Which is strange because the state high court will probably never rule on such cases. Just one day after the February 21 primary election, state Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz released her first ad for the general election, an attack on her opponent Dan Kelly entitled “Predator.” “Dan Kelly won’t keep our communities safe,” the ever-ominous voice of such ads informed us. “As a lawyer Kelly defended child sex predators who posed as ministers in order to prey on vulnerable young girls.” The ad goes on, adding more lurid detail,…
Read MoreYear: 2023
General Comments Mar 2023
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Mar 2023. 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 MoreJanice’s Journal: SCOTUS Made a Terrible Mistake
The U. S. Supreme Court made a terrible mistake 20 years ago. As a result of that mistake, millions of Americans who are required to register and their families have been harmed, some even killed by vigilantes. The mistake to which I refer is the decision, Smith v. Doe, in which the Court found that the requirement to register was the same as applying for membership in Price Club. That registration is an administrative requirement, not punishment, and therefore new sex offender laws could be passed and applied retroactively. The…
Read MoreCA Zoom Summit: Re-Entry Against the Odds, March 28, 30
Source: Friends Outside of Los Angeles County Reentry Against the Odds is a two-day online Zoom summit for service providers, government officials, elected officials, registrants, and community members which will focus on better understanding of this reentry population to better address the needs of these individuals, both for their and society’s benefit. An educational opportunity and conversation about registrants (often referred to as “290’s” or “Sex Offenders”). Often maligned, their recidivism rates are very low. This population experiences increased negative public opinion and lack of systemic supports Registrants experience increased…
Read MoreCA: New Bill To Prevent The Covert Release Of Sexually Violent Predators Into Communities
Source: californiaglobe.com 2/28/23 A bill to help prevent the covert releasing of Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) into communities across the state was formally introduced into the Senate on Monday. Senate Bill 832, authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego) would aim to make the highest criteria of any potential placement of an SVP be that of public safety. The bill, also known as the Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement Act (SAFE Act), would also require the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to take ownership in the placement process…
Read MoreWA: Supreme Living Backs Off Plans for Sex Offender Housing Near Tenino
Source: chronline.com 2/28/23 Supreme Living announced on its website Tuesday that it no longer plans to house sex offenders at a housing facility in south Thurston County near Tenino. The decision came after outcry and outrage from residents and government officials caught off guard by the plans. “Supreme Living announced today that due to resources and expenses associated with land use requirements, it will not proceed with providing supportive housing services at its Tenino property,” Supreme Living Management wrote. “Supreme Living values its relationship with the Department of Social and…
Read MoreNY: Putnam man acquitted of raping, murdering 12-year-old girl after two decades in prison
Source: nypost.com 2/28/23 A Putnam County man convicted more than 20 years ago for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl was vindicated Monday when jurors acquitted him during his second trial tied to the grisly case. Carmel man Andrew Krivak was found not guilty of the awful attack after spending more than two decades behind bars, and more than six years after his co-defendant and friend, Anthony DiPippo, was acquitted of the same crime. Krivak and DiPippo were accused of raping and killing Carmel teen Josette Wright in…
Read MoreHow SCOTUS Promoted Pernicious Myths About Sex Offender Registries
Source: reason.com 3/1/23 This Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of Smith v. Doe, a Supreme Court decision that approved the retroactive application of Alaska’s sex offender registry, deeming it preventive rather than punitive. That ruling helped propagate several pernicious myths underlying a policy that every state has adopted without regard to its justice or effectiveness. Writing for the majority in Smith, Justice Anthony Kennedy took it for granted that collecting and disseminating information about people convicted of sex offenses made sense as a public safety measure. But that premise was…
Read MoreWA: ‘Worst of the worst:’ Washingtonians fighting to stop sex offender transfers off McNeil Island
Source: q13fox.com 2/27/23 People are rallying, hoping to put a stop to sex offender transfers off of McNeil Island. The Department of Health and Human Services said five of the “worst of the worst” sexually violent predators would be moving to Tenino, Washington. The home in Tenino is sitting empty for now, but as The Spotlight learned, these sorts of facilities are already found all over the state. And nearby residents are not always told who is going to be living inside. Watch the video
Read MoreFL: He was homeless and mentally ill. A judge sentenced him to 150 years for CP. Is that justice?
Source: miamiherald.com 2/27/23 There’s no argument: Jared Stephens committed a crime, and he deserved some form of punishment. We’re not suggesting that child pornography isn’t an evil act. Possessing it is a crime for good reason. But the fight now in Florida courts to reduce the 150-year prison term Stephens received is about more than laws and sentences. It’s about how how our judicial system treats defendants with serious mental illness. The question is whether the 32-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia — who talked in court about shutting off electricity…
Read MoreAZ: Arizona Senate Committees Pass Two Bills in GOP Push to Criminalize Drag
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com 2/24/23 A group of Republican state lawmakers focused on attacking LGBTQ Arizonans passed two bills that would criminalize drag shows, businesses that host them, and parents who take their children to see them. SB 1698, sponsored by Senator Justine Wadsack, would make it a felony for parents to take their child to a drag show. The parents would have to register as sex offenders, too. SB 1030, sponsored by state Senator Anthony Kern, would make it a felony for some businesses to host drag shows. Republicans in the…
Read MoreIN: Killer of Registrant Sentenced to 75 years But Has No Remorse
Source: tristatehomepage.com 2/23/23 EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — An Evansville man will spend decades behind bars for murdering a sex offender. According to court documents, 34-year-old Ricky Allen Kiper Jr. was sentenced to 60 years in prison and 15 years for a habitual offender enhancement after pleading guilty to murder several weeks ago. Kiper shot and killed James ____ at a home on the northside of Evansville on July 27, 2022. After the shooting, officials confirmed that the deceased victim was on the sex offender registry list. Read the full article…
Read MoreMan Offers First Class Seat To Child In Coach, American Airlines Suspects He’s A Predator
Source: viewfromthewing.com 2/23/23 An American Airlines ConciergeKey passenger, one of the carrier’s top customers, shared to social media that they were flying from Portland to Dallas on Tuesday’s flight 2655 and wound up suspected of being a child predator – because they tried to do a good deed, giving up their first class seat for an unaccompanied minor seated in coach. They were heading to Dallas to connect to a British Airways flight to London. Pre-boarding (since ConciergeKey members board ahead of first class, even), they noticed “a very young…
Read MoreWhy Do We Treat Sex Crimes Differently Than Other Violent Crimes?
Source: thecrimereport.org 2/21/23 In a recently published research paper in the Stanford Law Review, Aya Gruber, a law professor at the University of Colorado, considers the concept of “sex exceptionalism” in the United States criminal justice system and asks readers to take a second look at how we treat sex crimes. Gruber previously published “The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women’s Liberation in Mass Incarceration” with University of California Press. In “Sex Exceptionalism in Criminal Law,” Gruber argues that treating sex crimes differently than other crimes is…
Read MoreTN: Multi-day sex offender compliance operation completed in Carroll Co.
Source: wbbjtv.com 2/23/23 HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — Multiple law enforcement agencies joined this week to conduct a sex offender compliance operation in Carroll County. Dubbed Operation Walter Browning, the two-day saturation was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the operation involved compliance checks for 47 registered sex offenders throughout Carroll County. The TBI says authorities made contact with 39 of those individuals, and all but one were found to be in complia Read the full article
Read MoreFL: Century Man Tries To Run Over Man He Thought Was Convicted Sex Offender, ECSO Says
Source: northescambia.com 2/22/23 A Century man is charged after allegedly trying to run over a man he thought was a convicted sex offender as he walked out of a liquor store. Kinte Hassan Franklin, 45, was charged with felony aggravated battery using a deadly weapon. The victim told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that Franklin was the driver of a maroon car with the window partially down outside the Fusion Liquor store next door to the Food Giant on North Century Boulevard. The driver, Franklin, told him “I’m going to…
Read MoreKS: Protecting kids is job one, but this Kansas proposal would just create new criminals | Opinion
Source: kansascity.com 2/20/23 When something horrific happens to a child, the impulse is to take every action necessary to ensure it never happens to any child anywhere again. That tendency is understandable and often praiseworthy — but there are times it can also be destructive. So it goes with “Lailah’s Law,” a bill now under consideration in the Kansas House. The legislation is named for a 7-year-old Wichita girl who was assaulted and nearly killed in 2017 by Corbin Breitenbach, who had recently been paroled on a previous conviction of…
Read MoreOH: Tech makes registering sex offenders easier
Source: thecourier.com 2/19/23 FREMONT — All 88 county sheriffs have been provided with new cameras to improve the registration process of convicted sexual offenders, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday. “Ohio’s sex offender registration system plays a critical role in holding convicted offenders accountable, and, in the hands our county sheriffs, these tools ensure that photographs are clear and uniform across the state,” Yost said. “Our job is to support local law enforcement, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with this grant.” In 59 counties, sheriff’s offices that requested…
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