[famm.org – 6/6/20] Imagine you’re charged with a crime. Now you must choose between pleading guilty and receiving a shorter sentence–or going to trial and risking decades behind bars. “The Vanishing Trial” focuses on four individuals who were forced to make that excruciating choice. Each was threatened with a “trial penalty,” the term used to describe the substantially longer prison sentence a person receives if they exercise their constitutional right to trial instead of pleading guilty. We see how the trial penalty has led to the shocking disappearance of one of…
Read MoreYear: 2020
Movie “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube
[California Innocence Project – 6/5/20] “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube. The feature film follows the true story of Banks’ trials and tribulations in the American criminal justice system San Diego, June 5, 2020 – On Friday, June 5, 2020, “Brian Banks” started streaming free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube, and is expected to be free on additional platforms in the days to come. In 2002, Brian Banks was a highly recruited linebacker looking to attend USC to play under Pete Carroll. His dreams were derailed…
Read MoreFL: Ocala sex offender jailed after registering a day late
[ocala-news.com – 6/4/20] An Ocala man was arrested Monday after he showed up a day late to update his registration as a sex offender. Shaun David Killie, 33, of 4055 NW 63rd St., was supposed to re-register during the month of May. He was reminded when he updated his vehicle information in December 2019 and again in February, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office report. Killie reported Monday to the sheriff’s office sexual offender unit and completed a late registration for May 2020. He had no excuse for not…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: A National Police Registry, How Will They Like It Now?
The recent pandemic has now been overshadowed by a killing, racial protests and riots. Police Officers in this country have come under attack. A recent TV crawl indicated that “FBI fears violent elements are scouting ways to attack police officers at their homes.” A news reporter’s story went into more depth adding that police home addresses were possibly being obtained through public records or other information readily available on the internet. I can’t help but wonder, how do they like it now? A title of police officer, a label that…
Read MoreNE: Fairbanks Atty: No intent to kill during initial encounter with Condoluci
[3newsnow.com – 6/2/20] OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — — The attorney for James Fairbanks says there’s a lot more to him allegedly murdering a twice convicted sex offender. Fairbanks, 43, is being held without bond at the Douglas County Jail on 1st Degree Murder in the death of Mattieo Condoluci. He was found dead inside his home on May 16. His attorney, Steve Lefler, says he can’t give specifics, but say when Fairbanks first encountered Condoluci he didn’t intend to kill him. Read the full article
Read MoreUK: Dating app ‘catfish’ leaves victim “humiliated and vulnerable”
[bailiwickexpress.com – 6/2/20 – Bizarre way to get on the registry] A 26-year-old man has become a registered sex offender after he faked a profile to pose as a real woman, so that he could get sexual attention from others on a dating app. First-time offender, _____ was sentenced to 180 hours’ community service, accompanied by an 18-month probation order, and made to pay £5,000 in compensation to his victim, who said his actions left her feeling “humiliated and vulnerable.” The 26-year-old appeared before the Magistrate’s Court via video link.…
Read MoreGeneral Comments June 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2020. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreACSOL Phone Meeting on June 13
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next phone meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, June 13, beginning at 10 a.m.Pacific time and will last at least two hours. Discussions topics will include in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming Tiered Registry, residency restrictions, overseas and domestic travel as well as other current topics and pending legal action throughout the nation. Please Show Up, Stand Up and Speak Up! Dial-in…
Read MoreMillions of Lives Ruined by Sex Offender Registry, Says Top Anti-Registry Advocate
[frankreport.com – 6/1/20] by Vicki Henry Women Against Registry advocates for the families who have loved ones required to register as sexual offenders. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s [NCMEC] last published figures, there are over 912,000 men, women and children (as young as 8 and 10 in some states) required to register. The NCMEC has ceased publishing the number of registered citizens as it will soon top 1,000,000. The “crimes” range from urinating in public (indecent exposure), sexting, incest, mooning, exposure, false accusations by a…
Read MorePA cannot require registration of juvenile offenders rules PA Supreme Court
[narsol.org – 5/28/20] In 2006, Defendant Zeno committed two delinquent acts that occurred when he was age 14 and 16. Because of the nature of the two acts, his case was transferred from juvenile court to adult criminal court where he pled guilty to rape of a child, sexual assault, criminal attempt (rape), criminal attempt (incest), and indecent assault. The trial court sentenced him to an aggregate sentence of four to eight years’ incarceration followed by five years’ probation, and informed him that he would be required to register as…
Read MoreBooker calls for national police misconduct registry
[cnn.com – 5/31/20] New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker tells CNN’s Jake Tapper he’s drafting legislation to create a national police registry for misconduct after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota. Watch the video
Read MoreTX: Unfavorable Decision in the Hearn Case
From TexasVoices: As many of you are aware our constitutional claim rested on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Santobello v. New York. In Santobello the Supreme Court ruled a state violates substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment when it breaches a plea bargain agreement with a criminal defendant. In our case the State of Texas did just that: it changed state law to require Jack, Donnie and Jimmy to register for life, long after they accepted a plea bargain agreement in their criminal cases. The negotiated terms of…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender blames COVID-19 quarantine for not registering
[ocala-news.com – 5/27/20] A convicted sex offender from Ocala says he failed to register in April as required by law because he was in quarantine. Christopher Anthony Votos, 65, of 4064 SW 50th Road, was charged recently with failing to register biannually as a sex offender. Votos was convicted in August 2015 of using a computer to solicit or lure a child to engage in sexual conduct and is required to register twice a year – in April and October. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he has registered…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Grants Review of ACSOL’s Successful Prop. 57 Lawsuit
[ACSOL] The California Supreme Court today granted review of ACSOL’s successful lawsuit in both the trial and appellate courts which challenged regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that, in effected, prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving the benefits of Prop. 57. In today’s decision to grant review, the Court stated that the submission of additional briefings in the case is “deferred pending further order of the court.” Including today’s decision, the California Supreme Court has granted review of four cases which challenge…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Polygraphs and Plethysmographs During a Pandemic
CDC Recommendations. Social distancing. Masks. Stay at home. Just like the registry and its restraints, little thought was given as to how registrants would be able to follow these guidelines. Masks, anything that alters or changes appearance are a no-no for registrants. Registering in person was an obligation. Polygraphs, plethysmographs weren’t optional. For safety’s sake, no one could register cars or apply for other licenses in person. For safety’s sake, we couldn’t do the million and one things that we usually did in person, every day. And yet, advocates for…
Read MoreCA: Federal Judge Denies TRO Request to Stop In-Person Registration
A federal district court judge denied today a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that would have immediately stopped in-person registration in Fresno County. The judge accepted statements from the county that the current registration process is “no contact,” socially-distanced, and takes places outdoors. The judge did not allow registrants an opportunity to dispute those statements in a reply brief. Nor did the judge make reference to the Executive Order issued by Governor Gavin Newson on May 8, 2020, encouraging remote registration. “The court’s decision to deny our TRO…
Read MoreSenate Committee Rejects CA Senate Bill 853
[ACSOL] The Senate Public Safety Committee today stopped Senate Bill 853, which if passed, would have significantly increased the duration of criminal protective orders up to an individual’s lifetime. The Senators voted after hearing from more than 40 people opposed to the bill, including representatives of the ACLU, California Public Defenders and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. By comparison, only 8 people spoke in favor of the bill. “ACSOL and its members are to be commended for stopping a bill that would have violated the rights of registrants and…
Read MoreIN: COA – Removal from sex offender registry makes man’s case moot
A man whose name was removed from Indiana’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry on the state’s volition has successfully sought rehearing at the Indiana Court of Appeals, which has now deemed his case moot. Full Article
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