ACSOL board member Alex Landon, who has been a criminal defense attorney for more than 40 years and is also a part-time law professor, has just published an updated version of an important book, “A Parallel Universe.” The updated version of the book includes six new chapters including a robust discussion of the Tiered Registry Law.
“Once again, Alex Landon and his co-author Elaine Halleck have captured a vivid picture of how and why registries came about as well as how registries continue to punish both registrants and their families,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.
The book accurately points out that many sex offender laws were created after rare occurrences such as the sexual assault and murder of Megan Kanka. Despite the low probability of these heinous events being repeated, state governments as well as the federal government have passed a wide range of laws based on the myth that registrants are likely to commit a new sex offense.
The book also notes that governments have created a prison-industrial complex that rewards individuals like prison guards at the expense of registrants and their families. Further, the book includes in a comprehensive index a plethora of references to both government and academic reports as well as social media that debunk myths related to registrants.
“Every registrant and family member should read this book because it will provide you with the big picture regarding the insidious series of laws that punish registrant and decrease public safety,” stated Bellucci. “Also within the book is a novel about a fictional person who represents many registrants and the challenges he faces.”
Copies of both the first and second editions of “A Parallel Universe” can be purchased online. The books may also be available in public libraries.
Links to second edition:
Search for second edition of book on other website
They don’t only punish the registrants and their family, they Destroyed my family in the worst way possible. They took our daughter and terminated our parental rights based solely on the fact that I have to register, and that my wife wouldn’t divorce and leave me. (Of course her legal status also depends on our marriage, so if she did divorce me, it’s likely that she could have been deported right away, and have zero chance to see her daughter again).
Also thanks to the registry, my wife and I have been married going on 13 years now. We started to file for her green card the day after we were married… We have had to refile three times, and she still doesn’t have a green card because of the Adam Walsh Act. It also means that she cannot go to see her parents back in China who are elderly and have declining health. How is this law protecting her? At this point, their refusal to give her a green card is purely out of spite.
Thank you for informing us where to purchase the book.
Why should we purchase a book which contents we already know through personal experience. A better idea would be to leave one in every hotel room and congressional office. Like the Gideon Bible.
[…] I think it would be a great read if targeted toward families of law enforcement, prosecutors, victim rights groups and SOT therapists