunchigliani — an ex-teachers union boss who in January won an endorsement from the Nevada State Education Association — waited until the second-to-last day of the 2005 legislative session to submit an amendment that scuttled a proposed expansion of sex offender reporting laws. Her last-minute revision came less than two weeks after the…
Read MoreMO: Missouri Supreme Court disciplines prosecutor who criticized letter writers in the press
[missourinet.com – 5/23/18] The Missouri Supreme Court has sided with a disciplinary counsel in deciding that Platt County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd violated rules of professional responsibility. Missouri Supreme Court – Image courtesy of Missouri Courts Zahnd publicly criticized letter writers who expressed support for a man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting one of his daughters. In doing so, the high judges determined that Zahnd engaged in prejudicial conduct meant to embarrass the letter writers and fined him $750. The state Disciplinary Counsel had asked for stiffer penalties, including a…
Read MoreMI: Michigan lawmakers advance legislation on mandated reporters
[mytwintiers.com 5/23/18] LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Sports coaches, the types of paid employees who allegedly learned Larry Nassar was molesting gymnasts and other athletes before the sexual abuse scandal broke, would still not be required to report such suspected abuse to the authorities under a watered-down proposal to expand Michigan’s mandatory reporting law. A state House committee on Wednesday passed a bill that would add physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and – in a reversal from a day earlier – athletic trainers to the list of mandatory reporters. But it…
Read More