[Richmond Times-Dispatch] The Virginia Supreme Court wants to hear from both sides in a DNA-based innocence claim filed by a Chesapeake man who pleaded guilty to a rape that happened 40 years ago. In a brief two-sentence order, the court placed the already unusual and long-running case on its January docket to apparently hear arguments and/or ask questions in the case of Roy L. Watford III, 58, convicted of the Sept. 14, 1977, rape in Portsmouth of a then-12-year-old girl. DNA testing in recent years failed to identify the genetic…
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CA: CASOMB Discusses Tiered Registry Bill
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) discussed the Tiered Registry Bill and registrant statistics during its monthly meeting today. The discussion included a detailed account of the history of the Tiered Registry Bill as well as its future. Dan Felizzatto, the lead lobbyist for the Los Angeles District Attorney (DA), who was the bill’s sponsor, led today’s discussion. The lobbyist stated that the bill is the result of a “team effort” that included a diverse group including law enforcement, victims rights groups, Equality California and the ACLU. He noted…
Read MoreMurderer said he would “spend his remaining days killing sexual offenders”
[Florida Action Committee] A Canadian man, Derrick Lawlor, who now stands accused of Murder, told his therapist that if he only had two months to live, he would kill every sexual offender. Read more
Read MoreResources for Those Dealing with Sex Crime Accusations
[Law Offices of Ned Barnett] If you or a loved one has been falsely accused of a sex crime, there are ways to obtain help in your situation. Below is a list of organizations, advocacy groups, and resources for those who have been falsely accused, in need of support, or want to get involved. Although the main purpose of some of these organizations may be focused on victims, many of these groups also reach out to those who are falsely accused to offer aid through resources and information. Read more…
Read MoreCA: Federal lawsuit challenges Simi Valley Halloween sex offender law for second time
[Ventura County Star] For the second time in five years, a federal lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of a Simi Valley law that bars registered sex offenders listed on the Megan’s Law website from opening their doors to trick-or-treating children on Halloween. The law, enacted by the City Council in September 2012, also forbids the registered sex offenders from decorating the outside of their homes or front lawns with Halloween ornaments and mandates that they turn off outdoor lighting on their properties from 5 p.m. to midnight on Halloween. The…
Read MoreCA: “A Stranger Looking to Kidnap and Sex Traffic a Child Is Highly Unlikely” – Roseville, California Police
Looks like the Roseville, California, police department got a little fed up with social media posts going on about local “sex trafficking kidnappers” and “suspicious people.” And so it came out with this amazing document on its Facebook page: True facts about the fears its citizens feel and perpetuate. Kudos to a department that seems determined to do its job. If called, it will investigate. If not called, it will not conjecture about non crimes. And in the meantime, it will do what it can to counter a culture determined…
Read MoreCA: Gov. Brown supports bill sent to him that would end lifetime listing of many sex offenders on public registry
[LA Times] After an emotional debate, state lawmakers on Saturday gave final legislative approval to a controversial bill that would end the lifetime listing of many convicted sex offenders on a public registry in California. The bill, which was shelved then revived, was sent to the governor on the last day of the legislative session with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) calling it one of the most difficult votes she has cast. “It’s not an easy thing to do, but sometimes we have to make hard votes,” Gonzalez Fletcher…
Read MoreCA Assembly Passes Tiered Registry Bill [Updated 9/16, 6 a.m.]
Today the Assembly passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 384) by a vote of 42 to 22. A minimum of 41 votes was required for the bill to pass. Due to the Assembly’s passage, the final legislative step for the bill is concurrence by the Senate which is expected later today. During the Assembly’s consideration of the bill, only three members spoke: two in favor and one in opposition. Speaking in favor of the bill were members Evan Low, who presented the bill, and Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher who stated that “this…
Read MoreWhen Junk Science About Sex Offenders Infects the Supreme Court: A ‘Frightening’ Myth About Sex Offenders
[New York Times] This month the Supreme Court will have a rare opportunity to correct a flawed doctrine that for the past two decades has relied on junk social science to justify punishing more than 800,000 Americans. Two cases that the court could review concern people on the sex offender registry and the kinds of government control that can constitutionally be imposed upon them. In Snyder v. Doe, the court could consider whether Michigan’s broad scheme of regulating sex offenders constitutes “punishment.” The other case, Karsjens v. Piper, examines the…
Read MoreCA: Bill Seeks To Drop Some Offenders From Megan’s Law Website
[CBS Sacramento] SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A California senator who believes the state’s sex offender registry is broken says sex offenders may no longer have to register for life. The bill, SB 384 would take lower-level sex offenders off the registry. Right now, four states including California, make all sex offenders register for life. And today, the registry tops 100,000 people in California. Some law enforcement officials say it’s working against them. “They’re on the list and can’t get off,” said Gretchen Kocinsky, whose friend was arrested at a young age…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Path Forward for CA tiered registry (SB 384)
In the most recent step of the legislative process, the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee approved the newest version of the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 384) yesterday. The bill is now moving forward to the full Assembly for a floor vote in a few days where it may pass and if so, then on to the Senate the same day for a concurrence vote. The newest version of the Tiered Registry Bill was created behind closed doors and was made public only a few days ago. The new bill resembles a…
Read MoreCA Assembly Committee Passes New Tiered Registry Bill SB 384
The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee passed the new Tiered Registry (SB 384) tonight by a vote of 5 to 2. All those voting in support of the bill were Democrats; all voting in opposition to the bill were Republicans. Senator Scott Wiener was unavailable to present the bill at the hearing because the Senate had not yet adjourned. Therefore, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, a member of the Public Safety Committee, presented the bill. During the hearing, Gonzalez-Fletcher stated that she “hesitated to support” earlier versions of the tiered registry bill, but…
Read MoreSex offender registry bill revived after stalling in committee
[SFGate] SACRAMENTO — With five days remaining in the legislative session, a San Francisco lawmaker revived a bill that would end lifetime registration for most sex offenders after the original bill stalled in a committee. Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB421 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee without a public vote two weeks ago after it passed four committees and the Senate. On Thursday, Wiener used a maneuver known as gut-and-amend to bring it back. Gut-and-amend is a long-used process loathed by some good government groups in which the…
Read MoreWhat You Think You Know About Sex Offenders Is Wrong, Attorney Says
[westworld.com] As writer Alan Prendergast reported, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch has ruled that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who filed the case in 2013, sees the opinion as the potential death knell for a law enforcement tool that, in her view, perpetuates factually dubious notions that fall apart when examined in an evenhanded way. “Everybody always jumps to the conclusion that all sex offenders are like the type of sex offender that’s…
Read MorePA: Montco senator’s bill would remove sex offender registration requirement for custody crimes
[Bucks County Courier Times – Pennsylvania] After ____ ____ stole an SUV that was left idling in the parking lot of a Bristol Township convenience store, he quickly learned an 11-year-old passenger was in the backseat. Once the boy made his presence known, ____ pulled over and let him out before driving away, according to court records in the 2009 crime. The boy wasn’t hurt. ____ was arrested and later pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to charges including theft, receiving stolen property and interference with custody of children. The…
Read MoreCO: District Attorney Stan Garnett against Boulder limiting housing options for sexual predators
[Daily Camera Boulder News] On Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council will discuss whether it wants to draft a new policy limiting where in the city people deemed “sexually violent predators” can live. Ahead of the meeting, District Attorney Stan Garnett urged council members to resist such a policy. “When (a sexual predator) does get placed in the community, we want to know where they are, and if you pass ordinances that try to limit where people can live in the city, that may complicate the efforts of police and…
Read MoreSex offender compliance operation results in 32 arrests in Sacramento County
[Sacramento Bee] A three-day operation by law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County to make sure convicted sex offenders are complying with sex offender registration requirements resulted in 32 arrests. The operation, which began Aug. 21, was carried out by the multi-agency Sacramento Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team in conjunction with the Sacramento County Probation Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole Team, California Office of Correctional Safety, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Problem Oriented Policing Teams, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rancho Cordova and Sacramento police departments. Read more
Read MoreCampaign to recall judge in Brock Turner sex assault case can resume
[San Jose Mercury News] In a victory for the campaign to oust Judge Aaron Persky, a retired San Francisco judge Monday ruled that proponents could immediately resume collecting signatures on petitions aimed at putting the recall on the June ballot. Retired San Francisco Judge Kay Tsenin is expected to make a final ruling Thursday in favor of the recall campaign on the underlying legal issues. But after recall advocates Monday burst into applause at the end of the hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Tsenin made it clear that…
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