____ ____ was labeled a sex offender under a New York law for kidnapping a 14-year-old boy, even though no sex crime was committed – and now his case may go to the supreme court. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2018
CA: Governor Brown signs landmark legislation to remove barriers to licensing and decrease recidivism
[rootandrebound.org – press release] [Note: AB 2138 will not benefit those convicted of a sex offense] Sacramento, CA—This past weekend, Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown signed AB 2138, authored by Assemblymembers David Chiu and Evan Low, to remove barriers for occupational licensing for close to 8 million Californians living with criminal records. AB 2138 was supported by a coalition of 50+ organizations, including East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), Root & Rebound, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC), All of Us or None, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Alameda County Public Defender, PolicyLink,…
Read MoreFL: Banished
[themarshallproject.org – 10/3/18] The sun has barely risen over Miami, and Dale Brown loads an orange shopping cart with everything he owns. Through the morning’s swampy heat, he pushes the cart to the edge of the railroad tracks, where he hauls the items one at a time into some overgrowth and covers them with branches. His tent from Wal-Mart, meticulously rolled and packed. A garbage bag with clothes and a blanket. He unscrews the lid to a plastic gallon jug and empties his urine into the brush. “You feel like…
Read MoreWA: On McNeil Island, the only residents are 214 dangerous sex offenders
Civil commitment centers, which exist in less than half of US states, are meant as a community safeguard, but they’re riddled with controversies. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender registry sparks Supreme Court debate over congressional powers
Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with how much power Congress can pass on to federal agencies in a case that could change the way Capitol Hill legislates. Full Article Transcript of oral argument
Read MoreGeneral Comments October 2018
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2018. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreMO: The sex offender next door – 1,300 missing Missouri criminals must be found quickly
Jackson County remains at the center of a scandalous problem with unregistered sex offenders in Missouri. According to an audit released Monday, 439 sex criminals in Jackson County have failed to register as required by law — more than 20 percent of all the known sex offenders in the county. Statewide, roughly 1,300 sex offenders have failed to register, and “their locations are unknown,” according to the report. The problem threatens neighborhoods and public safety. Jackson County officials and the sheriff’s office should commit whatever resources are needed to find…
Read MoreCA: Lawsuit Challenges Kern County Residency Restrictions
A lawsuit has been filed in Kern County Superior Court which challenges the residency and presence restrictions in that county. According to those restrictions, registrants — including those convicted as juveniles — are prohibited from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers and other locations where children regularly gather. In addition, registrants may not visit a day care center for any reason. According to the lawsuit, the impact of the residency restrictions is that it eliminates the possibility of a registrant living in about 97 percent of Kern County. The…
Read MoreNV: Nevada to embark on new sex offender registry system, but critics say it’s overly harsh
Las Vegas attorney Alina Shell represents sex offenders, and she said it’s been an emotional time in recent weeks among clients calling her office. Starting Oct. 1, Nevada will be implementing its version of the federal Adam Walsh Act, a law that significantly changes the way the state classifies its more than 7,200 sex offenders. Rather than categorizing them according to their projected risk of reoffending, they’ll be categorized according to the original crime they were convicted of — a process that will reshuffle thousands of them and lead to…
Read MoreCA: When Handing Out Candy To Trick-or-Treaters Means Risking Arrest
[theappeal.org – 10/1/18] Lawyer [Janice M. Bellucci] seeks end to Halloween restrictions that target people convicted of sex offenses. Before the police apprehended Steve, he tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists, he told The Appeal. Then 20 years old, he had attempted to sexually assault a 12-year-old girl in California. “I couldn’t believe I had done that,” said Steve, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. “I felt I couldn’t live with myself.” He spent three years in prison, and after he was released, stayed in…
Read MoreMO: Proposed ordinance would keep sex offenders from serving liquor
To serve alcohol in Kansas City, you need a liquor card. The public safety committee is considering a new proposed ordinance that would change that, but some agencies are concerned. The Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, or MOCSA, is speaking out. Victoria Pickering, Director of Advocacy for MOCSA, said, “The goal is to prevent individuals who have a history of committing sexual offenses from being able to work with alcohol which is the number one drug that’s used to facilitate sexual assault.” Full Article
Read MoreACSOL Meeting October 13 in West Sacramento
Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting: Saturday, October 13 10 a.m. 1275 Starboard Drive West Sacramento, CA Registrants, friends and family and interested service providers are invited to attend these free meetings. There will be no law enforcement or media present in order to protect everyone’s privacy. The meetings start at 10 am and last about 2-3 hours. Topics of conversation include information about ACSOL’s advocacy as well as current topics and pending legal action. Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak up!
Read MoreNV: New bill may create longer waits at Las Vegas police headquarters
Days before a Nevada bill changing the sex offender registry goes into effect, the Metropolitan Police Department suggested ways to avoid anticipated large crowds at Las Vegas police headquarters. People who need to file or request police reports may do so at any of Metro’s 10 substations, said Lisa Hank, director of Metro’s Police Records and Fingerprint Bureau. That way people can avoid crowds and longer wait times potentially caused by Assembly Bill 579, which takes effect on Oct. 1. The bill requires sex offenders to report to police and…
Read MoreTwo California Cities Repeal Halloween Restrictions
The Cities of Lancaster and Temecula this week repealed restrictions which prohibited all registrants living in those cities from fully participating in Halloween celebrations. The repeals took place after letters were sent to a total of five cities warning that the restrictions were preempted by state law. The letters also warned cities that fail to repeal the Halloween restrictions could be sued in court.. “We congratulate Lancaster and Temecula for taking the necessary steps to repeal their unlawful ordinances,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “And we are preparing to…
Read MoreIndia: Sex Offender’s Registry – A Misplaced Danger?
On September 20, the government announced that in order to take a step forward towards ‘women safety’ in the country, it has launched the National Database on Sexual Offenders(NDSO). It would include names of offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, child sexual abuse, and eve teasing (harassment) maintaining details of some 4,40,000 people convicted for the above offences. It will be maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and will include names, addresses, photographs, and fingerprint details of convicts and will not be accessible by public. India joins…
Read MorePA: Inmates in Pennsylvania launch boycott of prison profiteers
[workers.org – 9/27/18] “I am going to boycott the third-party correspondence system,” Bryant Arroyo, an activist and organizer currently detained at SCI Frackville in central Pennsylvania, told this WW reporter during an extended Sept. 23 interview. Arroyo urges all prisoners to immediately cease sending and accepting mail in response to the draconian new prison policies of current Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. Eliminating the right of prisoners to send and receive correspondence via postal service is the most controversial aspect of a sweeping crackdown imposed in September by the Pennsylvania Department…
Read MoreWI: For now, sex offenders will not be allowed to move into the village of Hartland
Members of the Hartland Village Board have voted to begin work on an ordinance that will restrict where sex offenders can live. In the meantime, the village will not allow any new offenders to move into the village. … The moratorium states that sex offenders cannot move into Hartland until the village’s average amount of sex offenders living in the village is the same as the rest of the county. Full Article
Read MoreSCOTUS: Justices face nondelegation challenge to federal sex-offender registration law
Argument Preview: Congress enacted the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. One provision of SORNA created a requirementthat a convicted sex offender register with every jurisdiction in which he resides, works or studies, as well as in the jurisdiction in which he was convicted. Another part of SORNA, its criminal enforcement provision, made it a crime for a convicted sex offender subject to the registration requirement to fail to register or to keep his registration information updated if he travels across state lines. But what about sex offenders convicted before…
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