Author: R H

CA: Coalition of district attorneys files legal challenge to new state prison good conduct credits

R H

[lakeconews.com – 5/14/21] A group of district attorneys from across California are joining forces to challenge new emergency state regulations that could expand good conduct credits to the majority of state prison inmates. Forty-one elected district attorneys — including Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones — filed a petition with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Kathleen Alliso to request the repeal of temporary emergency regulations awarding additional good conduct credits to more than 76,000 state prison inmates, or nearly 80 percent of the state’s prison population. The district…

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DE: Convicted Murderer Killed His Child Rapist Cellmate: Police

R H

[lawandcrime.com – 5/12/21] A prison inmate murdered his convicted child rapist cellmate on Monday, the Delaware State Police announced Wednesday. At face value, a conviction would not change very much for defendant John Cameron, 55. He’s already serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, authorities said. Troopers responded to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in the town of Smyrna at about 8:13 a.m. on Monday, police said. Authorities determined that Cameron killed Philip Langell, 69, who was serving a 20-year sentence for rape in the first degree against a…

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Janice’s Journal: Two Men Required to Register Murdered This Week

R H

Two men, who were required to register as sex offenders, were murdered this week.  Each murder is a tragedy.  Together the murders should serve as a wake-up call that vigilante violence against registrants has returned. The first murder took place on Monday in a Delaware prison when Phillip Langell, who was 69 years old, was stabbed, punched and strangled by his cellmate.  The cellmate is a 55-year-old skinhead convicted of multiple violent offenses and sentenced to life without parole. Perhaps I have watched too many prison movies during the pandemic…

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NJ: Senate Bill Would Reform Chiropractor Board, Ban Sex Offenders from All Health Care Positions

R H

[einnews.com – 5/13/21] Acting in response to the “irresponsible” action by the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners in renewing the professional license of a convicted child sex offender, a Senate committee today approved legislation authored by Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Senator Joe Vitale that would reform the board and prohibit the licensing of any health care worker convicted of a sex offense. The bill, S-3494, would add two public members to the 11-person chiropractic board and expand its responsibilities in reviewing the qualifications of…

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CA: Sex offender targeted in deadly Wheatland shooting, police say

R H

[abc10.com – 5/12/21] New details are emerging surrounding a bomb scare that caused an evacuation in Wheatland. The otherwise quiet community of Wheatland was shaken Wednesday evening after a bomb scare was tied to a homicide. “All of a sudden [I] hear those initial four shots and I go on the couch in the living room with the house wide open,” said Robert Kesterson. “I said, ‘those were gunshots.’” The disturbing events unfolded on G Street next to Kesterson’s home. Wheatland Police say they found 55-year-old Ralph Mendez shot inside…

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CA: California laws go easier on rapists who attack their spouses

R H

[UPDATE: California Legislature Stalls Efforts to End Spousal Rape Distinction – newuniversity.org – 5/15/21] [sfchronicle.com – 5/12/21] Stanford law professor Michele Dauber thought pushing for changes to the state’s spousal rape laws would be a no-brainer. After all, this is 2021. In so-called progressive California. Why would anybody support old-fashioned laws distinguishing spousal rape from rape, making the latter subject to far more serious consequences? The legislature would surely rubber-stamp it and quickly move on. Nope. It can’t even get a hearing. “I’m shocked. Absolutely shocked,” said Dauber, best known…

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OK: Law enforcement pushing to close loophole allowing sex offenders at Oklahoma school bus stops

R H

[krmg.com – 5/12/21] TULSA, Okla. — Law enforcement says there is a loophole in the law that allows convicted sexual predators to legally be at your child’s school bus stop. After learning of the oversight, following an incident in April, FOX23 went to police and lawmakers to find out what they are doing about it. … Adams wants to give other sex offenders a reason to stay away, so he went to Oklahoma State Rep. Ross Ford. “It really upsets me that we have let that fall through the cracks,”…

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MT: Judge Blocks Requirement for ‘Gay Sex’ Offender Registration

R H

[usnews.com – 5/12/21] The state of Montana has no valid reason to require a man to register as a sex offender based on his conviction for having gay sex in Idaho in 1993, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen on Tuesday prevented the state from requiring Randall Menges of Butte to register as a sex offender under Idaho’s Crimes Against Nature law. “None of the governmental interests in maintaining a sexual offender registry are served by Menges’ inclusion,” Christensen wrote. “Engagement in intimate sexual contact with…

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LA: House committee rejects Louisiana sex offender ID bill due to legal concerns

R H

[theadvocate.com – 5/11/21] A bill that would require the driver’s license or identification card of sex offenders to carry a special designation was narrowly rejected Tuesday in the House Transportation Committee. State Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, said his proposal was aimed at protecting citizens while also complying with a recent ruling by the state Supreme Court. The court last year struck down a state law that said IDs for sex offenders had to include the words “SEX OFFENDER” printed in orange. The measure failed 6-7 after a lengthy discussion. Critics…

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New Friends Outside Publication – Improving Outcomes for Individuals with Sex Offenses

R H

[friendsoutsidela.org – 5/11/21] Friends Outside Los Angeles County is pleased to announce the release of its publication, “Improving Outcomes for Individuals with Sex Offenses.”  Written in partnership with two researchers, Luis Barrera Castanon, Ph.D., and Marco Murillo, Ph.D., the publication is our final report that to the project funder, the California Workforce Development Board.   We undertook the project because of the dearth of information about persons with sex offenses (“registrants”), the myths surrounding them, the stigma against them, and the facts about them.  (For example, did you know that this…

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MI: Bill to create child abuse offenders registry heads to the Michigan House [Updated 4/29/22]

R H

4/29/22 UPDATE: Child Abuse registry bill awaits action from Governor Whitmer [fox47news.com – 5/11/21] Parents don’t always know just who is caring for or spending time with their children. … “I believe strongly that parents have a right to know if someone who is living with their children or if someone’s taking care of their children that they’ve had a history of child abuse,” said State Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-East Lansing) who created new legislation called Wyatt’s Law alongside his brother Rep. Kevin Hertel (D-18). The law which passed…

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What makes school zones “safe” for children?

R H

[floridaactioncommittee.org – 5/11/21] Dear Members and Advocates, What makes school zones “safe” for children? Residency restrictions and proximity ordinances preventing persons required to register as sex offenders from living or even entering within thousands of feet of a school somehow create the illusion that once inside the exclusion zone, our children will be safe from sexual assault. Nothing can be further from the truth. We see this example over and over again, most recently in the case of a Tampa, Florida teacher who was sentenced to 15 years in prison…

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WI: State Supreme Court to hear transgender sex offender registry case

R H

[wsaw.com – 2/10/21] MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Shawano County transgender woman who has been prohibited from changing her male name due to her listing on the state sex offender registry. … She argues that requiring her to register as a sex offender violates her First Amendment rights and forces her to identify herself as a male anytime she is required to present her legal name. Read the full article  

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OR: Senate Bill 499 should become law

R H

[eastoregonian.com – 5/8/21] Earl Bain was wrongfully convicted in Malheur County in 2009 and spent six years in prison. After the complaining witness in his case recanted her story, with the help of the Oregon Innocence Project he was pardoned on the grounds of innocence by Gov. Kate Brown in August 2020. For over six years of my life, I was wrongfully incarcerated in an Oregon prison. I was convicted in Malheur County of a crime I did not commit and falsely labeled as having abused my own child. I…

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Uganda: Convicted homosexuals to be included in Uganda sex offender registry

R H

[76crimes.com – 5/7/21] Ugandans convicted of having sex with people of the same sex would be included in a new sex offender registry, following the passage by Parliament of a new anti-gay bill May 4. If the bill is signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, people convicted under provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 would be entered for life into a publicly accessible sex offenders registry. The database would be hosted by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and would be accessible by security agencies, health insurance…

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NY: Endicott Sex Offender Fails to Register Email Accounts

R H

[wnbf.com – 5/7/21] An Endicott man is facing up to ten years in prison after he admitted failing to register his email accounts as a convicted sex offender. 72-year-old Thomas ____ was convicted in 2004 of child pornography and crossing a state line to engage in sex with a child under the age of 12. He was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and report personal identifying information, including email accounts. Officials with the U-S Attorney Northern District say ____ failed to register…

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‘In the Valley of Sin’: The real story behind the fake sex ring that changed Wenatchee forever

R H

[foxnews.com/ – 5/6/21] Wenatchee, Washington – also know as “Happy Valley” – is nestled in the middle of Washington state, with beautiful mountain views and crisp, juicy apples. But Wenatchee’s quiet aura – and reputation – all began to change once the Doggett family moved in. Fox Nation explores why in the new special, ‘In the Valley of Sin.’ In December 1994, Mark and Carol Doggett had been accused of raping one of their children after moving to Wenatchee, and were each consequently sentenced with ten years in state prison.…

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South Africa: Warning against making register for sex offenders public

R H

[www.iol.co.za – 5/7/21] Pretoria – The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has warned against calls to make public the national register for sex offenders. It is believed that making the register public would curb sexual offences against children, but according to the department, this would fuel mob justice against perpetrators. … Department spokesperson Steve Mahlangu said publicising the register could not be done without violating the right to privacy of an individual, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. “There are also dangers of the register being used unjustifiably…

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