[fresnobee.com] Patients at Coalinga State Hospital remained on lockdown Tuesday as a few details began to emerge about violent protests that have erupted since new rules restricting the use of personal electronic devices were put into place. Since it started this lockdown, the California Department of State Hospitals has released little information on what caused the lockdown, how that cause is being addressed or how long it will be in place and did not respond to The Bee’s questions by deadline Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Department…
Read MoreAuthor: R H
Orange passports for India’s migrant workers create ‘second class citizens’
[reuters.com] MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s plan to introduce orange-colored passport jackets for some migrant workers is discriminatory and could increase the vulnerability of workers often duped by middlemen who promise them jobs, said legal experts and campaigners. The Ministry of External Affairs said last week migrant workers who need emigration clearance – those who have not passed 10th grade at school – to travel to a group of 18 countries, mostly in the Gulf region, would soon be issued orange passports. “Passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required)…
Read MoreTX: Sex offender residency restrictions questioned in small cities
[floridaactioncommittee.org] AUSTIN — Registered sex offenders in small Texas cities were until last year challenging residence restrictions, arguing that “general-law” municipalities lacked authority to control where they lived. A new state law that took effect in September codified small cities’ legal standing to enact such ordinances, but now the attorney who in 2015 sued Krum over its ordinance is back in court, saying that the Denton County city’s newly enacted residence restriction, along with those of several other Texas cities, violates the statute. “If they’ve passed a new ordinance and…
Read MoreSamoa passes law enforcement only Sex offender registry
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Samoa just passed a sex offender registry. There are two important differences, however, between theirs (and most other countries that have a registry) and the US. Firstly, the registry and accompanying requirements will not be imposed retroactively against those who are not in custody as of it’s enactment. and secondly, the registry is for law enforcement only. Read more
Read MoreAmerican children’s high mortality rates; sex offenders are not the cause [opinion]
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The UK Daily Mail reported last week that “American children are 60% more likely to die before their 20’s than kids in other wealthy countries.” But how can that be? For a nation that prides itself on being pioneers in public health and safety, how is it that our youth are not as healthy or safe as they are in most other countries? In fact; the article pointed out that the US has the worst childhood mortality rate compared to 19 other developed countries with children of all ages…
Read MoreCA: 4 men charged with killing Redondo Beach sex offender during home-invasion robbery
[dailybreeze.com] Four South Bay men were charged Friday with killing and robbing a registered sex offender, strangling him and attacking him with pliers and bolt cutters when he got out of his shower in his Redondo Beach apartment. The charges make them eligible for the death penalty. The victim, __________, 61, died Nov,. 28, five years after he was sent to prison for drugging a young male friend, shaving his body hair and sexually assaulting him in that same shower area amid allegations he had molested more than a dozen other…
Read MoreProfessor Catherine Carpenter: The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws [video]
[www.sfc.edu] Professor Catherine Carpenter (Southwestern Law School), a nationally renowned criminal law scholar in the area of sex crimes and sex offender registration laws, came to St. Francis College on September 26 to talk about The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws. Watch Catherine Carpenter on Sex Offender Laws Her scholarship has been cited by numerous courts and used as a guide by attorneys; she is also one of the foremost authorities on law school curricula and accreditation. Among her important law review articles is, “Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration.” The…
Read MoreMA: Westfield moves to repeal unconstitutional sex offender ordinance
[masslive.com] By Hope E. Tremblay Special to The Republican WESTFIELD – The City Council’s legislative and ordinance subcommittee Thursday took the first step toward repealing a local ordinance that unconstitutionally restricts where registered sex offenders may live or visit. The motion to repeal the ordinance was made by Chairman Ralph J. Figy, who said a decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court indicates the ordinance goes against the state constitution. First Assistant City Solicitor Shanna R. Reed said Westfield has not received any notification from the state regarding the ordinance,…
Read MoreNH: Bill would use sex offender registry to discourage posting of nude selfies
[unionleader.com] CONCORD — In the wake of a report in the New Hampshire Sunday News about a website where nude selfies of young women are traded like baseball cards, the legislature is looking at tougher penalties to discourage such behavior. A House committee on Wednesday debated a bill that would add people convicted of revenge porn, or any nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, to the sex offender registry. Rep. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, speaking in support of the bill, said the women whose nude or semi-nude pictures are disseminated online…
Read MoreCA: Child trafficking is nonviolent crime under California voter-approved law
[kcra.com] Crime victims, groups start petition to stop early release of violent criminals Mike Luery Reporter Show Transcript SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Petition gatherers hit the streets of Sacramento on Thursday, trying to collect enough signatures for a new ballot measure that gets tough on crime. “In current law, rape by intoxication and rape of an unconscious person and a slew of other crimes are not considered violent for our state,” said Beth Hassett, executive director of WEAVE, or Woman Escaping a Violent Environment. WEAVE is a central player in…
Read MoreWI: Did a Newspaper Inspire a Murder Attempt?
[lifeonlist.org] Last July, the Hudson Star Observer in western Wisconsin wrote a story about a man moving into a building in town. His name was Brandon Langel. He was on the state’s sex offender registry for crimes he’d committed in 2008, for which he spent four years in prison. The paper ran the story because now he’d be moving into a building where three other registrants also lived. The paper interviewed a neighbor who lived right across the street. “It’s really concerning,” said Daniel Steltz, who had a wife and…
Read MoreACSOL Emotional Support Group Meeting in L.A. on Jan 13
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, January 13, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. The meeting, which is based upon 12 Step principles, will provide registrants and their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges. We look forward to seeing you there!
Read MoreCall-in meeting regarding IML on Jan 30 [Updated with Call Audio]
Please join ACSOL for a call-in meeting regarding International Megan’s Law (IML), including the recent lawsuit filed challenging the State Department’s regulations regarding passport identifiers. The conference call will be on Tuesday, January 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (8:00 Eastern). Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak up! Dial-in number: 1-712-770-8055 Conference Code: 983459 This will be recorded and available on our website www.all4consolaws.org This recording – All Recordings
Read MoreCA: Root and Rebound’s Feb 24 Berkeley CA Family Law Clinic for people with records
Root & Rebound will be hosting its second Family Law Clinic for people with records. Root & Rebound will be offering one-on-one appointments with their reentry attorneys for any person with a criminal record who needs help with issues related to family law. Date: February 24th, 2018 Time: 10 am – 4 pm Location: 1730 Franklin St., Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94612 At this clinic, get help with family law issues like: Understanding your rights in family court, probate court, or dependency court as a person with a criminal record.…
Read MoreThe Concern for the Damage the Registry does to Young Offenders [opinion]
[sosen.org] Recently there has been major concern over youth being placed on the sex offender registry and a number of articles, not to mention some legislative attempts at change (such as Nebraska legislative bill 689), have been put forth to remove young people from the registry. The reason for this move is pointed out in articles such as ( http://jjie.org/2018/01/08/young-sex-offenders-shouldnt-have-to-register-its-ineffective-and-hurts-everyone-around-them/ ). The problem with articles such as these is they do not take into account the even more innocent victims of the sex offender registry, the children and families of…
Read MorePA courts put Megan’s Law in limbo
[altoonamirror.com] HOLLIDAYSBURG — Following the sentencing of an area man last month for indecent assault, Blair County District Attorney Richard A. Consiglio informed the judge that the next step in the process — a hearing to determine if the defendant was required to register as a sex offender — had to be delayed because of recent opinions by the Pennsylvania Supreme and Superior courts. Under those opinions, questions arose as to the constitutionality of the state law requiring sexual offenders to register with state police and to periodically update their…
Read MoreWA: The Island Where Washington State Sends Its Sex Offenders (video)
[VICE News channel on YouTube.com] Twenty minutes off the Puget Sound coast is an island that was the home to a state penitentiary until it closed in 2011. Now, it is used as a facility for the civil commitment of the state’s most violent sex offenders. Watch video
Read MoreRI: Letter: Leo Carroll: Base sex offender laws on facts rather than myths [opinion]
[providencejournal.com] Two decades of research regarding the effects of sex offender laws have produced no evidence that such laws achieve their stated purposes. A recent review of research on community notification and residency restriction laws in the Oxford Handbook of Sex Offences and Sex Offenders concludes that such legislation is “misinformed and simply incorrect.” These laws are knee-jerk reactions to hysteria fueled by media narratives of sensational but exceptional tragedies; they are based on myths rather than facts. The first myth is that sex offenders are strangers, when in fact…
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