Source: thehill.com 6/6/22 Congress makes the law; you are innocent until proven guilty; and everyone is entitled to due process of law. These are elementary principles of American government that we all learn in grade school. But they are threatened when Congress gives the U.S. attorney general unilateral power to write the criminal laws his office is charged with enforcing. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that someone must not go to prison unless he broke a law written by Congress (or a state legislature). But Attorney General Merrick Garland…
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ACSOL June 25, 2022 Meeting
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, June 25, 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 to show…
Read MoreEvangelical Christian zealot Kirk Cameron Claims Public Schools Are ‘Grooming’ Kids For ‘Sexual Chaos’ In Bonkers Video
Source: comicsands.com 6/1/22 Getting kids out of public schools is a huge talking point lately. Parents are questioning whether their kids are safe as shootings and other acts of violence have become terrifyingly common. They’re questioning the education they’ll get as many states have embraced policies that mean they don’t actually have to teach the truth because it might make White students “uncomfortable.” They’re questioning whether their kids will get to eat, or maybe end up suffering at their teachers hands. Child actor turned Evangelical Christian zealot Kirk Cameron is…
Read MoreEmily Horowitz: The Real Monsters – Sex offender registries don’t make us any safer. Abolishing them would.
Source: inquest.org 6/3/22 Watching the Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, I was struck by how Republican senators pounced on the judge’s thoughtful, considered, and mainstream sex offense sentencing. My research examines why our sex offense policies are based on fear-driven myths and how excessive criminal-legal responses do not genuinely and effectively address sexual violence — and do create new harm. And at the time, based on this knowledge, I wrote about the spectacle, where politicians like Josh Hawley accused Jackson of “endangering our children” and not…
Read MoreNJ: Area men among 21 accused of being child predators
Source: centraljersey.com 5/26/22 New Jersey Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced the arrests of 21 alleged child predators in “Operation Risky Business,” a multi-agency undercover operation targeting individuals who allegedly were using social medial in an attempt to lure underage girls and boys for sexual activity. The defendants will be prosecuted by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Division of Criminal Justice. The underage “children” were, in fact, undercover officers, according to information provided on May 26. Most of the defendants…
Read MoreNY: Don’t ‘discriminate’ against sex offenders, Adelphi University says
Source: thecollegefix.com 6/2/22 University urges non-discrimination against racial minorities, people with disabilities and sex offenders A private university in New York told students, faculty and staff to not discriminate against someone based on a history of sexual offenses. A poster at the university, obtained by The College Fix, has a list of categories and a statement that “I will not discriminate.” The poster has the university’s name on it. People should “not discriminate” against someone based on sex, race, disability or religion according to the poster, nor someone’s “sexual offender…
Read MoreNJ: convicted sex offender sues for right to use social media
Source: nj1015.com 6/2/22 A Camden County woman convicted of sexual crimes involving a minor is suing for her rights, and the rights of other sex offenders in New Jersey, to access social media and adult pornography. In a new lawsuit, Carmen ___ said the restrictions imposed on her by the New Jersey State Parole Board violated her First Amendment rights. The lawsuit names the NJSPB, the state, and several state officials and employees as defendants. It was filed in Mercer County Superior Court last Friday. Court records show Carmen ,…
Read MoreIL: Joliet Officials Attempting To Shut Down Sex Offender Housing Unit
Source: patch.com 5/31/22 JOLIET, IL — Joliet city officials on Tuesday announced that they will attempt to eliminate housing for sex offenders in an attempt to minimize the presence of those convicted of sex crimes. … “It is absurd that anyone at any level of government would think (sex offender housing) is a good idea,” O’Dekirk said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “The City’s Legal Department has been instructed to take all appropriate action to shut this down. I believe placing five sex offenders at one location in any…
Read MoreME: Lindsey Daggett doesn’t care that residency restrictions don’t work. She wants them for “justice”
Source: bangordailynews.com 5/31/22 Lindsey Daggett was 15 years old when she confided in a family member that she had been sexually abused. The man who had molested her for nine years was her mother’s boyfriend. … A bill to require statewide residency restrictions for offenders of sex crimes against children didn’t go forward in the fall because the Maine Legislature was only considering emergency legislation. If reelected, Sen. Marianne Moore, R-Calais, said she plans to submit the bill again, at Daggett’s urging. … “I was tired of being ashamed and…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Wheels of Justice are Moving
The wheels of justice are moving in California and across the nation. Perhaps the wheels of justice will take us to The Tipping Point where the public will recognize there is no need for registries and that those currently listed on a registry as well as their families will be allowed to lead peaceful and productive lives. In California, a significant lawsuit was filed in federal court this week that challenges the SORNA regulations that became effective earlier this year. The lawsuit includes a request for an injunction which, if…
Read MoreDE: Proposed sex offender registry legislation doesn’t make communities safer
Source: delawareonline.com 5/27/22 House Bill 306 is before the Delaware State Legislature. For the 4,500-plus Delawareans who appear on the state Sex Offender Registry the proposed legislation changes the “Restrictions” designation on the front of their driver’s licenses from the current “Y” to “SO.” The bill retains the words “Sex Offender” that already appear on the back of licenses. HB306 proposes nothing to make the public safer. Delaware drivers licenses use federally compliant standards, and law enforcement technology provides immediate knowledge of a person’s registry status without relying on any specific…
Read MoreCA: San Jose teen’s death hours after scam is part of troubling increase in ‘sextortion’ cases, FBI says
Source: abc7news.com 5/21/22 SAN JOSE, Calif. — Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 to connect with a trained counselor or visit the NSPL site. Ryan Last received a message on a school night in February from someone he believed to be a girl. Within hours, the 17-year-old, straight-A student and Boy Scout had died by suicide, CNN reported. “Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started…
Read MoreSouthern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse, Despite Secret List of Pastors
UPDATED 5/24/22: Southern Baptist leaders say they will release list of alleged sex abusers [washingtonpost.com] Source: christianitytoday.com 5/22/22 Armed with a secret list of more than 700 abusive pastors, Southern Baptist leaders chose to protect the denomination from lawsuits rather than protect the people in their churches from further abuse. Survivors, advocates, and some Southern Baptists themselves spent more than 15 years calling for ways to keep sexual predators from moving quietly from one flock to another. The men who controlled the Executive Committee (EC)—which runs day-to-day operations of the…
Read MoreEliminating licensing barriers–except for registrants–opens new pathways to economic opportunities
Source: oklahoman.com 5/22/22 Amid growing labor shortages, once overlooked barriers to entry are finally getting their due. Today, one of the biggest obstacles to economic opportunity in Oklahoma is occupational licensing, which affects almost one-fifth of the state’s workforce. Worse, many licenses come with hefty requirements. On average, a license for lower- and middle-income occupations forces Oklahomans to complete nearly 400 days of training and experience, pay $234 in fees, and pass two exams. Licensing laws are particularly daunting for people with criminal records, who face a dramatically higher unemployment rate. And without a steady…
Read MoreAt least 135 teachers, aides charged with child sex crimes this year alone
Source: foxnews.com 5/19/22 At least 135 teachers and teachers’ aides have been arrested so far this year on child sex-related crimes in the U.S., ranging from child pornography to raping students. An analysis conducted by Fox News Digital looked at local news stories week by week featuring arrests of teachers and teachers’ aides on child sex-related crimes in school districts across the country. Arrests that weren’t publicized were not counted in the analysis, meaning the true number may well be higher. The analysis found that at least 135 teachers and…
Read MoreNamibia: A Sex Offender Register for Namibia? … Right Idea, Wrong Solution
Source: namibian.com.na 5/19/22 IN 2017, hundreds of people gathered outside a house in Katutura after hearing reports that a man living there was abducting children and dismembering their bodies. According to news reports, police deployed 20 police vehicles and a helicopter, and ended up having to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. At least two people were injured in the chaos, and several police vehicles were damaged. The rumours that led to the riot were entirely untrue. This was not an isolated incident of vigilante action.…
Read MoreLA: Louisiana Senate committee passes bill to roll back early release for multiple felony convictions except sex offenses
Source: thecentersquare.com 5/18/22 (The Center Square) — Legislation to roll back some criminal justice reforms implemented in 2017 in regards to repeat nonviolent felony offenders cleared a Senate Committee on Judiciary on Tuesday. House Bill 544, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, would roll back calculations for early release adopted through the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Package of 2017 for non-violent offenders convicted of four or more felony offenses. Current law allows for a convicted felon who has served at least 25% of the sentence imposed to become eligible for parole…
Read MoreLA: Hire of convicted rapist causes business to close, Shreveport discusses violence
Source: shreveporttimes.com 5/16/22 The Shreveport City Council voted unanimously to uphold a license revocation against a local taxi cab service that admitted to hiring a convicted rapist. The company, VIP Taxi Services LLC, spoke before the City Council on Monday in an attempt to appeal the Shreveport Police Department’s order that it suspend services immediately. SPD revoked the company’s license after discovering VIP allowed registered sex offender Ontario Samuels to drive, despite his third-degree rape conviction. Read the full article
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