Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has issued new regulations that limit treatment requirements for registrants while on parole. The regulations were issued on October 14 and became effective on that date. According to the regulations, registrants on parole will be evaluated annually to determine whether treatment beyond the first year of parole is required. If additional treatment is required, that decision must be written and a copy of that decision must be provided to the registrant within 30 days. “The new regulations will benefit many…
Read MoreMonth: October 2024
New report, One Size Fits None, explores counterproductive and difficult conditions of probation in all 50 states
Source: prisonpolicy.org 10/15/24 Easthampton, Mass. — A new report from the Prison Policy Initiative provides one of the most comprehensive 50-state compilations of “standard” conditions of probation to date, shining a light on the burdensome rules that govern the lives of nearly 3 million people and that doom many to inevitable further punishments. The report, One Size Fits None, and accompanying data organize probation rules from 76 jurisdictions into topical categories — allowing readers to compare rules in their state to other states, and exposing how these systems turn even everyday behaviors into acceptable reasons for…
Read MoreCA: LA Archdiocese agrees to pay $880M to settle clergy abuse claims
Source: dailyjournal.com 10/16/24 The deal, subject to approval from all the plaintiffs, would provide compensation to 1,353 victims. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed Wednesday to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse. With the $740 million paid to victims in 2007, the church has now agreed to pay a record $1.5 billion. “It’s been a long time coming and a huge amount and work to get to this point. I’m convinced that the archdiocese has done everything they could to make this thing work and compensate clients.…
Read MoreTim Ballard files lawsuits against women accusing him of sexual assault
Source: thespectator.com 10/10/24 A number have alleged the subject of Sound of Freedom used the ‘couples ruse’ as a pretext to make unwanted sexual advances Timothy Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad and subject of the film Sound of Freedom, has filed lawsuits against seven women who are accusing him of sexual assault: Celeste Borys, Sashaleigha Hightower, Mary Hall, Kira Lynch, Krista Kacey, Bree Righter and Amy Morgan Davis. Specific accusations against Ballard include pretending to have sex with Borys in the shower, grinding, grabbing, kissing and licking. “It…
Read MoreNothing Sums Up the Sex Offender Registry Quite Like Halloween
Source: filtermag.org 10/9/24 Since 2008, people on sex offender registries in Missouri have been required to post a sign at their home each year on October 31: No candy or treats at this residence. In a ruling issued October 2, a federal judge found the signs unconstitutional because they’re a form of “compelled speech”—when the state forces you to express a viewpoint you don’t agree with. Judge John A. Ross noted two other courts to previously address similar Halloween signs, both of which found them unconstitutional for the same reason. California overturned the requirement in 2012. Georgia…
Read MoreMO: Children’s Advocacy Center reminds parents they are responsible for their children’s safety on Halloween
Source: yahoo.com 10/7/24 ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A long-standing Missouri Halloween statute for registered sex offenders has been abolished, striking down the requirement for posting warning signs outside of their homes. Since 2008, state law mandates that offenders stay indoors, keep their lights off, and display the signs to warn trick-or-treaters. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson challenged the law after he was arrested days after Halloween 2022 for having a large display and handing out candy. Sanderson claimed the law forced him to express a message he didn’t agree with.…
Read MoreSex Offenders’ Risk Assessment Process and Effects on Jurisdiction Transitioning
Source: scholarworks.waldenu.edu 8/23/23 Abstract The Adam Walsh Act created sex offender notification and registration requirements to encourage state compliance toward federal guidelines and assigned threat levels to registered sex offenders using mandated assessment processes. Researchers have pointed out that the transition by states using tiered assessment processes to the federally mandated guidelines has led to operational changes to state registration procedures. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the effects and impacts on jurisdictions transitioning the designation of registered sex offenders’ threat assessment levels from a formal risk-based…
Read MoreAbolish or Reform? An Analysis of Post-Release Supervision
Source: papers.ssrn.com 6/14/24 Abstract At year-end 2021, there were nearly four million individuals serving a term of probation, parole, or post-release supervision in the United States. This paper uses a unique and detailed dataset to study two distinct changes to state law that eliminated and then reinstated post-release supervision for a subset of the population released from Kansas prisons. Each of these changes occurred in very different periods of criminal justice policy (2000 and 2013 respectively), but yielded the same result: post-release supervision caused large increases in reimprisonment with no…
Read MoreMO: This Halloween, Missouri sex offenders won’t have to post warning signs outside homes
Source: webstercountycitizen.com 10/4/24 ST. LOUIS — The state of Missouri can no longer require sex offenders to post signs outside their homes on Halloween stating “No candy or treats at this residence,” a federal judge ruled this week. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson filed suit last year arguing the sign requirement violated his free speech rights because it forced him to make a statement with which he didn’t agree. This week, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross agreed, finding the sign requirement was a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.…
Read MoreCA: Federal court ruling leads to removal of mugshots on Lake County Sheriff’s Office website
Source: lakeconews.com 9/19/24 LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A federal court ruling handed down earlier this month has resulted in changes to inmate and arrest information posted on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website. The Houston V. Maricopa County ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court led to the sheriff’s office temporarily disabling its “recent arrests” and “in custody” online tools on its website at www.lakesheriff.com. The Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that Maricopa County, Arizona’s practice of posting photographs of arrestees — which is common across the United States — is not…
Read MoreMO: Federal Court Grants Permanent Statewide Injunction in Missouri
Source: ACSOL A federal district court in Missouri has granted a permanent statewide injunction that prohibits the enforcement of a Halloween sign requirement in that state. As a result of this injunction registrants in Missouri will not be required to post a sign on their home on Halloween. The permanent injunction does not apply, however, to the remaining Halloween restrictions that prohibit registrants from giving candy to children, decorate or their homes or leave on porch lights that day. Any registrant who violates those prohibitions could be convicted of a…
Read MoreMI: Federal judge rules on ACLU lawsuit over Michigan’s sex offender registry
Source: detroitnews.com 10/1/24 A federal judge in Detroit has ruled parts of Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act are unconstitutional, ACLU officials of Michigan said Monday. It said the decision will affect tens of thousands of people and follows two recent rulings by the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as numerous federal court decisions dating back to 2013. Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled on a lawsuit the ACLU filed in February 2022 on behalf of several Michigan sex offenders over the state law, which was first passed in…
Read MoreA Prosecutor Allegedly Told a Witness To Destroy Evidence. He Can’t Be Sued for It.
Source: reason.com 10-2024 Absolute immunity protects prosecutors even when they commit serious misconduct on the job. Consider the following hypothetical: You are jailed for two years as you await trial for murder. You are facing the death penalty. You have cancer, which had been in remission until you were incarcerated without proper treatment and monitoring. And, it turns out, you were charged based on a false witness statement, a fact that the local prosecutor allegedly encouraged the destruction of evidence to obscure. Now imagine suing that prosecutor and being told…
Read MoreGeneral Comments Oct 2024
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Oct 2024. 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. Other months General Comments
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