Source: newschannel5.com 8/15/22
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Attorneys have called for a change to the Tennessee sex offender registry they said created an unconstitutional punishment as legislators added more restrictions each year.
Thomas has lived in Nashville almost all his life, but he’s rarely seen beyond work and the occasional grocery store run.
Those trips are usually done within 15 minutes of the store closing. Thomas seems to think it’s safer that way, so for that reason, NewsChannel 5 Investigates will stick with first names.
It’s life as he’s known it for years — widowed in his 60s and led by faith. While faith may have seen him through tough times, he said it’s family that’s given him something to live for.
“I’m trying to get to know my kids so I get to know my grandkids, but my past was standing in the way,” Thomas said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates doesn’t often hear from people like Thomas, because once you find out he’s been on the sex offender registry almost as long as it’s been around, we understand he’s not the easiest person to want to relate to.
But imagine this, being convicted of a crime, given a punishment for that crime, and having that punishment change year after year.
“I get frustrated, believe that and it’s a hurting feeling. It makes me cry. It throws me back to when I first got charged with this,” Thomas said.
Thomas was accused of rape by a now deceased family friend 27 years ago in 1995. They were neighbors in Nashville at the time. Now Thomas will tell you he’s innocent, which NewsChannel 5 Investigates isn’t trying to prove or ask you to believe.
What NewsChannel 5 Investigates knows is that Thomas pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. He had prior convictions and was advised by his public defender that a jury would likely not give him a chance. The trouble is that nothing in the transcript from his plea hearing mentioned anything about the sex offender registry. You can make the argument that the registry was only a couple of years old at the time, so it wasn’t on the mind of attorneys and the judge, but Thomas says that’s no excuse.
“As God as my witness, that was never told to me. If he (the defense attorney) had told me that, I would’ve said no. I’m not going to take this,” Thomas said.
At the time Thomas was told to report once a year, pay an annual fee, and tell the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation where he lived, what he drove, and where he worked.
He couldn’t live near a park, a school, or anywhere children could reasonably be, even though his crime had nothing to do with children.
The registry at the time was written so Thomas could appeal to take his name off the list 10 years after he had completed his full sentence, which would have been 2014. So why is Thomas still on the list in 2022? Because Tennessee lawmakers made sure he would be there for life.
Nashville defense attorney David Raybin has at least three cases where he argues his clients should be taken off the registry because lawmakers piled on more penalties after they were already convicted.
“The Constitution says you cannot enact what’s known as an Ex Post Facto law. You cannot make it illegal to do something today that you’ve already done two years ago,” Raybin said.
There were at least 16 changes between the 1994 Sex Offender Registry Act and what took place in 2003. Each change often meant another restriction for those on the registry to the point where lawmakers realized there were so many changes, that it was better to write a new registry.
There were at least 20 more restrictions added to this new registry up until 2015.
“That’s not fair. You’re changing the rules after you’ve started to play the game,” Raybin said.
I sent the website a thank you email for writing a well written article that accurately portrays the injustice we currently face.
Sooner or later they are all going to go too far.
The judges will run of out of constitutional ambiguities they invent and will be forced to make right judgements.
You can pile only so much straw on a camel’s back before it breaks.
It’s already starting to happen.
Yep that’s how they play the game. Here in California I’ve been signing my Initials next to my registration requirements for over 24 years now, after 17 years I stopped reading the requirements and would just sign my initials.
One day i was on this website and came across a conversation about being on school campus, me being a single parent in California I thought they had to be talking about people out of state.
So just to be safe I went and got my registration forms and boom there it was, the scary part about it I didn’t even know about it, I’ve been to all kinds of my kids school plays parent teachers conferences football games graduations and didn’t even know that PC (626.81) existed but thanks to ACSOL and all the people who comment on here now I do.
Wow. This pretty much sums up the ENTIRE registry, USA as a whole!!
It is unsurprising that governments both local and federal are constantly changing the goal post on Registrants because they can’t do anything else to improve the lives of their constituents – lower taxes, better standards of living, reduce crime – so they go after us because it will get them votes.
It’s not like further oppressing Registrants will protect people from future sex crimes – it just gives the impression that it does. If only the public could see what a scam it is…
It was a very good story. They highlighted a very important part about his story. His crime had nothing to do with children, but he’s still restricted from being around places that children congregate. Unfortunately the public really doesn’t care. I hope this momentum continues, and hopefully one day the whole registry collapses.
I also sent the news director a quick note of thanks for having the guts to at least partially show some of the injustices we face. If you’d like to do the same here is the email:
sandy.boonstra@newschannel5.com
It is a shame to try to justify something but at the same time try to prove a wrong. Yes we all make errors but when justice goes a bit beyond even Christian Understand than something is a missed in Government and out of line in the nation. This registry can speak for itself in this unscrupulous way. Even same sex marriages are a bit out of balance much less this registry of sexual abuse of injustice. Here’s an article that makes a very good statement and also gives a good message about Governments using unjust methods to convoy their reaping and sowing pressures on these unjust laws in many of these ordeals.
I believe Janice or any other person battling much of this registry to prove that this registry goes a bit to far in a lot of measures have grounds to defend it as this article states in so many ways.
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And they know its not right. I was suppose to done 2017 and move with my life. I’ve followed all the rules. I’ve been arrested again for and crime. Even though i was coerced into a statement by a dirty detective that doomed me. I did everything these people said and they lied. Why? To make my life miserable? I don’t deserve this.
The moment Congress placed the value of the machine database above that of the sovereign human citizen, they went too far. That being the difference between the people having a database of known criminals versus having a database AND enslaving the criminal to its maintenance without the protections provided by substantive due processes.
To paraphrase the infamous “looks like a duck” statement: If it looks like punishment, sounds like punishment, walks like punishment, acts like punishment, is seen as punishment….
It’s PUNISHMENT!
Hopefully these attorneys can parlay Snyder to get some (more) relief for TN PFRs.
Does anyone know more details about this case? Where to find it? Status/Outcome?