As I wrote in my column yesterday, not all accusations of campus sexual assault are black and white. Yet colleges are treating accusations as if the accused were a potential rapist, even when the accusation involves nothing more than requesting social media connections one too many times. Full Article
Read MoreAuthor: Admin
NH: Lawmaker proposes registry for heroin dealers
The registry would be similar to the registry of sex offenders. Rep. Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, said it would allow Granite Staters to know if they live near anyone convicted of dealing heroin. “It basically sets up an offenders list,” Flanagan said. “Just like we have sex offenders, now we have drug dealers that are selling heroin, and I think they are equally as bad to the public.” Flanagan said he believes a public database would not only serve as a public service, but also as a deterrent for those who…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Mundane Purity
I titled this story “Mundane Purity” because I thought it was a catchy title and may grab someone’s attention. I met a woman when I was in the Marine Corps in 1998 and married her 3 months later. She had two children I raised as my own and we were blessed with a 3rd child that was born in January of 2000. I’m not going to bore you with the details of our marriage but I’ll try and make a long story short and get to the point. I hired…
Read MoreMN: Judge mulls reforms to ‘unconstitutional’ sex offender treatment
A federal judge said Wednesday he will rule on the fate of Minnesota’s sex-offender treatment program within 30 days, hoping to protect the civil liberties of its patients but also communities where offenders might be released. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has already found the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) unconstitutional; during a morning court hearing Wednesday he heard arguments on its future from attorneys representing a group of confined sex offenders and from the state agency that runs the program’s two locked treatment facilities. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments October 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreThere’s a Reliable Therapy for Sex Offenders — But Nobody Wants Them to Get It
In June of 1994, a convicted child molester named Charlie Taylor moved into a small apartment in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, across the street from a community center. He had no family. He had no parole officer. At the time, sex offenders deemed too dangerous to be let out of prison early were, paradoxically, released at the end of their sentences with no ongoing oversight or treatment from the Correctional Services of Canada. Full Article
Read MoreHI: This Program Offers Sex Offenders Second Chances — And It’s Working
One day back in 2003, ____ ____ sat in a room at the Kulani Correctional Facility, listening to a recording of a frantic 911 call. A woman was on the line, clearly in distress: Her house was being broken into. Terrified, she was hiding in a closet and begging for help — but to no avail. A man soon broke in, raped the woman and killed her. ____, who had been locked up for seven life sentences — including one for a rape conviction — says listening to the recording…
Read MoreThe War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs
“Sex Trafficking of Americans: The Girls Next Door.” – “Sex-trafficking sweep nets arrests near Phoenix truck stops.” – “Man becomes 1st jailed under new human trafficking law.” Conduct a Google news search for the word trafficking in 2015 and you’ll find pages of stories about the commercial sex trade, in which hundreds of thousands of U.S. women and children are supposedly trapped by coercion or force. Full Article
Read MoreMO: Supreme Court weighing adult sex offender registration for youth
The Missouri Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday that could have wide-ranging effects on children accused of serious sexual crimes. The case involves a troubled, developmentally delayed 14-year-old St. Louis boy accused of sexually assaulting his 41-year-old adoptive sister. But it also could challenge the state’s little-known juvenile sex offender registry, and the juvenile court’s ability to place children on the adult registry. Full Article
Read MoreThe social costs of juveniles on sex-offender registries far outweigh benefits
The net social cost of applying sex-offender registration and notification laws to those who commit offenses as juveniles could be as high as $3 billion a year, with most of those costs incurred by neighbors of registered offenders, according to a new benefit-cost analysis from the R Street Institute. Full Article Related The costs and benefits of subjecting juveniles to sex-offender registration and notification – Full Report (pdf)
Read MoreFL: Group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules
An organization that works to reform sex-offender laws in Florida is suing Seminole County and Sheriff Don Eslinger, alleging that a decade-old county ordinance is so restrictive that it prevents registered sex offenders from traveling to a grocery store, eating out at a restaurant or, in some cases, even leaving their homes. According to Seminole’s ordinance, sexual offenders or predators in most cases are not allowed to “travel through or remain within” 1,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers or playgrounds. Full Article
Read MoreShould People With Criminal Histories Be Banned From Public Housing?
We often talk about the “three-strikes rules” that came about in the 1990s—“tough on crime” federal laws that remanded people convicted of three felony convictions to life in prison. Only one strike is needed, in many circumstances, however, to get banned from public housing. Full Article
Read MoreThe 46,000 consequences of crime
Collateral consequences are the additional state and/or federal penalties offenders often face once they’ve completed their jail sentences. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), there are over 46,000 collateral consequences listed in their database — many of them unbeknownst to the former offenders until after they leave prison. Full Article
Read More2015 RSOL Conference Videos are online
Just in time for the weekend, video recorded presentations from the 2015 RSOL Conference in Dallas are online for public viewing. Presentations that may be of interest include International Travel, Starting Your Own Business, as well as several talks by Janice Bellucci. http://rsolconference.org/conference-videos/2015-videos-2/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ReformSexOffenderLaw
Read MoreJustice Department Announces $17 Million In Awards To Support Sex Offender Registration, Assessment, Intervention
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $17 million in Fiscal Year 2015 grant assistance for states, territories and tribal governments to use in implementing and enhancing sex offender programming throughout the United States. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Report – 1 in 5 Ohio inmates are current or former sex offenders
COLUMBUS (AP) —A legislative report says one in five current Ohio prison inmates is behind bars now for a sex offense or was in the past. The report released Wednesday says about 7,700 inmates are serving time for a sex offense, and an additional 2,415 inmates have a prior sex offense. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction houses about 50,000 inmates. Full Article Report Profile of Sex Offenders in Ohio Prisons (2015)
Read MoreCO: Commerce City wants sex offenders to be employed and contribute to the community
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – What to do with sex offenders once they’ve served their time and are back in your neighborhood? Tracking them is one thing — making sure they stay employed and stay out of trouble is another. Because of that, Commerce City is taking a new approach to keeping tabs on sex offenders. “The biggest part of these guys not re-offending – is whether or not they’re employed,” said Commerce City Police detective Christian Rasmussen. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Time to stop the charade of sex offender treatment (Opinion)
Earlier this year, Federal Court Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program, under which 720 men are currently civilly committed, is unconstitutional. Full Editorial
Read More