[UPDATED 3/10/18] H1301/SB1226 Passes by Florida Action Committee Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Florida Legislature passed another stupid, punitive and unnecessary sex offender bill that will only enrich those in private prisons, the GPS vendors and the Books. Read more [floridaactioncommittee.org] THE TIME IS NOW! ITS OUR LAST SHOT AT TRYING TO STOP THIS! WE NEED 100’s of calls to each of these legislators! There are 120 Representatives in the House and 40 Senators in the Senate!! WE MUST CALL THEM ALL! GET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO CALL…
Read MoreAuthor: R H
KS: Kansas bill would reveal names of juvenile sex offenders
[kake.com] TOPEKA, Kan. (KAKE) – The family of a Newton mother and daughter who were killed last year is pushing for a new law that would reveal the names of child sex offenders. Keith Hawkins was sentenced this month to life without the possibility of parole for the deaths of 24-year-old Alyssa Runyon and 4-year-old Zaylynn Paz. In a letter to Runyon’s family, Hawkins said he harmed the child first. When Hawkins was 12 years old, he was convicted of indecent liberties with a 5-year-old girl. But because he was…
Read MoreTN: Suspect in sex offender slaying turns himself in, daughter safe
[theleafchronicle.com] A man who was shot to death in his home on Paradise Hill Road Tuesday night was a registered sex offender, and a friend of his daughter’s was arrested Wednesday and charged with his slaying. At about 10:23 p.m., Tuesday officers were called to 1232 Paradise Hill Road for a shooting in progress, according to a news release from Clarksville Police spokesman Jim Knoll. Officers found a 40-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Tennova Health Care, where he was pronounced dead. Read more
Read MoreMI: Bohacek-authored sex offender bill passes house
[thenewsdispatch.com] INDIANAPOLIS — Senate Bill 12, authored by State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, recently passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 91-0. SB 12 would make it unlawful for a sex offender to intentionally establish residence within one mile of their victim. According to a press release from Bohacek’s office, this law currently only applies to sex offenders whose victims are minors. SB 12 would extend the protection to all victims regardless of age. Read more
Read MorePA: Pennsylvania community leaders deserve appreciation for giving second chances
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Recently, the Spartansburg, Pennsylvania community made national headlines by re-electing their fire chief, who happened to be a registered sex offender. Sadly, the newly re-elected chief resigned over the publicity, but many have stood behind him even in the wake of the negative publicity. A local news station, WJAC, featured another Pennsylvania community that had a similar situation, but chose to handle it in a more humane, compassionate way, that will undoubtedly benefit their entire community. Chief Paul Demi of the Spangler Fire Company said of one of their…
Read MoreAL: Bill would change school reporting, enrollment for juvenile sex offenders
[decaturdaily.com] MONTGOMERY — Juvenile sex offenders who are considered high or moderate risks for repeating such crimes would not be allowed to attend traditional public schools under proposed legislation in the Statehouse. Senate Bill 26 also would require the State Board of Education to develop by next year a policy for the supervision and monitoring of juvenile sex offender students considered by courts to be low risk for offending again. “Essentially, we’re trying to give those who are responsible for the care of children all the information that they need,”…
Read MoreMI: Legislation approved to prevent sex offenders to go to same school as their victims
[fox47news.com] The House Law and Justice Committee approved legislation on Tuesday that better protects underage students and victims of sexual-based crimes. The legislation was introduced by Representative Lana Theis, State Rep. from Brighton. The three-bill package was prompted by a recent Livingston County case where a 16-year-old was convicted of criminal sexual conduct against multiple victims as young as 12. Two of the underage victims joined Theis for testimony before the committee on Feb. 20. “These bills are needed to ensure we better protect victims of criminal sexual conduct. No…
Read MoreHouse passes anti-online sex trafficking bill, allows targeting of websites like Backpage.com
[UPDATED links 2/28/18] [floridaactioncommittee.org and The Washington Post] The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that gives prosecutors, state attorneys general and sex trafficking victims a clearer route to pursue legal action against websites hosting advertisements for prostitutes, which advocates have long argued are a hive for trafficking children. The bill now goes to the Senate, which already has passed a similar version out of committee. If approved, it would go to the White House, where supporters are hopeful that President Trump will sign it. His daughter, Ivanka Trump,…
Read MoreCA: Keep violent sex offenders locked up (opinion by Jim Cooper, CA Assembly)
[sacbee.com] Two years ago, California voters were promised that violent sex offenders wouldn’t be released from prison early if they passed Proposition 57, the sweeping ballot initiative allowing the early release of inmates convicted of non-serious and non-violent crimes. But this month, a Superior Court judge tentatively ruled that sex offenders must be considered for early release under Prop. 57. If the ruling is made final, more than half of the 20,000 inmates now serving time for violent sex offenses could be back on the street. That was the hidden…
Read MoreNew lawsuit may provide access to social media
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Although the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that States cannot restrict a registered sex offender’s access to social media (Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. ___ (2017)), nothing has stopped social media companies, such as Facebook or Twitter, from restricting sex offenders from their platforms. A lawsuit filed last week may change that! Jared Taylor is the founder of the Virginia-based New Century Foundation – a white supremacist organization that was banned from Twitter because of new rules aimed at reducing abusive content. Although we don’t agree…
Read MorePA: Names being removed from sex offender registry
[theintell.com] Pennsylvania State Police have started the process for removing as many as 5,000 ex-offenders from the Megan’s Law registry under a state supreme court mandate and a new law. Shaquana Green appeared at a Pennsylvania State Police barracks last month to update her information as a registered sex offender. It’s an annual chore she has done for the last five years, having landed on the Megan’s Law list after disappearing with her daughter for three hours in violation of a custody order. As of this month, though, the name…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Beware of False Prophets….and Some Lawyers’ Letters, Too
Attorneys have sent letters to registrants for many years. In the past, the rate and regularity of those letters has been slow and uneven. In the past, such letters were often sent after an important case was decided by a state or federal court. That appears to be changing now as the rate and regularity at which attorneys are sending letters to registrants has increased significantly. In addition, some attorneys are even sending letters to registrants in a different state. In California, the rate and regularity of attorneys sending letters…
Read MoreACSOL Board Members Unravel Sex Offense Policies, Offer Hope for Registrants
[ACSOL] In the form of new scholarly articles, two ACSOL board members discuss the large gap between sex offense realities and sex offense policies as well as offer hope for registrants and their families. In the first of the articles, sociologist Emily Horowitz uses a timeline of key political events, legal milestones and research findings to identity how and why there is a gap between sex offense realities and sex offense policies. In the second of the articles, law professor Catherine Carpenter provides hope to registrants and their families by…
Read MoreACSOL Phone Meeting Alert for March 12: CA Tiered Registry
ACSOL will conduct a review of the California Tiered Registry during a phone conference call on Monday, March 12 at 5 p.m. (Pacific). The review will include attorneys Eliza Hersh, a leading legal advocate and educator in the movement for criminal justice reform, as well as ACSOL President Chance Oberstein and ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. The conference call will include a discussion of opportunities for some registrants to be removed from the registry prior to implementation of the Tiered Registry through certificates of rehabilitation as well as the reduction…
Read MoreAssembly Bill to Disenfranchise Coalinga Patients
[ACSOL] Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (Democrat, Fresno) has introduced a bill (AB 2839) that would disenfranchise patients at Coalinga State Hospital, including patients that recently defeated a proposed tax increase attempted by the City of Coalinga. The district represented by Assemblyman Arambula includes both Coalinga State Hospital as well as the City of Coalinga. The proposed bill, if passed, would require anyone adjudicated as a “sexually violent predator” (SVP) and committed to the custody of the State Department of Hospitals for “an indeterminate term” to vote at their “last known address.” Because individuals who are adjudicated as…
Read MoreCA: Rapist who moved to Carmichael says ‘human beings can change.’ His neighbors aren’t convinced
[sacbee.com] _____________, a Colorado man convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman in 2001, says the 16 years he spent in jail after his arrest have changed him for good. In that time, he got off drugs, sought a healthier lifestyle and studied Buddhism, Lawyer said on Wednesday, speaking in a jailhouse interview. He eventually taught career classes to other inmates that focused on ethics and character. “I’ve always taken responsibility for my crimes,” said ____, who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly violating a curfew imposed as part…
Read MoreHow one lawyer proves her faith in criminal rehabilitation
[mystatesman.com] Any criminal justice system has two purposes: The first is to punish those who have broken the law; the second is to bring about rehabilitation in the lawbreaker, so that he or she will turn his back on a life of crime and embrace a law-abiding life in society. The first is accomplished largely within the closed ranks of the legal system, through courts, convictions, punishments, and time served, either behind bars or under community supervision. The second can only take place within the broader system of society and…
Read MoreGuns and sexual offenders: strange bedfellows?
[narsol.org] By Sandy . . . A bill is working its way through Congress for states to honor, or to reciprocate with, the concealed carry gun laws of other states. Sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson (R NC), this bill would require states that have gun control laws in place to honor the laws of another state with laxer or even no such laws when gun-toting individuals with permits cross into their territory. Prompted by the case in 2013 of Shanteen Allen, a Pennsylvania resident with a concealed carry permit who…
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