[sosen.org – 1/12/19] The first thing that must be pointed out is that the sex offender registry came about because of the myth that people convicted of sexual related crimes were always going to reoffend. Some of the numbers that were tossed around at the time that the registry was conceived were 60 to 80% would reoffend. The registry was not originally designed to protect anyone, it was simply there to aid law-enforcement so that they would have suspects to look at because of this belief of high reoffense rates.…
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Janice’s Journal: Justice an Important Pillar
As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day, it is important to remember that an essential pillar of his civil rights platform was Justice. ACSOL which is a civil rights organization has, in fact, adopted and advanced one of Dr. King’s best-known sayings about justice: “Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere” in our lobbying efforts in the state capitol. We credit the wisdom of Dr. King, as expressed in the saying above, as we recognize and celebrate that our efforts of 6 ½ years, as well as the…
Read MoreACSOL Meeting January 26 in L.A.
Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting: Saturday, January 26 10 a.m. ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles (free parking below building) Registrants, friends and family and interested service providers are invited to attend these free meetings. There will be no law enforcement or media present in order to protect everyone’s privacy. The meetings start at 10 am and last about 2-3 hours. Topics of conversation include information about ACSOL’s advocacy as well as current topics and pending legal action. Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak…
Read MoreSC bill would prohibit sex offenders from working, volunteering around kids
[live5news.com – 1/15/19] MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Right now, registered sex offenders are allowed to work and volunteer around kids, but a South Carolina bill introduced last week in the State House of Representatives could change that. The bill says it would make it “unlawful for a sex offender to work or perform volunteer service with or around minor children under certain circumstances unless approved by a circuit court order that requires the offender’s employment or volunteer service be recorded in the offender’s sex offender registry file, to provide…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Blimey, Who Does Australia’s Fact Checking?
Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs in Australia wants to be the white knight riding in to save his constituents from “sex offenders” by proposing a National Public Registry. “Thwarting the exploitation of children is my key priority as Minister for Home Affairs” says Dutton. Fact #1: That’s all well and good, except Australia already has state-based registries with various levels of public accessibility in Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Even with those state-based registries, there has been a 77% rise in child sex abuse and exploitation of…
Read MoreNE: People question legality of sex offender living in assisted living facility
[wowt.com – 1/14/19] FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (WOWT) – Concerns have been raised over a registered sex offender who is living in an assisted living community in Fort Calhoun. A few people connected to those living in the community are questioning whether or not the arrangement is legal. There are 48 apartments for seniors at the Autumn Pointe Assisted Living Services. One of those units is occupied by a registered sex offender, but the company officials said no one living in the community is at risk. Amy Wilcox Burns works for…
Read MoreAUS: Lawyer fears sex offender list would lead to jury bias
[pressreader.com for Courier-Mail, 1/14/19] Veteran criminal lawyer Chris Nyst says a public register for child sex offenders could result in unfair convictions from biased jurors, if they were given easy access to defendant’s criminal history. Read more
Read MoreKat’s Blog: The Registry: A Valuable Public Safety Tool?
If you have a few minutes, read Florida’s Sex Offender Registration and Monitoring Triennial Review 2018 (www.oppaga.state.fl.us). Even if you don’t live in Florida, it’s an interesting slog thru what governmental bureaucracy thinks is important when it comes to the registry. The highlight of this auditing monstrosity is the attached letter at the end of the report from Fl. Dept. of Law and Enforcement to the coordinator of the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Governmental Accountability, stating “the registry is a valuable public safety tool”. I read the report…
Read MoreNARSOL: RIT study is Butner Redux deja vu
[narsol.org – 1/7/19] Michael M . . . A recent study conducted by researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology, or RIT, is already being cited in Federal Court cases to support the false presumption of a high rate of unreported child molestations by those convicted of child pornography offenses. This is despite the fact that it suffers from exactly the same serious flaws and inaccuracies as the infamous and thoroughly discredited “Butner Redux” study, which first appeared in the Journal of Family Violence in 2009. For those who may…
Read MoreCivil Rights Attorney to be Keynote Speaker at ACSOL’s Conference on June 14 and June 15
Civil rights attorney Adele Nicholas will be the keynote speaker at ACSOL’s third annual conference to be held on June 14 and June 15 in Los Angeles. Nicholas has represented the rights of registrants in multiple lawsuits challenging residency restrictions, access to public places and hospital visitations in Illinois and neighboring states in the Great Lakes region. “We are delighted that Ms. Nicholas has agreed to be the keynote speaker at this year’s conference,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “She is a dedicated and effective civil rights attorney who…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Herald: FAC Opinion Published
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 1/4/19. Not available on miamiherald.com] An opinion piece in response to a recent article in the Miami Herald was published today. The text of the response and an image of the article as it appeared are below. Your December 31, 2018 article, “Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing.” correctly points out that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) does not include any explanation for the rise in the number of sex offenders in our State. However, the reason is obvious.…
Read MoreCA: Wiener details 2019 LGBT bills
[ebar.com – 1/2/19] While his bills aimed at addressing California’s housing crisis are expected to be some of the most closely watched legislative fights this year, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will also be pushing to pass legislation focused on LGBT issues. … Another bill Wiener plans to introduce this year would prevent gay male adolescents from having to be listed on the state’s sex offender registry. He aims to include a “Romeo/Juliet” clause for gay teenagers so they are treated similarly to their heterosexual counterparts. Under the…
Read MoreNew US Sentencing Commission Report: Mandatory Minimums for Federal Sex Offenses
[ussc.gov – 1/1/19] Summary (Published January 2019) This publication examines the application of mandatory minimum penalties specific to federal sex offenses; it is the sixth and final release in the Commission’s series of publications on mandatory minimum penalties. Using fiscal year 2016 data, this publication includes analyses of the two types of federal sex offenses carrying mandatory minimum penalties, sexual abuse offenses and child pornography offenses, as well their impact on the Federal Bureau of Prisons population. In addition to analyzing child pornography offenses generally, this publication analyzes child pornography…
Read MoreFL: Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing
[miamiherald.com – 12/31/18] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The number of sex offenders and predators living in Florida has been rising steadily for more than a decade, according to a new report put together by legislative auditors. The report issued late last week stated that nearly 29,000 registered sex offenders and predators now reside in the state. That’s an increase of 53 percent since 2005, when state legislators first ordered their auditors to review the state’s efforts to keep an up-to-date registry of sex offenders. The report by the Office of Program Policy…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Sometimes A Song Is Just A Song
Baby It’s Cold Outside. It was just a wintery song from the late forties, nothing more. A song that’s been sung during the Christmas holidays for decades. Generations grew up singing along with the radio, no one ever had issues with it. That is until now. Now it’s the latest moral holiday debate. The victim of a # movement. Someone or some group decides they don’t like the sound of those lyrics, that the lyrics foster a pro- rape, sexist attitude in our society. And just like that, thousands of…
Read MoreIsraeli Sex Offenders Are No Longer Allowed to Change Name
[haaretz.com – 1/1/19] The Knesset on Monday passed into law a bill that prohibits people convicted of sex crimes from changing their name. “The law came about as a response to complaints by women who were shocked to learn they had been in a relationship with convicted sex offenders in the past,” said Meretz MK Michal Rozin, who drafted the law. “This had been hidden from them since the men had changed their names. We’re now letting the public and the victims protect themselves from people convicted of sex crimes.”…
Read MoreThe Dobbs Wire: Rogue judge driven off the bench
[The Dobbs Wire email – 12/25/18] A Pittsburgh criminal court judge has finally submitted her resignation. Judge Donna Jo McDaniel’s expected exit comes after repeated rebukes by a Pennsylvania appeals court, extensive news coverage, the ire of at least one editorial board, and talk of an investigation by the state’s judicial conduct commission. First elected to the bench in 1985, McDaniel was driven from office for failing to deliver fair and impartial justice – treating individuals charged with sex offenses (and their defense counsel) terribly, imposing excessive sentences and repeatedly…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Media Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone
From the small town (pop. 2,000+) of Sardis, Mississippi came a Christmas Story with a happy ending, sort of. Michael Clay Saripkin, a registrant, served as the Grand Marshal of the Sardis Christmas parade Dec. 11 2018. According to the news article most of the residents of Sardis have no problem with a man with a past being named Grand Marshal by the town’s Chamber of Commerce. And isn’t that the way it should be, because everyone has a past. The facts of Mr. Saripkin’s case can be read on…
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