It’s a phone message you don’t want. Someone from the registry office calling. “This is Mr. ……, call me back, ASAP”. Your mind goes into overdrive. What did I do? Did I go someplace I wasn’t supposed to? Did I cross some imaginary boundary line that I wasn’t aware of? Did someone file some false complaint against me? Your imagination runs amok. Even though you know that you haven’t done anything wrong, that message has put you into panic mode, you’re scared to death to make the return call. You…
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CA: California Prisoner Confesses To Killing 2 Molesters
[sacramento.cbslocal.com – 2/20/20] CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — A California prison inmate confessed in a letter that he beat two child molesters to death with a cane while behind bars just hours after his urgent warning to a counselor that he might become violent was ignored, a newspaper chain reported Thursday. Jonathan Watson, 41, confessed in the letter to the Bay Area News Group in Northern California that he clubbed both men in the head on Jan. 16 at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran. Prisoner…
Read MoreMO: Some Sex Offenders Could Be Banned from Going Near Missouri Nature and Education Centers
[douglascountyherald.com – 2/20/20] State Representative Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, wants to ban some registered sex offenders from going within 500 feet of any Missouri Conservation Department nature or education center. The Missouri House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee is considering Kelly’s bill, which could charge violators with a felony. The measure would apply to sex offenders who have committed certain sex crimes against children. “We have an ultimate responsibility to ensure that when the prosecutor goes after that individual for perpetrating evil crimes against a child, that we have…
Read MoreCan we banish our way to public safety? [The Appeal by Kyle Barry]
[mailchi.mp/theappeal – 2/20/20] This month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to curb public lewdness, groping, and other unwanted touching on New York City’s public transit: a three-year ban on “repeat and high-risk sexual offenders” from the city’s subways, buses, and trains. “MTA riders deserve to feel safe, and we have an obligation to ensure they will not be targeted by sex offenders,” he said. “Enough is enough.” It’s not the first time Cuomo has endorsed the idea. Last year, he described a sex offender subway ban as…
Read MoreFL: Day care opens near transitional house with sex offenders
[actionnewsjax.com – 2/19/20] JACKSONVILLE,, Fla. — A local day care opened in a neighborhood surrounded with registered sex offenders and predators. An Action News Jax investigation found people convicted of sex crimes now live less than 1,000 feet from Bella Childcare, which started enrolling children in January. A viewer, who didn’t want to give his name, reached out to Action News Jax to express concerns because he provides transitional housing for sex offenders nearby. The transitional house is on Walnut St., which is right around the corner from Bella Childcare.…
Read MoreFL: Florida can’t bar felons from registering to vote over fees and fines, court rules
[cbsnews.com – 2/19/20] Florida cannot bar felons who served their time from registering to vote simply because they have failed to pay all fines and fees stemming from their cases, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Tallahassee federal judge’s preliminary injunction that the implementation of Amendment 4 – approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 to allow most felons who served their time to regain the right to vote – amounted to an unfair poll tax that would…
Read MoreTX: Texas church expelled from Southern Baptist Convention for hiring registered sex offender as pastor
[tennessean.com – 2/18/20] The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee expelled a Texas church Tuesday for employing a pastor who is a registered sex offender. The 80-plus member body, which acts on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention when it is not in session, took a vote to disfellowship Ranchland Heights Baptist Church in Midland, Texas, during its regularly scheduled meeting in Nashville. Ranchland Heights is “no longer to be considered in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention,” said the Rev. Mike Stone, chairman of the Executive Committee. Read the full article
Read MoreTN: Tennessee bill would change penalties for public urination
[newschannel9.com – 2/18/20] NASHVILLE, Tenn.–A bill before committee in the Tennessee General Assembly would prevent a person from being seen as a sex offender if they perform “an excretory function” in public. HB 2079/SB 2822 is sponsored by Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) and Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) in their respective houses. Under the bill, the offense of indecent exposure would not include excretion in public as given the intent was not criminal. Read more
Read MoreNM: Bill to increase penalties for human trafficking and expand sex offender registration clears House
[nmpoliticalreport.com – 2/15/20] A bill that supporters say will get tough on human trafficking and expand who has to register as a sex offender in the state took another step forward Saturday when the House chamber passed it unanimously. There was no debate on the bill on the House floor and it passed 66-0. HB 237 expands the definition of human trafficking to include “harboring, maintaining, patronizing and providing” people for such purposes. It also raises the age definition of “child” from 16 to 18 in cases of forced sex…
Read MoreNewsrooms Rethink a Crime Reporting Staple: The Mugshot
[themarshallproject.org – 2/11/20] Some are red-eyed from crying, others visibly drunk. Some sport black eyes or jarring face tattoos. Occasionally, one offers an addled grin. Online mugshot galleries, where news organizations post rows of people who were arrested, once seemed like an easy moneymaker for struggling newsrooms: Each reader click to the next image translated to more page views and an opportunity for more advertising dollars. Published in partnership with Poynter. But faced with questions about the lasting impact of putting these photos on the internet, where they live forever,…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Maryland Mom’s Petition Misrepresents Registrants
A mother in Maryland has a change.org petition which seeks to overhaul Maryland state guidelines/Bill 320 for “sex offenders” by requiring lifetime supervision. (The full article can be read on the ACSOL website.) The impetus for her zealous petition appears to be a child- abuse situation within her own family, a spouse who allegedly abused one of her children. In reading her petition, she provides an overview of the emotional drama going on within her particular situation, the financial costs of sexual abuse to her family and her request for…
Read MoreCA: Free Legal Clinic in Sacramento for People with Records on February 20th
[rootandrebound.org] Root and Rebound will host a FREE Reentry Legal Clinic for people with arrest and conviction records. Click here for details Sign up here Thursday, February 20, 2020 2:30 PM 5:00 PM Sacramento State University Lassen Hall RM 1013 (“The Vault”) Campus Map You can ask reentry-related legal questions or other questions about how having a record impacts clients’ lives & rights. They will also be providing free know-your-rights resources including Root and Rebound Reentry Planning Toolkit. If possible, please bring: (1) a government-issued photo ID; and (2) a…
Read MoreCA: Sacramento-Area Reentry Network Free Expungement Clinic March 7, April 4
[arc.losrios.edu – 2/13/20] Trying to get a job & need your background cleared? Clear or reduce your criminal record (California arrests and convictions only) at the clinic. YOU ARE ELIGIBLE IF 1) you do not have any pending criminal cases, and 2) you are not currently on parole. REQUIREMENT: BRING A COPY OF YOUR CALIFORNIA RAP SHEET. Request at any Live Scan location. (2 weeks in advance) For more information on requesting them, go to: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/record-review Clinic dates and times are: https://arc.losrios.edu/campus-life/calendar-and-events/free-expungement-clinic-x20100 Saturday, March 7, 2020 Saturday, April 4, 2020…
Read MoreMN: Minnesota sex offenders sue over residency restrictions in Apple Valley
[startribune.com – 2/13/20] A group of convicted sex offenders has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a far-reaching ordinance in Apple Valley that severely restricts where they can live, alleging that the ordinance effectively bars them from living anywhere in the city. In a federal class action lawsuit filed Wednesday, three sex offenders seek an injunction preventing the city of Apple Valley from enforcing the ordinance, which prohibits people convicted of certain sex offenses from living within 1,500 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, churches and child care centers.…
Read MoreACSOL Leads Successful Lobby Day 2020 in CA Capitol
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) led more than 35 people, including registrants, family members and supporters in Lobby Day 2020 in the California Capitol. The focus of the day was necessary changes to the Tiered Registry Law that will become effective next year. “We met in the offices of 28 legislators, who are either members of a Public Safety Committee or were newly elected last year,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “These are the legislators who will lead the way toward a tiered registry that increases…
Read MoreCA Governor Pardons First Registrant
California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued the state’s first pardon to a registrant. The pardon was issued to Bayard Rustin, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on February 4. Rustin was convicted of a sex offense and required to register as a sex offender in Los Angeles in 1953 because he participated in a consensual adult sex act with another man. “We celebrate the courage and wisdom of Governor Newsom in his decision to issue a pardon to Bayard Rustin,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This is…
Read MoreMD: Maryland mom calls for more restrictions on lifetime sex offenders in Senate Bill 320
[wjla.com – 2/11/20] WASHINGTON (ABC7) — “HI, my name is Ann Kenny, I am a single mother of three daughters from St. Mary’s County,” says Annie Kenny in front of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. She is asking Maryland lawmakers to overhaul state guidelines on sex offenders by requiring lifetime supervision in Senate Bill 320. Read the full article
Read MoreMD: Baltimore County lawmaker proposes banning student sex offenders from school campuses
[baltimoresun.com – 2/10/20] A Baltimore County state senator is drafting a proposal to prohibit student sex offenders from school campuses statewide. Baltimore County state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier on Monday said the bill would apply to registered sex offenders regardless of their age — prekindergarten through high school. The state already has laws prohibiting other sex offenders from school campuses, she said. The proposal comes after Santino E. Sudano, a 21-year-old Parkville High School student, was charged in December with second degree rape, according to court documents. Sudano had pleaded guilty…
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