We’ve all heard the phrase “every parent’s worst nightmare” in the context of a person with a sex offense conviction. It usually conjures the image of an abduction and sexual assault and murder. But for every parent who happens to be required to register due to a past sex offense, our “parent’s worst nightmare” is that one day, some law will come out that will take our own children away from us. We are facing our worst nightmare. Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 141 into Law. The bill, titled,…
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FL: DeSantis signs bill closing sex-offense registration loophole
ALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Tuesday effectively closing a loophole in Florida’s sexual offense registration law. The former law’s loophole allowed a person convicted of a sex crime to forgo registering because they didn’t pay a court-ordered fine. In 2020, a judge ruled that Ray La Vel James of Tampa, who spent 12 years in prison after being convicted of molesting two girls at a public pool, didn’t have to register as a sex offender because the law states registration isn’t required until a…
Read MoreNJ: Murphy signs historic law banning landlords from asking renters about criminal records (except…)
In a step toward racial equity and ending housing discrimination, Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday signed the Fair Chance in Housing Act, barring landlords in New Jersey from asking about criminal history on housing applications. At the state’s first commemoration of Juneteenth as an official holiday, Murphy signed the historic “ban the box” bill (A1919), which advocates say is the most sweeping form of the law in the nation. “With today’s action, Governor Murphy has put New Jersey at the forefront of criminal justice reform by helping to dismantle the…
Read MoreHow a suicidal pizza man found himself ensnared in an FBI sting
This isn’t a story about the police stings that we are all too familiar with. But it is another example of how the FBI goes too far with sting operations. This is based on a story on CNN.com back in 2017 Every day was the same for Rayyan, 21, a depressed pizza delivery man from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Working for a pizzeria in Detroit, he’d drive late nights on desolate inner city streets, smoking pot hoping to keep boredom at bay. He carried a pistol to protect himself from robbers.…
Read MoreCO: Supreme Court exempts people listed on registry from key 2019 decision
Ruling in 2019 prohibits sentencing defendants to prison followed by probation in same criminal case The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday exempted people with a sex offense conviction from a key 2019 decision that prohibited defendants from being sentenced to prison followed by probation in the same criminal case. People with a sex offense conviction in Colorado can face such punishment in some circumstances, the justices found in a pair of opinions that examined how the state’s sentencing laws for sex offenses drastically differ from sentencing for other crimes. The…
Read MoreGeneral Comments June 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2021. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreNY: My Parishioner Was Not Sentenced to Death. He Still Died.
By Steven Paulikas, Mr. Paulikas is an Episcopal priest. Witnessing unwarranted suffering is a solemn duty of the priesthood. But when one of my parishioners died of Covid-19 in a New York State prison, I felt the need to not only witness but to also tell the story he no longer can — the story of a prison system that failed to protect his life and the lives of so many others in its care, subjecting them to confusion, fear and even death. This man committed a crime and was…
Read MoreFL: DoC is Planning to Charge people in prison to Receive Mail
Orlando Sentinel, May 29 FDC will hold a public hearing June 11 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Officials with the Florida Department of Corrections plan to almost completely digitize mail sent to state prisons by photocopying every card, letter or picture and providing it instead electronically to incarcerated people — a change that families and prison reform advocates argue could create more hurdles for maintaining connections with people in prison, as well as add additional burdens and costs to them and their loved ones. The plan, which was announced this…
Read MoreCDCR Schedules Second Hearing on May 28 at 10am Regarding Re-sentencing Regulations
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has scheduled on May 28, 2021 a second hearing regarding its re-sentencing regulations which categorically deny anyone convicted of a sex offense from re-sentencing opportunities. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. and be held by telephone only. In order to participate in the May 28 hearing, call 1-877-411-9748 and enter participant code 7405289. “This second hearing is being held because many people who wished to address the re-sentencing regulations did not have an opportunity to speak during the first hearing held earlier…
Read MoreSeventh Circuit: Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act’s ‘Other Jurisdiction Requirement’ Unconstitutional Violation of Right to Travel
by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s opinion that found a provision of Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”) requiring registration of Plaintiffs who relocated to Indiana after SORA’s enactment violated their right to travel because the provision wouldn’t have required them to register if they had committed their offenses while residents of Indiana. Plaintiffs Brian Hope, Gary Snider, Joseph Standish, Patrick Rice, Adam Bash, and Scott Rush (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed suit against the Commissioner…
Read MoreCHALLENGE MET to Provide Funds to Fight SORNA Regulations. Thanks!
[Thanks to all of you who helped meet our goal to fund our fight SORNA regulations! Of course we encourage all to continue donations to ACSOL so we can expand our fight] The sum of $1,200 has been provided to ACSOL in the form of a challenge grant in order to fight the federal government’s proposed SORNA regulations. However, the sum comes with strings attached. That is, ACSOL must collect at least $1,200 from others during the next seven days in order to receive the original $1,200. “We thank the…
Read MoreGeneral Comments May 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2021. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreTN: Judge orders state to remove men from sex offender registry
A federal judge ruled Monday that Tennessee’s sex offender registration act is unconstitutional, at least as it was applied retroactively to two offenders. The ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee affects only the two men who sued, identified in court documents as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2. “I think the ruling, while it is narrowly tailored to our clients, does open the door to the possibility of a class action,” attorney Ed Yarbrough said in an interview. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson…
Read MoreGeneral Comments April 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of April 2021. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreIL: Current policies funnel large number of… [people] …into one building. That needs to change
[chicago.suntimes.com – 3/25/21] The state’s job is to balance the needs and rights of… [people with a prior conviction] …with those of all others. A single building in Englewood, a neighborhood with plenty of struggles, has been home to not one or two or even three… [people listed on the registry] …— but to literally dozens. That strange and — for most Americans — troubling fact came to light recently when people in the neighborhood became aware of, and objected strongly, to one man in particular who had moved into…
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