The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a bill Monday.
Nearly eight years ago, Bucks County resident Steve Gordon left state prison after completing a 10-year sentence for sexually assaulting a woman, but he was not quite a free man.
His conviction for aggravated indecent sexual assault meant that Pennsylvania State Police would be keeping tabs on him for another decade.
A little more than five years ago, though, Gordon, now 71, suddenly had state police monitoring him for the rest of his life, after state lawmakers replaced the previous Megan’s Law with a new tougher federal version.
The new law, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, expanded and reclassified crimes requiring sex offender registration that was applied retroactively. It added an estimated 2,000 individuals to the sex offender registry and for roughly 4,500 ex-offenders, like Gordon, turned a 10-year registration into a lifetime obligation.
Then, last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Adam Walsh Act cannot be applied to individuals convicted before the law took effect on Dec. 20, 2012. But the high court did not provide any guidance for how the decision should be applied or what happens to the offenders retroactively added to the registry.
Now Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed another overhaul of the sex offender law to prevent thousands of the roughly 22,000 ex-sex offenders currently on the Megan’s Law registry from being removed, including roughly half of the 500 Megan’s Law offenders in Bucks County. House lawmakers unanimously passed the bill in December and the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on it Monday.
The proposed legislation would turn back the clock for ex-offenders convicted before the 2012 law took effect, but still require they finish any original registration obligation under the old version of Megan’s Law, which was either 10 years or a lifetime. The bill also would loosen some burdensome requirements including giving offenders with lifetime registration obligations the ability to get off the registry.
Well that’s not in keeping with the 6th’s circuit’s ruling. Unconstitutional. Lawsuits will be filed.
“Slightly less stupid” is apparently the gold standard for state lawmakers (pick a state) these days.
@Trish
I’ll tell you where they are, their hiding in their closets because they don’t want to looses their reputation or face embarrassment or be called out for giving the truth about sex offender true ricidavism and statistics, they don’t want to loose their 6 figure salaries, just like they got what , 288 yes votes and 0 No votes, because their a bunch of pussies because they can’t stand up and say this is how I feel because their scared little bitches, excuse my speech miss but they are.
Big difference between law and politics. As long as it’s socially acceptable to discriminate against SOs, laws against them will continue to be proposed and passed. At least until it becomes socially acceptable to discriminate against a different group.
America seems to have lost its way. We have a judicial system that arrests men/woman and files so many charges against them to plead “guilty” or do life in prison. 95% of guilty pleas are obtained without a trial. Americans are serving sentences that are not just or accurate. We have judges sentencing Americans to unprecedented length of time in prisons alienating them from family. We have prisons that are not safe, healthy or productive in rehabilitation. Crime is big business and our judicial system seem to be profiting the most with high paying jobs, government benefits and early retirement. America has more citizens in prison than any other country in the world. Too sad! Punitive actions continue after prison with fines and back child support. Recidivism rate is 1 – 4 %, lowest of most crimes.
Police can monitor serious sex offenders with a private registry that will allow man & woman an opportunity for a second chance. Destroying a person by posting them on the internet, announces their crimes at their workplace and neighborhood only undermines their opportunities to become productive citizens after time served. We all have skeletons in our closets. How would you like your skeleton posted on the internet or announced in the neighborhood or workplace? Our esteemed government officials that have passed such stringent laws either use taxpayers money to pay off an accuser or resign from politics and enjoy their lucrative retirement package, again at tax payers expense. Abuse is wrong no matter which end of the spectrum you are on. It is time for justice for all with integrity and compassion. Lord Jesus have mercy on America!
It seems some with political careers are not even attempting to hide their unconstitutional intent. SCOTUS upheld ex post registration because:
A. Laws are presumed constitutional when passed by duly elected.
B. The intent was stated civil.
C. Registration itself forced non affirmative disability or restraint.
D. The indenture was mainly administrative.
E. Did not resemble punishments like P&P as SOR agents may not interfere with movement and registrants were at liberty to live and work where they wished.
Given that we now know today that the electronic databases are being used to protect our children by the use of banishment. Hence, the people’s original intent with the electronic databases is clear, despite stated purpose by antithetical legislators.
The problem with this course is the people wonder why act like criminals its just that WE FOLLOW OUR LEADERSHIP!
“To allow potentially dangerous sex offenders to escape registration, as the (Supreme Court) decision provides, does not move the Commonwealth forward,” he wrote in a co-sponsorship memo. “Indeed, the decision is a step backward in terms of the safety and security of the Commonwealth’s citizens.”
Potentially dangerous sex offenders? That is one of the reasons the PASC ruled against the Commonwealth in Muniz — the presumption that because someone was convicted of a particular enumerated offense is enough to presume he will reoffend [irrebutable presumption doctrine].
I hope the legal community is paying attention to people like Aaron Zappia and Senate Judiciary Chairman Stewart Greenleaf (R) so they can use their words against them in the next lawsuit. Knowing the intent of the legislature is important.
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Add Alabama to shit hole states like Florida and PA.