The CA Assembly’s Appropriations Committee today converted Senate Bill 145 into a two-year bill, but did not approve the bill as currently written. Therefore, the bill could be amended as late as September 2020. “Unfortunately, it is not a surprise that the Appropriations Committee today failed to approve Senate Bill 145,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We will watch carefully to ensure that if the bill is amended, new language does not harm registrants or their families.” SB 145 was amended earlier this year in a way that could…
Read MoreMonth: August 2019
MI: ACLU Michigan Attorney Advocates End of Registry; Provides Update on 6th Circuit Decision
In a recent NPR interview, ACLU Michigan attorney Miriam Aukerman stated she believes that sex offender registries should be abolished. In support of that belief, Aukerman stated that registries are ineffective and make society less safe. Aukerman criticized both legislators and law enforcement for the current challenges now facing registrants. Legislators have passed and keep passing new laws because they believe doing so will help them to get re-elected. Law enforcement spends time and money monitoring people convicted of a sex offense when they should be monitoring those who actually…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: New Illinois Law Hopes to Prevent Suicides
Two years ago, Corey Walgren, a 16 yr. old high school student in Naperville, Illinois, jumped off the roof of a municipal parking garage after being questioned by police on his school campus. Corey had been interrogated by a police officer about an alleged sex tape, accused of possessing child pornography, a felony which can lead to placement on the state’s sex offender registry. Records later showed that there were in fact no illegal images on Corey’s phone. Corey had been interviewed, alone, by police at his school. His parents…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Child Pornography Laws Should Protect, Not Prosecute Children
The highest state court in Maryland ruled yesterday that a teenage girl could be prosecuted for distributing “child pornography” because she shared a one-minute video in which she was engaged in a consensual sexual act. Has the world gone crazy? “Child pornography” laws have been passed in every state in the nation. And in each of those states the purpose of the laws is to protect children from abuse and exploitation. Protecting children from abuse and exploitation is a noble cause. However, it is not noble to prosecute children who…
Read MoreIndonesian Doctors Refuse to Castrate Child-Sex Convict
[benarnews.org – 8/27/19] The association representing medical doctors in Indonesia said Tuesday it would refuse to take part in chemically castrating the first convict sentenced to such punishment under the country’s toughened up child-protection laws against pedophiles. In May, a court in East Java province’s Mojokerta regency found Muh Aris bin Syukur guilty of sexually abusing nine children, including girls as young as 7, between 2015 and 2018, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. The judges, in a landmark ruling, ordered that he be chemically castrated to prevent…
Read MoreCA: Senate Bill Amendment Excludes Registrants from Juries
Senate Bill 310, which would expand the number of individuals eligible to serve on a jury, was amended this week in a way that prohibits anyone convicted of a felony sex offense from that service. The bill was amended on August 26 as it was being considered by the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee. “Once again, state legislators have thrown people convicted of a sex offense under the bus,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Registrants are citizens and therefore should be allowed to serve on a jury.” Significantly the bill would…
Read MoreOp-Ed: Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide was part of a much bigger crisis in U.S. jails and prisons
[latimes.com – 8/19/19] The New York City medical examiner’s ruling that sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in jail has prompted a lot of hand-wringing about conditions in the facility where he was held. But if the nation had been paying attention, no one would have been particularly surprised by what happened. The United States is in the midst of a prison suicide epidemic. In 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides accounted for about 1.6% of overall U.S. deaths. That same year, the latest for…
Read MoreDisneyland and Fingerprints
[austinstartups.com – 8/27/19] It may surprise many people but the Walt Disney Corporation is an enthusiastic and early adopter of biometric technology. All the way back in 1996, Disney added a magnetic stripe to their park pass. Instead of the bar-coded laminate photo IDs traditionally used, the new pass had no photo and minimal printed information. The magnetic stripe stored pass information plus it added one new piece of information: a biometric “finger scan” (fingerprint). Disney didn’t provide clear information on what was happening when a guest made the “peace…
Read MoreFL: A look inside Florida Civil Commitment Center life: Pesci v. Budz
[law.justia.com – 8/21/19] James Pesci is a detainee at the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), a for-profit facility that houses sex offenders involuntarily committed under Florida’s Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act. Pesci is not a prisoner; like the other roughly 600 residents of FCCC, he has already served out his prison sentence. Instead, he is involuntarily committed because the State has determined that he is a “sexually violent predator” likely to engage in future “acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility for long-term…
Read MoreThe Truth About True Crime with Amanda Knox
[art19.com] SundanceTV: TV & Film Society & Culture True Crime Amanda Knox Documentary Podcast Vigilantes. They’re our heroes, our dark reflection, our cultural obsession. This season, Amanda Knox explores multiple stories of vigilante justice, starting with the still-unsolved murder of a small town’s tormentor — the story at the heart of the SundanceTV docu-series No One Saw a Thing. From murderous gang hunters and vengeful fathers to real-life avengers and internet cat-fishers, join Knox as she examines justice outside of the law. The views, information or opinions expressed during this podcast…
Read MoreNJ: Legal Opportunity for New Jersey Registrants
Individuals convicted of a sex offense in New Jersey who are currently on community supervision for life may have an opportunity to join a lawsuit. Opportunities are limited to those placed in the Bo Robinson Assessment Center. Anyone interested in exploring this opportunity should contact Raymon Hof at barometer.soup24@gmail.com.
Read MoreVA: Who lives, works near you, and what it takes to keep track of Virginia’s 13K sex offenders
The process of moving when buying or renting a home can be a lengthy process, from researching neighborhoods, area schools and the cost of living. For some, another part of finding a new home can involve checking crime rates — or the sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreUT: ‘Conviction’ aside, Utah Supreme Court says sex offender must register
The Utah Supreme Court has ruled a man must register as a sex offender, despite his conviction ultimately being set aside in another state. Full Article
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Shaming Accomplishes Nothing
In the past month we’ve read articles about shame, Florida Shaming/Could Your Real Estate Agent be a Sex Offender, Nigeria: NAPTIP Launches SO Registry to Name & Shame Rapists, Arkansas: the shaming of registrants by barring them from participating in Halloween activities. Shame: A painful feeling that’s a mix of regret, self-hate and dishonor, according to the dictionary. Shame, it’s a powerful tool used against registrants to make certain that they feel continued guilt and humiliation for their past offenses. Shame, can be an ongoing cruel punishment which often seems…
Read MoreVA: In Arlington, a judge must decide if a nonviolent sex offender should stay incarcerated after serving his sentence
[washingtonpost.com – 8/23/19] Philip Fornaci is a civil rights lawyer based in Washington. Roger Lancaster is the author of “Sex Panic and the Punitive State.” On Monday, the Circuit Court in liberal Arlington County will be the scene of a heavy-handed morality play, with prosecutors seeking lifelong incarceration for a young gay man who has already paid an extraordinary price for youthful, nonviolent sexual indiscretions. Virginia, like 19 other states and the federal government, has a Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA). Under these laws, people who have completed their criminal…
Read MoreCA Appropriations Committee to Consider Senate Bill 145
[ACSOL] The CA Assembly’s Appropriations Committee is scheduled to give final consideration to Senate Bill 145 and more than 200 additional bills on August 30. The committee hearing will be held in Room 4202 of the State Capitol at a time yet to be determined. The author of SB 145, Senator Scott Wiener, is also author to another dozen bills to be considered by the committee that day. The topics of those bills range from unlawful entry of a vehicle (SB 23) to cannabis donations (SB 34). If SB 145…
Read MoreIL: Explosive 3-hour meeting has many talking about possible health and housing center
[newschannel20.com – 8/21/19] SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — An explosive meeting took place Wednesday evening over whether Springfield should allow a vacant building to become a health and housing center. … While the proposed center is more than just a homeless shelter, some asked how will the place know if they have a sex offender coming to use their facilities, especially because of the proximity to the Lincoln Magnet School. “There is no way to know that the mental health individuals that they’re serving are sex offenders. There’s no way to…
Read MoreNY: Revised animal-abuser registry going to lawmakers
[romesentinel.com – 8/20/19] [This is a continuation of the story we reported here] A revised version of a local law on animal abuse in Oneida County would remove the proposed penalty against someone who sells an animal to a convicted abuser, and would specifically exempt farms where an abuser works or shares the business with other people. … Support for the registry approach is not universal among animal advocates. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not endorse them, instead favoring stronger penalties for abuse and…
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