Source: duncanbanner.com 7/31/24 Lawmakers across the country have considered legislation this year that would allow courts or parole boards to reevaluate a person’s long prison sentence and decide whether they can be safely released into society. The bills, known as “second look” legislation, often focus on older populations, people sentenced as minors, or those whose crimes might have had a mitigating factor such as self-defense against domestic violence. As America’s prison population both ages and increases, the “second look” movement has gained interest as a way to reduce overcrowding and…
Read MoreMonth: July 2024
MI: Michigan Supreme Court decision will likely strike hundreds from sex-offender registry
Source: apnews.com 7/29/24 DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s policy of putting people on a sex-offender registry even if their crime was nonsexual is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court said Monday. In a 5-2 decision, the court said a portion of a 2021 law is “cruel or unusual punishment” barred by the Michigan Constitution. A Wayne County man in 2015 was convicted of holding his wife and two children at gunpoint for hours. After his release from prison, he would face 15 years on the sex-offender registry because his unlawful-imprisonment conviction involved…
Read MoreCA: Registrant who ‘started 160,000 acre California wildfire by pushing his burning car into gully’ is pictured – as inferno triggers terrifying fire tornado
Source: dailymail.co.uk 7/25/24 A California sex offender has been arrested for allegedly starting a 160,000 acre wildfire – the state’s largest this year. Ronnie ____ II, 42, was caught pushing his burning car into a gulley in upper Bidwell Park near the city of Chico on Wednesday, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced. The vehicle then tumbled 60 feet down an embankment, sparking a fire tornado that engulfed more than 71,000 acres of northern California overnight and prompted mass evacuations. Read the full article
Read MoreBloated federal supervision system makes everyone less safe
Source: thehill.com 6/1/24 More released convicts living under the watchful eye of a probation officer means safer communities, right? Wrong. Big government has tainted the criminal justice system. This includes federal supervised release, which is failing everyone it is supposed to help, from taxpayers to law enforcement officers to those trying to rebuild their lives after prison. The Safer Supervision Act before Congress would restore federal supervision to its intended scope and purpose, create safer communities and use taxpayer money more responsibly. Congress originally established federal supervised release to help people “transition…
Read MoreThe Quiet Epidemic of Predators in Uniforms
Source: slate.com 7/23/24 A series of recent groundbreaking investigative reports unveiled what many advocates for police accountability have known for decades: Child sex abuse by law enforcement officials is far too common across our country. Systemic failures within policing—coupled with lax oversight by police departments, prosecutors, and judges—too often shield police officers from meaningful accountability. Child sex abuse is chronic and widespread, yet justice for survivors is rare. Studies have found that nearly 25 percent of girls and roughly 8 percent of boys experience sexual abuse before turning 18. Numerous…
Read MoreCO: Colorado Jail Guard Must Stand Trial for Opening Accused Sex Offender’s Cell, Subjecting Him to Assault
Source: prisonlegalnews.org 7/1/24 On December 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied summary judgment to a jail guard who allegedly failed to protect a pretrial detainee from assault by another detainee. But the Court dismissed a municipal liability claim against Colorado’s Chaffee County, even though the guard had been disciplined before—three times—for failing to keep cell doors locked. Jason Harter, then 34, was arrested and booked into Chaffee County Detention Center (CCDC) on February 20, 2020, on charges of kidnapping, forcible rape of an individual…
Read MoreSenate To Vote on Web Censorship Bill Disguised as Kids Safety
Source: reason.com 7/24/24 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) will force a vote this week on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a measure certain to seriously restrict free speech and privacy online for everyone. The meat of the bipartisan bill is creating a “duty of care” for a huge swath of digital companies (any “online platform, online video game, messaging application, or video streaming service that connects to the internet and that is used, or is reasonably likely to be used, by a minor”). This means they’re legally required…
Read MoreDutch rapist Steven van de Velde’s partner issues staunch defence of Olympic selection
Source: yahoo.com 7/23/24 The playing partner of Steven van de Velde, the Dutch Olympian permitted to compete in beach volleyball at the Paris Games despite raping a 12-year-old British girl, has described him as being “like a second father to me”. Van de Velde refused to answer questions upon arrival in Paris where he was confronted by a Daily Mail journalist. Matthew Immers, the other half of the Netherlands pair, has mounted a staunch defence of his team-mate. “I feel comfortable with him, we take good care of each other,”…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Small, But Significant Victory
Marion County, Arkansas, posted signs on the front door of registrants last year identifying those individuals as people required to register as a sex offender. The signs stayed in place not for one day, but for about two weeks – a week before Halloween, Halloween and then a week after Halloween. This Halloween sign requirement was not a state law. In fact, it was not a county law. Instead, it was a decision by a county sheriff who printed signs with his name on it. Implementation of the Halloween sign…
Read MoreChanges to be Made in Treatment for CA Registrants on Parole
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has agreed in writing to stop their unwritten policy that required all registrants on parole to undergo treatment the entire time they are on parole. The agreement is the result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of registrants earlier this year. “This agreement is significant because it will help almost 7,000 registrants currently on parole,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This agreement will lead to early discharge for many of those registrants.” In the settlement agreement, CDCR agreed that…
Read MoreRI: Cranston YMCA employee fired for letting sex offender on grounds
Source: wpri.com 5/16/24 The YMCA of Greater Providence (GPYMCA) fired an employee earlier this month after learning she allowed a registered sex offender on the premises. The former employee worked for the aquatics program at the Cranston branch and the sex offender is her fiancé, GPYMCA CEO Karen Santilli told 12 News on Thursday. Watch the video
Read MoreTN: Tennessee will remove HIV-positive people convicted of sex work from violent sex offender list
Source: abcnews.go.com 7/19/24 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” under a lawsuit settlement finalized this week. Last year, LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Volunteer State’s aggravated prostitution statute, arguing that the law was enacted in response to the AIDS scare and discriminated against HIV-positive people. Read the full article
Read MorePlaintiff Files Final Brief in Missouri Halloween Sign Challenge
Source: ACSOL Today the plaintiff in the case challenging Missouri’s Halloween sign requirement filed his final brief in federal district court. The brief includes testimony from the trial which took place in St. Louis on June 20. In the brief, the plaintiff repeated his argument that the Missouri state law that requires signs to be posted on Halloween violates the First Amendment because it is speech compelled by the government. The brief notes that the proper standard of review for this case is strict scrutiny, a burden the Attorney General…
Read MoreMO: Man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for possessing computer-generated images of child sexual abuse
Source: newstalkkzrg.com 7/19/24 [ACSOL is posting this as a warning of harsh sentences for computer images] SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A West Plains, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for possessing hundreds of computer-generated images of child sexual abuse. Dace Allen _____, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Allen to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration. … This case was brought as part of Project Safe…
Read MoreSC: Church fires long-time pastor after finding out he was convicted 27 years ago of sex offense
Source: chvnradio.com 7/19/24 A church in South Carolina just fired their pastor after finding out some disturbing information about him regarding an assault on a 14-year-old girl. Pastor Donald _____ has been fired from his position at Eternal Church in Fort Mill, SC, in the U.S.A. It was recently revealed that Donald is a registered sex offender convicted of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl, an incident that took place 27 years ago. … The Eternal church elders shared that a few leaders were aware of Donald ’s criminal past.…
Read MoreFL: Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor reportedly arrested again on felony charge over sex offender registration violation
Source: msn.com 7/19/24 [ACSOL is posting this due to it being a well-known figure dealing with multi-state registration laws] Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was arrested on Wednesday on a felony charge for failing to report his residence change as a registered sex offender, according to The Athletic. Taylor, 65, turned himself into the Broward Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday and he was released on bail on Thursday, per the report. The incident is nearly identical to a situation in 2021, when Taylor was arrested for…
Read MoreFL: Westlake City Council blocks future registrants from living there
Source: cbs12.com 7/17/24 WESTLAKE, Fla. (CBS12) — The Westlake City Council unanimously signed off on plans to enact stricter requirements on sexual predators and offenders – with one minor change. The measure is designed to protect the youngest residents of the area’s fastest-growing city and its main focus is widening the zones where predators are allowed to live, keeping them further away from children. … Under the new regulations, schools, parks, community centers, playgrounds, and “other places where children regularly congregate” would be no-go zones. The proposal originally included libraries,…
Read MoreSome registrants will be prevented from traveling in Europe’s Schengen countries
Source: etias.org [Beginning first half of 2025] Criminal records can prevent you from being allowed to travel to the Schengen Zone. Any travellers applying for ETIAS for a short stay in Europe are likely to have their ETIAS application declined if they have committed a serious crime. Applications from people with minor offences will usually be approved for an ETIAS and granted entry to the 26 ETIAS countries. Any of the following serious criminal offences in the last ten years will need to be reviewed and likely to be declined:…
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