[politico.com – 12/30/20] In the run-up to the election in November, there was a pervasive belief that the fate of the nation could hinge on Florida because of its 2018 passage of Amendment 4, which reversed a permanent voting ban for 1.4 million Floridians with felony records. Then, in September, an appellate court ruled that people with felony convictions must pay all their court fines and fees before they are permitted to exercise the franchise. Activists called the decision an affront to American democracy; the vote, they argued, is the…
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It Could Be You – Vicky Henry with Women Against Registry – Recorded Dec 16, 2020
[womenagainstregistry.org – 12/16/20] Listen to Vicky Henry with Women Against Registry The program is courtesy of “It Could Be You”, and KABF 88.3 FM Community Radio, The Voice of the People, Little Rock, Arkansas. www.kabf.org
Read MoreLA Times Editorial: End irrational sentencing
[latimes.com – 12/30/20] The explosion in California’s prison population can be traced to first-term Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on the Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act of 1976, a bill that was supposed to remove racism and irrationality from prison terms but in the end did the opposite. Fourth-term Gov. Brown, who left office last year, understood the problem well. He presided over a prison system that has been under federal court order since 2011 to reduce unconscionable crowding — the result of gratuitous “enhancements” piled on by lawmakers and voters over…
Read MoreUK: ‘Black Panther of Oxford’ calls for racists to be put on sex offenders-style ‘race offence register’
[thesun.co.uk – 12/30/20] A LEADER of a new political party inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement has called for people accused of racism to be put on a sex offenders-style “race offenders register”. Sasha Johnson, the self-styled “Black Panther of Oxford”, said anyone added to the proposed list would be stopped from doing certain jobs or living in certain areas. Johnson, 26, a youth worker and cafe owner, gained attention over summer as a prominent figure at a number of BLM protests, and has since helped to found the…
Read MoreNV: How Public Defenders Rocked Las Vegas Judge Elections
[theappeal.org – 12/21/20] Community organizing in Nevada’s Clark County helped judicial candidates “flip the bench” to challenge cash bail and mass incarceration. When Christy Craig started working at the public defender’s office in Clark County, Nevada, in 1998, she didn’t plan to ever run for judge. “I knew that was my gig,” Craig said. “I couldn’t have been happier to be there.” Since then, Craig has represented thousands of defendants and scored landmark wins in suits against the State on issues of correctional mental health and cash bail. But soon…
Read MoreJoin the Virtual Florida Action Committee Holiday Party December 24 and 25
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 12/23/20] If you find yourself stranded for the holidays, no where to go….just pick up the phone and come to our FAC Virtual Holiday Party. TEN full hours of entertainment over TWO days! Pop-in anytime and stay as long as you want. Be part of the entertainment. if you have a special request or something you want to share, just let us know and we will give you the stage! The schedule is flexible. Share this Flyer with friends and family. One catch – You have to provide…
Read MoreNY: New York Issues First-In-Nation Moratorium On Facial Recognition In Schools
[forbes.com – 12/22/20] Topline New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Tuesday temporarily banning the use of facial recognition in schools, making it the first state to take such a step. Key Facts The law suspends facial recognition and other biometric technology in both public and private schools until July 2022, directing the state to conduct a study and issue recommendations about whether the technology is appropriate for schools. Cuomo’s office said the study will “seek feedback from teachers and parents, as well as experts in school safety, security,…
Read MoreNew Federal COVID Bill Provides Funding for Registrant Management
[ACSOL] Congress passed a new bill yesterday that is primarily focused upon COVID issues. Hidden in that legislation, which totals more than $900 billion, is about $200 million for the management of individuals required to register as sex offenders. The largest amount of funding for the management of registrants is $179 million for expenses related to “community supervision and sex offender registration” including expenses related to a protection order. In addition, the legislation provides $20 million for “sex offender management assistance” pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act and $1 million…
Read MoreHow extreme porn has become a gateway drug into child abuse
[theguardian.com – 12/15/20] Michael Sheath has been counselling people with what he describes as “deviant sexual interests” for a long time. “I have been working with men who abuse children for 33 years. For the first 15 years I worked with child molesters and I still do that, but now I also work with downloaders of child abuse imagery and online groomers.” Sheath is principal practitioner at the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, counselling men who have been arrested for looking at child abuse images. He is on the frontline of what…
Read MoreFL: Motion to Alter or Amend filed in Ex Post Facto Plus Case
[floridaactioncommittee.org 0 12/22/20] As promised, the Ex Post Facto Plus case has not seen the end of the road. Yesterday, attorneys for the Does filed a Motion to Alter or Amend the Order. A copy of the Motion is below, but in lay terms it argues that the very recent 11th Circuit Court Case upon which the court relied should be distinguished from this one and/or the case should proceed as to the current Plaintiff’s obligations under the changes to the registry made within the statute of limitations (4 years…
Read MoreCrow introduces bill to deny Congress members’ pensions for sexual misconduct
[gazette.com – 12/21/20] U.S. Rep. Jason Crow was among the representatives on Friday to propose denying members of Congress their annual retirement payments if convicted for sexual misconduct. “As a soldier I learned that leadership starts with the example you set. I have long believed that members of Congress must be held to the same standard as our men and women in uniform,” said Crow. “However current law gives a pass to those in Congress. Sexual abuse is a crime and we must ensure it is treated like one and…
Read MoreWA: UW Seattle to host homeless Tent City 3 again [except for sex offenders]
[kiro7.com – 12/20/20] SEATTLE — The University of Washington welcomed back Tent City 3, hosting up to 70 residents for the next three months. UW said the lower occupancy will allow for social distancing and other COVID precautions. “Welcoming back Tent City 3 aligns with UW’s public mission and its commitment to helping solve the challenges of our city, state and world,” said Sally J. Clark, director of regional and community relations in a direct message to the UW News. “While organized tent cities are not a solution to homelessness,…
Read MoreMI: ACLU calls for Whitmer veto on Legislature-approved changes to Sex Offender Registration Act
[mlive.com – 12/20/20] DETROIT – Approved changes to Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act are unconstitutional and ineffective at stopping offenders, argues the state’s ACLU chapter in an appeal for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to veto. State lawmakers approved altering registration protocols for sex offenders during the Legislature’s Wednesday, Dec. 16 session, fulfilling a 4-year-old mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals. The federal court ruled in 2016 that it was unconstitutional to impose new restrictions on people convicted before the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act was updated with added rules in…
Read MoreGA: Removing the Scarlet Letter
[lagrangenews.com – 12/15/20] Decades ago, our state established the Georgia Sex Offender Registry (SOR). The purpose of SOR is to protect our citizens from sexually dangerous predators by identifying offenders that present the greatest risk of sexually re-offending. However, many people who are registered with SOR should not be because they pose no danger to society. Read the full opinion
Read MoreLA: Legislators look at options to increase reliability of LA. sex offender registry
[houmatoday.com – 12/18/20] Legislators began Thursday looking at changes to state law that would address inaccuracies in the registry that alerts neighbors that someone convicted of sex and/or child predatory crimes lives nearby. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that the severity of the crime, called a tier, wasn’t accurate for 61% of the sex offenders tested. The information listed on the registry wasn’t updated in 21% of the cases. That could mean the public often doesn’t know when a predator is within their midst. It could also mean that the…
Read MoreCO: State Supreme Court bars multiple convictions based on quantity of pornographic images
[coloradopolitics.com – 12/14/20] The Colorado Supreme Court has clarified that no matter how many pornographic images an individual possesses, sexual exploitation of a child merits a single charge, which prosecutors had derogatorily deemed a “volume discount on child pornography.” Following the decision, multiple state legislators agreed that the guidelines for prosecuting the crime should spark a conversation given the court’s interpretation. “What does justice look like for child pornography, be it one image or 10 images or 1,000 images?” asked Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora. “All I have to say is it…
Read MorePakistan: Chemical Castration, Sex Offender Registry in Pakistan’s New Rape Law
[vice.com – 12/16/20] Rocked by intense protests after a violent gang rape in September, Pakistan’s president has approved a new anti-rape law that seeks to double down on sexual crimes against women and children in the country. Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020 will give speedy trials to women and children, create a national registry of sex offenders, give privacy to victims and survivors, and also allow chemical castration of repeat sex offenders. Moreover, the consent of the convict will not be taken for executing castration, the discretion of which will be held…
Read MoreMI: Michigan Senate approves tightened restrictions in Sex Offender Registration Act
[mlive.com – 12/16/20] The proposed amendments to SORA in House Bill 5679 are: Giving sex offenders no more than three days to register or report status changes in person with local law enforcement. Requiring offenders to report all email addresses, social media names or other forms of “internet identifiers.” That would not apply retroactively to offenders prior to July 1, 2011, but anyone required to register after that date must comply. Requiring all telephone numbers and vehicles used by the offender to be reported. Previously, they didn’t need to report…
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