Source: theindianalawyer.com 4/27/23 Requiring sex offenders who are already subject to registration elsewhere to also register in Indiana rationally promotes public safety, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a district court’s judgment. This is the second reversal in the case. The plaintiffs in the case are Indiana residents who committed sex offenses either before the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act existed or before it covered their specific offenses. Their registration obligations vary depending on their offenses, but they all must register under SORA at least once…
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FL: Florida sex offenders could be required to have special colored license plates
Source: nbc-2.com 4/27/23 Sex offenders in Florida could be forced to get bright green license plates. Democratic Senator Lauren Book added this to Senate Bill 1252 on Tuesday night. If passed, all vehicles owned, driven or leased by the offenders will be required to have a fluorescent green license plate. It would also make it illegal to disguise the plate. Sen. Book also wants all registered sex offenders to have the word “sexual predator” printed on the front of their driver’s license in the color red. For this to become…
Read MoreCanada: Liberals propose changes to Canada’s sex offender registry in response to Supreme Court decision
Source: ctvnews.ca 4/26/23 The federal government has tabled legislation that, if passed, would make changes to Canada’s sex offender registry to specify which categories of sexual offenders have to be added to the national tracking system, while giving judges discretion to exempt those who do not pose a risk of reoffending. The proposed changes to current law comes in response to an October 2022 ruling from the Supreme Court that deemed it unconstitutional to require automatic registration of all people convicted of sexual crimes and an overreach to require mandatory…
Read MoreCanada: Sharing intimate images without consent may soon land you on sex offender list
Source: globalnews.ca 4/26/23 The federal government has introduced legislation to add the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and extortion to the list of offences that could land someone on the National Sex Offender Registry. The addition was highlighted in a statement on Wednesday, ahead of a press conference from Justice Minister David Lametti and Women, Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien. The bill in question was introduced in the Senate earlier in the afternoon. “Sexual offences are amongst the most heinous and degrading forms of violence. They have devastating…
Read MoreCA Senate Judiciary Committee Approves SB 809
Source: ACSOL The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 809 last night by a vote of 8 to 2. The bill will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a date to be determined. If passed, Senate Bill 809 would help individuals convicted of a felony to find employment. As currently written, SB 809 includes people convicted of a sex offense. Bill sponsors include Californians for Safety and Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities and Root and Rebound. ACSOL supported this bill both in a formal letter to the…
Read MoreMO: Sex offenses bill package heard in Senate Committee
Source: missourinet.com 4/26/23 Missouri is reviewing whether to update its sex offender registry requirements for those who are convicted of committing crimes against children and the mentally disabled. A Senate committee is considering the public safety bill, sponsored by Representative Justin Hicks of Lake St. Louis. “It amends the sex offender list to ensure that individuals that have committed child sex crimes are classified as tier three offenders, which would equal a lifetime registration requirement,” he says. “It codifies the language from that was rolled on in January from the…
Read MoreCalifornia: The State of Incarceration
Source: vera.org Despite California’s reputation as a progressive state, it is one of the epicenters of mass incarceration in the United States, incarcerating more people than any other state except Texas. Annually, California law enforcement agencies make almost 800,000 arrests and more than 600,000 bookings into county jails, and courts send almost 30,000 people to prison.† The result is that, on an average day in California, around 60,000 people are held in county jails and close to 100,000 people are incarcerated in state prisons.† In addition to people in criminal…
Read MoreAction Alert for Florida: Email/Call TODAY (4/26) to fight fluorescent green license plates and more!
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 4/26/23 Florida residents, write and call today! There are multiple bills and amendments that would do things like assign a distinctive, fluorescent green license plate, red coloring on driver’s licenses, and require 24-hour vacation rental reporting. This will be voted on TOMORROW, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Read the details and take action today
Read MoreCA: Prosecutor Labels Homeless Registrant Accused as ‘Nuisance’ in Attempt to Get Him Extraordinary Jail Sentence – Judge Disagrees
Source: davisvanguard.org 4/25/23 WOODLAND, CA – Deputy District Attorney Preston Schaub accused a homeless man of being a “nuisance” and “burden to the community” last Friday during a sentencing hearing here in Yolo County Superior Court in an apparent attempt to convince Judge Tom Dyer to issue an abnormally severe sentence. Judge Dyer didn’t bite, sentencing the man to probation as long as he abides by court’s conditions. The accused had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance earlier this month, and DDA Schaub tried to use…
Read MoreWV: Parole officer sexually assaulted victims on multiple occasions
Source: wvmetronews.com 4/21/23 PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — More information has come out about the disgraced parole officer sentenced for sexually assaulting a female officer. Anthony _______, 44, worked for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a parole officer in Parkersburg. He admitted to forcing at least two victims into performing sex acts on him, this according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson. Thompson spoke more to the details of the case and the sentencing while on MetroNews “Talkline” Friday. “He essentially used…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting May 20, 2023
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL board member and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, May 20, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and Chance and choose…
Read MoreACSOL Action Alert for Florida: Fight SB 1252 red lettering on driver’s licenses
Source: Florida Action Committee 4/20/23 Florida residents, SB 1252 would put red lettering on registrant’s driver’s licenses! Now is the time to fight this evil bill! Florida Action Committee has details on how to do that. Click here for details If you don’t fight it, who will?
Read MoreCA: California proposal would reinstate prisoners’ voting rights
Source: apnews.com 2/8/23 LOS ANGELES (AP) — California voters could decide whether to reinstate voting rights to people in prison on felony convictions under a newly proposed constitutional amendment. It would be a major expansion of suffrage for incarcerated people if passed. California would join Maine and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, as the only states where felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are in prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The California bill, introduced Monday by Assembly Member Isaac…
Read MoreCA: Assembly Public Safety committee faces pressure for blocking fentanyl, rape and other crime bills
Source: kcra.com 4/20/23 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The Chairman of the California Assembly Public Safety Committee, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, is responding to the mounting pressure his committee is facing after his committee decided to block or stall several crime-related bills. This week, both Republicans and Democrats have held or are scheduled to hold news conferences to speak out against the committee for not taking action on fentanyl. … The committee, which is made up of mostly progressive Democrats, has been known for blocking penalty enhancements broadly for fear of mass incarceration and…
Read MoreCO: Allegedly murderous stepmom tried to pin stepson’s disappearance on wanted sex offender
Source: lawandcrime.com 4/19/23 An FBI special agent testified on Wednesday that an allegedly murderous stepmother tried to pin her stepson’s disappearance on a wanted sex offender, whose unrelated case was publicized in local news. In truth, however, there was no indication that this man, Quincy ____, had anything to do with victim Gannon Stauch, 11, going missing on Jan. 27, 2020, said FBI Special Agent Amber Cronan. Prosecutors in Colorado Springs, Colorado, point the finger at the child’s stepmother, Letecia Stauch, 39, who they say stabbed Gannon 18 times, shot…
Read MoreFive Evidence-Based Policies Can Improve Community Supervision
Source: pewtrusts.org Community supervision, most commonly probation and parole, is a key component of correctional systems in every state and involves more people than are serving prison or jail sentences. At the end of 2020, almost 3.9 million Americans—or 1 in 66 adults—were on probation or parole in the U.S., compared with nearly 1.8 million in jails and state and federal prisons.1 Community supervision also presents a different set of challenges for policymakers and for the people affected by it than does incarceration. Individuals on probation and parole must earn…
Read MoreACSOL Action Alert Nationwide: Ask your US senators to declare April as Second Chance Month
Source: prisonfellowship.org 4/15/23 President Biden has proclaimed April 2023 as Second Chance Month, but the U.S. Senate has yet to act! Now more than ever, it is crucial that we raise awareness about the challenges encountered by individuals with a criminal record, even after facing their consequences. When we extend second chances to men and women with a criminal record, our communities can become safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Using our quick and easy tool, find your lawmakers and send a letter urging them to take a stand for justice…
Read MoreCA: Authorities investigate death of jail inmate
Source: lakeconews.com 4/17/23 LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation is underway into the death of a jail inmate who died at an out-of-county hospital over the weekend. Inmate Jason Ray, 41, died on Saturday, April 15, in the care and custody of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office while being treated for a medical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Placer County, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Lauren Berlinn. Berlinn said the sheriff’s office activated the critical incident protocol and has begun an investigation into Ray’s…
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