[tampabay.com 5/21/18] The Republican-leaning Washington Economics Group of Coral Gables says Florida loses millions by spending on extra court and prison costs while losing the opportunity to create new jobs for new offenders. By Mary Ellen Klas Seven years after Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet voted to end the state policy that automatically restored the civil rights of nonviolent offenders after they complete their sentences, a price tag has emerged. Florida lost an estimated $385 million a year in economic impact, spent millions on court and prison costs,…
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MO: Mother of Beaten Inmate Files Lawsuit
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/21/18] Harley Holt was being held in a Jefferson Missouri jail on a charge of failure to register, when two other inmates beat him. He was put into a separate cell, but his repeated requests for medical attention were ignored. Eventually, he lost conscious and was taken to the hospital where he was placed on life support and later died. His cause of death was head trauma resulting in swelling of his brain. His mother has now filed a lawsuit against the jail and certain staff. Read more
Read MoreLA: Two sexual exploitation bills pass Louisiana Legislature
[kalb.com 5/18/18] Two bills targeting sexual exploitation passed through the Louisiana Legislature Friday. One would set policies for employers to detect victims of human trafficking, and the other would increase penalties for crimes involving prostitution. Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner, wrote the bill that would relate to the trafficking victims, including employees of sexually oriented businesses like stores selling sexual materials and businesses with live sexual performances. The businesses would have to verify age and employment status of current and prospective employees and keep those records for three years. They also…
Read MoreWV: Tweaks to enforcement should be considered for complex sex registry law
[wvnews.com 5/19/18] During a recent sentencing hearing, Harrison Circuit Judge Thomas A. Bedell read sex offender registry rules to a defendant. Bedell was reading at a steady pace, and it still took 14 minutes. The Legislature requires that judges read the rules to defendants after they’re convicted, ostensibly to avert the possibility later of offenders saying they never were informed of the requirements. advertisement A judge reading the document aloud in court creates an official record. And it also takes away the possible illiteracy defense from an offender. But what…
Read MoreCO: Polygraph testing and treatment of sexual offenders
[jenniferkamorowski.net 5/19/18] On May 9, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1427, which prohibits individuals with a vested economic interest in administration of polygraph tests from serving on the sex offender management board (SOMB). Beyond the issue of conflict of interest, there are other reasons to keep polygraph out of sex offender treatment decisions. The primary reasons are issues with reliability and the coercive nature of compelling disclosures about thoughts and activities (legal or illegal). Polygraph testing in post-conviction sex offender treatment (PCSOT) is used in approximately 80% of community-based…
Read MoreACSOL Conference: Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Fellow to Speak
Guy Hamilton-Smith, a fellow at the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Research Institute, will speak at the ACSOL conference on both June 15 and June 16. As a speaker, he will address two issues — child pornography and how to success as a registrant. “Guy Hamilton-Smith is a leader in our community of registrants,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “We welcome his participation in this year’s conference.” Hamilton-Smith, a law school graduate, is well known for his challenge to take the Kentucky bar exam in 2013. In a decision by…
Read MoreCA: All of Mugshots.com’s alleged co-owners arrested on extortion charges
[UPDATED LINKS 5/20/18] [arstechnica.com 5/17/18] Two alleged owners of Mugshots.com—Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee—have been arrested in south Florida on a recently issued California warrant. The notorious website publishes mugshots and then demands payment for their removal. On Wednesday, the attorney general of California brought criminal charges against not only Sarid and Keesee, but also Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie and David Usdan. The quartet has been charged with extortion, money laundering, and identity theft. Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge also on Wednesday—his bail was reportedly set at $1.86…
Read MoreAustralia: Tougher punishment needed for child sex crimes
[theage.com.au 5/16/18] Should child sex offenders be named and shamed, and their locations placed on a public register after they are released from prison? Raping or otherwise sexually assaulting a child is a crime so vile it challenges the capacity of lawmakers and the judicial system to design adequate and effective punishments and deterrents. The task is all the more difficult because such atrocities understandably elicit profound emotional responses, including despair, rage and a searing desire for retribution. … Evidence shows public registers of offenders can add to the suffering…
Read MoreThe Criminal History of Federal Offenders
[ussc.gov 5/17/18] (Published May 17, 2018) The publication The Criminal History of Federal Offenders provides for the first time complete information on the number of convictions and types of offenses in the criminal histories of federal offenders sentenced in a fiscal year. While the Commission has collected the criminal history points and Criminal History Category (CHC) as determined under the guidelines, it has not collected complete information on the number of convictions or the types of offenses in the criminal histories of federal offenders until now. The Commission is now…
Read MoreWA: Probationer Wins Washington Supreme Court Case on Pornography
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] A convicted sex offender in Washington challenged a provision of his probation that prevented him from “possessing or accessing pornographic materials” and won! The definition of “pornographic materials”, he argued, is unconstitutionally vague. It could mean watching the film Titanic, or having a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. The Court agreed, finding, “the statute must “give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what [behavior] is prohibited.” Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108. Second, the law must provide explicit standards to those charged with enforcing the law in…
Read MoreFL: Ron Books Lobbying Firm Rakes in the Cash from Private Prison Companies
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] Florida’s lobby firms filed their first quarter results this week and the three-person firm of Ronald L. Book, P.A. came in as one of the highest paid lobbying firms in the State, behind much larger firms Ballard and 200-person firm, Southern Strategy Group. According to the firm’s first quarter report, filed Tuesday, Ron Book’s firm took in $3.4Million for lobbying legislators during the period of January 01, 2018 – March 31, 2018, (source: https://floridalobbyist.gov) Among his top clients… private, for-profit, prison companies GEO Group and Correct Care Solutions,…
Read MoreUse copyright law to battle mugshot extortion
[abajournal.com 3/27/18] After her DUI charge was dropped, Julie Cantu thought her nightmare was over. Then, she went on a date. Over dinner, Cantu’s would-be-suitor was asking questions anyone asks on a first date. Then he asked about her criminal record. Caught off-guard by the question, she thought about the dropped charge. Her blood alcohol had been 0.021, well below the legal limit of 0.08, and she had no other contact with the law. How did her date know? After getting home, the Florida resident and retired nurse went online…
Read MoreFL: New Encampment, “Bookville V”, already has 75 “residents”
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/16/18] As Legal Services of Greater Miami attorney Jeffrey Hearne cautioned the Judge and the media less than one week ago; unless something is done (about the 2500 foot exclusion zone) new encampments will pop up and “the cycle will continue.” It took less than a week after hundreds of registrants were evicted from a warehouse district along the railroad tracks near Hialeah for a new encampment to emerge; “Bookville V”, is named after lobbyist Ron Book, the man who not only created the laws that force sex offenders…
Read MoreCA: Posting mugshots on internet draws criminal charges from California attorney general
[sacbee.com 5/16/18] California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday filed extortion and money laundering charges against the owners of a website that publishes mugshot photos and charges a fee to remove them. His office is targeting Mugshots.com, which pulls photos and identifying information about criminal suspects from law enforcement departments around the country. The site charges a “de-publishing fee” to remove someone from its archives, according to Becerra’s office. Becerra said it has frustrated people who were accused of crimes they did not commit. “This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit…
Read MoreAfter-School Baby-Sitter Requirements: “Must Have FBI Background Check”
[letgrow.org 5/14/18] What does it take to qualify as a babysitter these days? Dear Let Grow: My 15 year-old daughter joined an online babysitter’s group to get more summer work gigs. It has been an eye opening experience as to parental expectations. She has multiple family references, straight A’s, and is WONDERFUL with children, especially keeping the kids active. She also cooks and does chores during naps, like laundry and cleaning. I will NOT be paying for an FBI background check. Whatever happened to “Must love kids”? Here is one…
Read MorePA: Sex offender: ‘I am not a monster’
[abc27.com 5/15/18] HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A man we will call “Tony” first sat down with ABC27 News in November to talk about what it’s like being a registered sex offender. “There were many times I tried to commit suicide,” Tony said. “I am not a monster like people portray.” The former combat medic and EMT says being on the registry for his child pornography conviction only prevents him, and others like him, from moving on with life and becoming productive citizens. “When I first got on [the list], I…
Read MoreKS: Gov. Jeff Colyer signs bill to compensate wrongfully convicted in Kansas
[hutchnews.com 5/15/18] KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gov. Jeff Colyer stood on Tuesday in the modest sanctuary of Mount Zion Church of God in Christ to belatedly draw the hands of justice closer to Lamonte McIntyre, Richard Jones, Floyd Bledsoe and any other Kansan wrongfully convicted of a crime. Bledsoe, of Burrton, along with the other men spent a minimum of 16 years in institutions operated by the Kansas Department of Corrections for serious offenses they didn’t commit. Each was part of a coordinated effort to build bipartisan support in the…
Read MoreResponse to the Recent Time Magazine Article, ‘Bad Men’
[UPDATED LINKS 5/16/18] sosen.org 5/15/18] This was written by Vicki Henry of W.A.R. I thought it was a good reply to Time magazines one-sided journalism ,So I ask if could pass it on. This was in response to the recent Time magazine article that just scares people even more. This is a great response to anyone who thinks the registry is a good idea. Ms. Dockterman and Editor, I know the title ‘Bad Men’ was a media ploy to garner readership and invoke fear amongst the readers. I get that,…
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