Source: rockdalenewtoncitizen.com 8/30/24 COVINGTON — The Newton County Sheriff’s Office has introduced a new way for the public to access the Newton County Sex Offender Registry. The NCSO debuted the new feature Aug. 22 at its annual meeting with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. The meeting is held each year to discuss updates and strategies related to sex offenders. This year’s meeting focused on monitoring homeless sex offenders and strengthening communication between law enforcement agencies. The NCSO presented a QR code system that will be available on all physical…
Read MoreMonth: August 2024
The link between local news coverage and Americans’ perceptions of crime
Source: pewresearch.org 8/29/24 For most of the past three decades, Americans have said crime is rising in the United States, even though official statistics show a dramatic decrease in crime during that span. In 23 of 27 Gallup surveys conducted since 1993, at least 60% of Americans have said there is more crime in the U.S. than there was the year before. But this perception is at odds with the data: Since 1993, the nation’s violent crime rate has plunged by nearly half, while the property crime rate has fallen…
Read MoreMN: Minnesota Sex Offender Program marks 30 years of failure and injustice
Source: minnesotareformer.com 8/30/24 As Minnesota marks 30 years of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program this week, let’s think of its true impact: a waste of vast resources under the guise of public safety. MSOP supposedly provides residential treatment after prison for those convicted of sex crimes deemed too dangerous to release into the public, but it is actually an unconstitutional nightmare — a life sentence based on what someone might do. MSOP was never meant to be a permanent solution, but the reality is most of the more than 700…
Read MoreCA DOJ to Send Notices to Those Convicted of Attempted Offenses
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) will send notices to those convicted of an attempted offense regarding the lowering of their tier assignment, according to a message received from that agency. The notices will be mailed to the homes of those who are affected by this change. CA DOJ sent an email message yesterday to an attorney who requested in June 2024 a new tier assignment for an individual convicted of an attempted offense. This request was made after a court issued a decision in March 2024…
Read MoreAL: Bill would prohibit sex offenders from serving as first responders
Source: aldailynews.com 8/29/24 Convicted sex offenders could not be first responders under legislation pre-filed in the Alabama Legislature. State law already prohibits sex offenders from working in schools, child care centers or other businesses that cater primarily to children. Rep. Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, said the law needs to be amended to cover first responders, including those at volunteer fire departments. “Without (this legislation) for that particular offender, we are basically opening the door and saying, you’re a first responder, if there’s a medical need, you can go into this day…
Read MoreCA: California Supreme Court upholds law that treats rapists more harshly than some murderers
Source: sfchronicle.com 8/29/24 Prisoners serving life terms for violent sex crimes committed between ages 18 and 25 are not entitled to a parole hearing after 25 years, even though such hearings are available for some convicted murderers, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The so-called one-strike sentences, approved by the California voters in 2006 and expanded by the Legislature in 2010, made violent sex offenders ineligible for early parole hearings because of the seriousness of their crimes and the danger they could pose after release, the court said. Lawmakers reasonably…
Read MoreCA: Background Check Vendors Reckon With Increased Job Bias Scrutiny
Source: bloomberglaw.com 8/23/24 Third-party employee screening companies are finding themselves more in the litigation fray in California for blocking job seekers with criminal records thanks to a growing advocacy and legal movement that’s pushing to hold them accountable alongside employers. A group of background check companies—DISA Global Solutions Inc., the Health and Safety Council, and the North American Background Screening Consortium—and three oil refinery businesses are accused of using a rating system that screens out otherwise qualified candidates solely based on their previous convictions that have no adverse relationship with…
Read MoreWatchdog: FBI continues to fail child sex abuse victims despite reforms after bungled Nassar investigation
Source: kcra.com 8/29/24 WASHINGTON —The FBI has continued to mishandle allegations of child sexual abuse in the years after the bureau’s notorious bungling of the investigation into disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, according to an audit by the Justice Department’s inspector general released Thursday. Because of those failures, allegations of sexual abuse against children were left unaddressed for months while minors continued to be victimized, the audit found. The audit followed up on issues that the department’s top watchdog identified as part of its scathing investigation into how the…
Read MoreOR: Accused child molester’s conviction overturned because judge wouldn’t remind jury that he was innocent until proven guilty
Source: oregonlive.com 8/26/24 A Washington County judge’s attempt at saving time by declining to read aloud a lengthy set of legal principles to a jury — including that the defendants are presumed innocent unless they are proven guilty — has prompted the Oregon Court of Appeals to throw out a man’s convictions for repeatedly sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl. In reversing the convictions and 50-year prison sentence of 35-year-old Derek ___, the Appeals Court said it was recognizing the “Extreme importance” that jurors understand the “fundamental constitutional” rules at play…
Read MoreCA: California courts now required to advise defendants of possible SVP plea consequences
Source: kpbs.org 8/26/24 The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that trial courts will be required to advise defendants of the consequences of pleading guilty to crimes that could make them eligible for designation as a sexually violent predator, in a ruling stemming from a case out of El Cajon. The state’s highest court found that typically, defendants are not informed that their pleas to certain charges could result in being designated as a sexually violent predator, or SVP, which could lead to an indefinite commitment to a state hospital for…
Read MoreAZ: I sent an Arizona man to prison for 290 years. His case still haunts me
Source: azcentral.com 8/26/24 I sent plenty of people to prison during my career as a judge. Now I’m working to get one man out, and not because I think he’s innocent. I participated in hundreds of sentencing hearings in my 44-year career as a prosecutor and as a judge. Most of the sentences imposed were within the range I thought reasonable given the crime committed and the defendant’s background. Occasionally, the law mandated an excessive sentence, which I had to impose. By far the most egregious example of an excessive…
Read MoreRestricting Freedom of Movement Is a Favorite Tool for Repressive Regimes
Source: reason.com 8/26/24 Needing permission to travel hands a dangerous tool to authoritarians. When you don’t like the rules—or rulers—where you live, and trying to change things isn’t worth the time, effort, or danger, one good response is to get the hell out. Find someplace that’s more to your taste by voting for something different with your feet. But what if the local powers-that-be don’t want dissidents to go and limit paths to exit? A new report says that’s exactly what many governments around the world are doing with restrictions…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Did It!
Thanks to almost 50 individuals, we did it! We raised $10,175 for the matching grant program in about two weeks. As a result, ACSOL has a total of $20,175 to apply toward significantly increasing the number of registrants who are eligible to petition for removal from the registry. This is not the first step, but it is an important step, in a multi-step process that began about 18 months ago when ACSOL made a presentation to the CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB). During that presentation, ACSOL identified several improvements…
Read MoreACSOL National Action Alert: Lend your support to H.R.2899 Second Chance Reauthorization Act
Source: bop.gov [from p2a.co:] For formerly incarcerated individuals, reentering society is filled with uncertainties. Those include gaining access to life’s basic needs like housing and a career, proven ways to ensure they don’t return to prison. But too often, they are unable to take advantage of what is offered to others without a criminal record and end up back behind bars, adding more costs to taxpayers. The Second Chance Reauthorization Act aims to give those who have served their time a leg up. It would extend vital reentry grant programs…
Read MoreNew Speakers Added to ACSOL Conference
Two new speakers have been added to the ACSOL conference to be held on Friday, September 20, and Saturday, September 21. The first of those speakers, Kathleen Hambrick, will address law enforcement stings from the perspective of a layperson. Ms. Hambrick’s presentation will include what’s trending in proactive sting tactics as well as a brief history of sting operations. Ms. Hambrick will speak on Friday at 2:15 p.m. The second of those speakers, Kimberly Ingold, will speak about the impact of the registry upon mothers of individuals required to register. …
Read MoreNY: Third County Sex Offender Registration Decision Overturned
Source: observertoday.com 8/20/24 A third designation of a sexually violent offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act in Chautauqua County has been reversed upon appeal. Fourth Department Appellate Division judges reversed their third such case in three months in late July. Once again, the case cites precedent the court set in a June case involving a decision made by Judge David Foley – though similar cases haven’t yet begun to spring up from other courts in the Eighth Judicial District. In the July case, a person pleaded guilty in a…
Read MoreIN: Interesting Stay Dispute in Seventh Circuit Minors’-Access-to-Porn Case
Source: reason.com 8/20/24 From Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Rokita, decided Friday by Judges Frank Easterbrook and Amy St. Eve: Indiana seeks a stay of the preliminary injunction that a district court entered preventing the enforcement of Ind. Code § 24-4-23, which requires web sites to limit minors’ access to certain sexual materials. Indiana’s statute is functionally identical to one adopted by Texas. That statute has been held to be valid [by the Fifth Circuit, though the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case]. Free Speech Coalition, Inc., which…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting CANCELED September 21, 2024 due to conference
Our conference will be held September 20 and 21, so our next online meeting will be in October. We look forward to joining us at the conference. Click here to signup today. – Janice
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