The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated. The new law, which will take effect on July 27, eliminates the long-standing confidentiality of the confessional, forcing Catholic leaders and lawmakers into a highly charged standoff over religious liberty and child protection. However, the Archdiocese of Seattle and several bishops argue that the law not only contravenes church doctrine but crosses constitutional lines, while supporters maintain…
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I Saw a Neighbor on the Sex-Offense Registry. Should I Tell Others?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to disclose information about a neighbor on the sex-offense registry. I recently reneged on an offer to buy a house because I discovered that a registered person lived across the street. I found this information on a public website that is available for our state and county. This discovery raised many questions for me. First, the sales contract of the home specifically said the seller and seller’s agent are not obligated to divulge information about any nearby neighbors on the sex-offense registry. It’s unclear…
Read MoreFormer teacher of the year sentenced for sex crimes with students
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A San Diego judge sentenced former ‘teacher of the year’ ____ to 30 years to life of prison Friday. ____ broke down in tears as she read a prepared statement in a Chula Vista courtroom, admitting to sex crimes against two former students at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City “I shamed the title of teacher,” she said, sobbing as her family members watched from the courtroom gallery. San Diego Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena said ____ was able to groom the 11 and 12-year-old…
Read MoreExplaining Male Sex Offender Recidivism: Accounting for Differences in Correctional Supervision
Abstract Purpose: Contrary to public opinion, empirical studies have consistently shown that persons convicted of a sexual offense (PCSO) are less likely to recidivate with a general offense. While researchers often point toward the surreptitiousness of sexual offending to explain low rates of recidivism, this paper tests a novel explanation: SOs recidivate at lower rates than persons convicted of a non-sexual offense (PCNSO) because they are more often revoked to prison before they are able to commit a new crime, perhaps owing to more restrictive post-release supervision guidelines. Methods: Using…
Read MoreSurvey Responses Suggest Few U.S. Jails Use Screenings and Assessments for Behavioral Health Diversion
Just 33% of facilities queried said they deploy these tools to divert people with substance use and mental health issues to non-jail settings By: Alexandra Duncan & Julie Wertheimer A survey of administrators at U.S. jails shows that only about one-third of facilities use information from behavioral health screening and assessment tools to divert people from jail. Most facilities do conduct screenings and assessments, but few use them for diversion purposes. That represents a significant missed opportunity to connect people to the care they may need. The Pew Charitable Trusts invited more than…
Read MoreA Critical Assessment of the First Step Act’s Recidivism-Reduction Measures
ABSTRACT The First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”) is the most impactful federal sentencing reform of the past 40 years. While the Act represents a partial resurgence of the rehabilitative model of imprisonment, which had fallen out of favor decades before, it also represents a missed opportunity to fully integrate evidence-based rehabilitation programs for those offenders who pose the greatest risks to public safety. The public has a strong interest in reducing recidivism, particularly among violent offenders, most of whom will be released from federal prison eventually. The FSA incentivizes…
Read MoreCA: Sex Trafficking Fight Erupts Over Punishment for Soliciting Minors
Democrats did the right thing, got attacked for it, then caved. Elizabeth Nolan Brown It’s rare to see politicians of any stripe fight against sex-trafficking overreach—or any tough-on-crime gestures, really. In California, Democrats have been finding out what happens when you do. After pushing back somewhat against an overly carceral bill targeting prostitution customers, they were tarred by Republicans as having voted “to protect predators” and being “a threat to our kids’ safety.” It’s become “the biggest controversy Sacramento has seen in a while,” notes The Sacramento Bee. Now, of course, Democrats are…
Read MoreGeneral Comments May 2025
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2025. 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. Other months General Comments
Read MoreCA SB 286: The bill excluding violent sex offenders from elderly parole
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — (KBAK/FOX58) California State Senator Brian Jones, the Senate Minority Leader, has voiced strong support for Senate Bill 286, which seeks to exclude some violent sex offenders from being eligible from elderly parole. Jones suggested that the bill should not even require debate, stating, “We should not have to have a Senate bill for this because it should have never been passed in the first place.” Jones emphasized the significance of the legislation, saying, “This is such a major policy change that affects the entire state.” He expressed surprise…
Read MoreMO: Guy Hamilton Smith: Nine Families from Missouri
By Guy Hamilton Smith April 1, 2025 Nine Families from Missouri Two things happened this past week that have been in process for years. Most important first: we went to trial. Nine pseudonymous plaintiffs in a civil rights lawsuit offered evidence in a federal trial in Jefferson City, Missouri about the impact that the sex offense registry has had on them. This case, like many others like it around the country, has largely centered on the question of whether or not the registry is punishment. Amongst the claims that survived…
Read MoreGeneral Comments April 2025
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of April 2025. 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. Other months General Comments
Read MoreAction Alert for CA! Call and Write Now, then Show Up to Committee April 8 Hearing on Senate Bill 680 That Could Add 30,000 People to Registry
The CA Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing April 8 regarding Senate Bill 680 that could add up to 30,000 people to the registry! “We must stop this bill in order to prevent the addition of thousands of people to the California registry,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “A similar bill (Senate Bill 1218) was introduced last year and ACSOL as well as other organizations were able to stop it due to our strong opposition.” (1) SEND A LETTER: Please send a…
Read MoreGeneral Comments Mar 2025
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Mar 2025. 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. Other months General Comments
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Importance of Tenacity
On March 3, a group of individuals representing dozens of organizations will gather near the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. When they do so, they will repeat for the third time efforts to educate the Court regarding the significant harm caused by their decision, Smith v. Doe, issued in the year 2003. Some may ask why it is necessary to repeat these efforts. After all, the Court did not appear to care or perhaps even to know that people in the past have stood in front of the building…
Read MoreData center outage
The data center that hosts the ACSOL website had a total outage with over 15 hours of downtime. Systems were restored late last night. ACSOL website https://all4consolaws.org Root cause: Server down Incident started at 2025-02-14 10:18:25 PST Resolved at 2025-02-14 21:44:49 PST Duration: 15 hours and 26 minutes Hopefully everything is back to normal now but if you notice any unresolved issues with our website not working properly, then please send us an email. media at all4consolaws.org
Read MoreGeneral Comments Feb 2025
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Feb 2025. 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. Other months General Comments
Read MoreDomestic Travel 2025
This post is intended as a place for discussions about Domestic Travel ONLY. Please help us by sticking to the topic of Domestic Travel only. Scroll down this page to make a comment in the form. ==== Links: A2TwoZee domestic travel blog To see the “State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws Guide” chart, scroll down to that section and click on the “HERE” link. To see the map of states, click on the “HERE” link to the right of “Summary Map”. Domestic travel information (Probation Information Network)
Read MoreInternational Travel 2025
This post is intended as a place for discussions about International Travel ONLY. We added a new post for this year in order to keep the discussion manageable. For more information and previous discussions on the topic, please see the pages in the International Travel menu named International Travel [year number] Click here for the latest International Travel Information and Resources Scroll down this page to make a comment in the form
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