MI: Sex offender registry – valuable resource or tool for public shaming?

A cursory glance at the Michigan Sex Offender Registry may reveal that someone who’s been convicted of a sex crime lives near you. Now what? Advocates for reforming the registry say this publicly available information not only doesn’t make communities safer, it actually has the potential to make them more dangerous. Those on the other side of the debate say the registry is a valuable tool that gives people the information they need to be aware of their surroundings and cognizant of potential threats. Full Article Related https://www.woodtv.com/news/target-8/sex-offender-hopes-his-story-will-help-change-registry/

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ACSOL Emotional Support Group Meetings Available: Sat, Jan 25 in L.A.; Most Thursdays in Sac; Monthly on the phone

Emotional Support Group meetings will be held for those convicted of a sex offense and their loved ones. This meeting, which is based upon the format of 12 Step meetings, provides registrants and their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges and share their experiences, strengths and hopes, with each other. Attendance is limited to individuals required to register, family members, and friends. Media, law enforcement, parole, etc. are not allowed to attend meetings. There is no cost to attend. No reservations are required. Face-to-face and phone emotional…

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Kat’s Blog: The Silent War

There are silent wars going on in thousands of households across this country. They are the quiet, underlying disputes between family members of registrants, those that speak openly about the registrant in their lives and those family members that take the “less said, the better” stance. Both sides may be totally at peace and supportive of the registrant they care about, but a cavernous gap lies between the opposing sides, as gap as wide as the Grand Canyon. For many of us, the more we open up to family, friends…

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CA: Sharing ‘revenge porn’ would get you on the sex offender list under proposed California law

Sharing “revenge porn” could lead to more prison time and a spot on California’s sex offender registry under a proposed law carried by former California Highway Patrol officer. California in 2013 became the first state to outlaw revenge porn when it made it a misdemeanor to share “intimate images” of a person without their consent. The current penalty for a first offense is six months in jail. Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, thinks the sentence needs to be tougher. “This is a sex crime and we need to start treating it like…

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Scotland: Fife charity under fire for using sex offenders says it’s ‘safeguarding’ Fifers

[fifetoday.co.uk– 2/7/20] A Cupar-based charity, which has come under fire after it was revealed it employs sex offenders, says it safeguards the community. The Castle Furniture Project, which provides free or low cost household goods to struggling families or individuals in Fife to help relieve poverty, has been inundated with calls and emails from the public since the news broke, with some calling for a demonstration. But, in an interview this week, its CEO, Sylvia Ingram, said it would be a shame if the charity ‘collapsed’, explaining the lengths the…

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CA: San Diego Settles ACSOL Suit On Sex Offender Residency Law

[kpbs.org – 2/6/20] The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County.…

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CA: DA drops serial rape charges against reality TV doctor and girlfriend, saying case was ‘manufactured’

[washingtonpost.com – 2/5/20] California prosecutors are dropping all charges against an Orange County surgeon and his girlfriend after concluding that the previous district attorney “manufactured” the high-profile 2018 case in which the couple was accused of serially drugging and raping women. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release Tuesday that after his office reviewed the case, investigators found “no provable evidence” to support the charges against ____ a 39-year-old orthopedic surgeon and former reality TV star, and his girlfriend _____, a 33-year-old dance instructor. The decision…

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TN: Teen rapists to be charged as adults, added to sex offender registry under bills

One lawmaker is pushing for harsher penalties for teens convicted of rape in Tennessee. The new legislation comes after two then-13-year-old boys were convicted of holding down a Clarksville girl, raping her and filming it. Just when the girl’s family thought they would get justice, a judge handed down a sentence of only six months in juvenile detention for one boy and six months probation at home for the other. Neither boy was added to the state’s sex offender registry. Full Article

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NJ: Committee Advances Megan’s Law Initiative

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee has advanced a Megan’s Law initiative (S-205) introduced by Sen. Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove of the 9th District, to enhance the community notification process for sex offenders in a community. Under the legislation, “The state Attorney General would be required to establish a means for providing e-mail notifications when a sex offender listed on the internet registry registers a new address in a different county or zip code from the offender’s previous address,” a delegation…

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WI: People living near violent sex offenders push for changes to state’s Chapter 980 law

Kristine Knickmeier, Kelly Kopecky and Tom Hergert did not know each other before last summer, but are now united in a fight to make changes to how violent sex offenders are placed under the state’s Chapter 980 law. Knickmeier lives in Stoughton. She can see one home housing violent sex offenders out her front door. There’s another down the road. “It does affect people and you never know the next time there’s a for sale sign, who’s moving in,” she said.  Full Article

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MI: Federal judge to hear latest arguments in case of sex offender registry ruled unconstitutional

UPDATE 2/5: Hearing today to decide whether to remove thousands from Michigan sex offender registry Also see: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/constitutional-fight-for-michigan-sex-offender-rights-now-before-federal-judge.html [michiganradio.org – 2/3/20] Lawyers will make their case in front of a federal judge on Wednesday over what to do about the state’s sex offender registry. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled nearly four years ago that many of the requirements of Michigan’s registry are unconstitutional. But the law hasn’t been changed, and people continue to be on the list. “The court has said that this registry is so ineffective, that it…

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ACSOL Meeting Feb 8 in L.A.

Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting: Saturday, Feb 8 10 a.m. ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles (free parking below building) 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…

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MI: AG files Amicus Brief Stating that SORA is Punitive and Unconstitutional

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an Amicus Brief on Jan 30 in People vs. Betts, Supreme Court No. 148981 . Introduction: There are dangerous sexual predators, to be sure, and the public needs to be protected from them. But the current SORA it is not the way to achieve that goal because it places people on the registry without an individualized assessment of their risk to public safety. Indeed, it provides little differentiation between a violent rapist or reoffender and an individual who has committed a single, non-aggravated offense.…

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Kat’s Blog: Band-Aid Fixes

I’m not sure what’s going on in Tennessee.  Lately there seems to be an avalanche of bills proposed challenging the rights of registrants.  Most of these bills seem to serve no purpose other than to intimidate and scare the bejeezus out of registrants and then, if passed, make their lives more difficult. Rep. Doggett has the “no registrants sleeping in a home with minor children” bill. Rep. Griffey has his “let’s chemically castrate all registrants on parole” bill. Now, here comes Rep. Patsy Hazlewood with HB1922 that would supposedly make…

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