[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 MoreYear: 2018
Facts, 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.…
Read MoreCA: Statewide crime initiative gains local support
[benitolink.com 3/28/18] A statewide initiative to change portions of three crime-related laws is picking up steam in the local region. The Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018 would change parts of Proposition 47, Proposition 57, and Assembly Bill 109 to reclassify certain “nonviolent” crimes as “violent” to prevent the early release of inmates convicted of crimes such as assault on a peace officer, rape of an unconscious person or by intoxication, and human trafficking of a child. A complete list of the purported “nonviolent” crimes can be…
Read MoreIndia: India to join 8 countries having sex offenders database
India will join a club of eight countries with a sexual offender database to monitor and track those convicted of such crimes, amidst growing criticism against it in the US, where it is pursued aggressively. Full Article
Read MoreLA: Two Louisiana elementary school students arrested for child porn over nude Snapchats
[fox59.com 4/20/18] SLIDELL, La. – Police arrested two Louisiana elementary school students after they allegedly distributed nude photos to classmates using a social media app. The Bonne Ecole Elementary students, a girl and a boy, were booked on charges of distribution of child pornography, according to the Slidell Police Department. The female student allegedly used Snapchat to send nude pictures of herself to the male student, who allegedly sent them to other classmates. Read more
Read MoreBook: The Sex Offender Housing Dilemma: Community Activism, Safety, and Social Justice
by Monica Williams (Author) The controversy surrounding community responses to housing for sexually violent predators When a South Carolina couple killed a registered sex offender and his wife after they moved into their neighborhood in 2013, the story exposed an extreme and relatively rare instance of violence against sex offenders. While media accounts would have us believe that vigilantes across the country lie in wait for predators who move into their neighborhoods, responses to sex offenders more often involve collective campaigns that direct outrage toward political and criminal justice systems.…
Read MoreIL: Fake Facts And Rational Basis
[simplejustice.us 4/12/18] When the constitutionality of a law is challenged, the most critical factor is the test use by the court in deciding whether it passes scrutiny. If it’s strict scrutiny, the law almost always gets crushed. But then, strict scrutiny is reserved for laws that implicate fundamental rights, which are fundamental because the Supremes say they are. And the others? Last week the Illinois Supreme Court upheld a state law banning sex offenders from public parks, overturning a 2017 appeals court ruling that deemed the statute “unconstitutional on its…
Read MoreMeet the activists demanding elimination of the sex offender registry
[therooster.com 4/19/18] “The tide is going to turn against sex offender registries when people realize they’re more likely to end up on the registry than to be molested by someone on it,” says Lenore Skenazy, author, columnist and activist for the elimination of sex offender registries. She lists off the offenses that could put a person on a public list of social outcasts widely seen as pedophiles, predators and rapists: You could be a sex offender if you go to a prostitute. You could be a sex offender if you…
Read More