Something unexpected: bills that could have penalized convicted sex offenders seeking shelter in an emergency evacuation — from an approaching hurricane, for instance — could get a bit less punitive, thanks to a proposed tweak by Gov. Ralph Northam. Full Article
Read MoreAuthor: Admin
CA: Judge Delays Decision on Sexually Violent Predator’s Release Into East County
A judge has delayed a decision to release a man convicted of sexually assaulting several children in the 1980s back into the San Diego community during a hearing Friday morning. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Cops Re-Arrest 26 Sex Offenders in ‘Operation Karma.’ Their Crime? Not Updating Their Car Info.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department in Florida is touting its successful completion of “Operation Karma,” a three-day sting in which cops arrested 26 registered sex offenders for violating various legal obligations imposed on them. “They are apparently up to no good and we are going to hold them accountable,” Sheriff Grady Judd promises The Miami Herald. Full Article Related ‘Karma’ caught up with these sex offenders and predators, Florida cops say
Read MoreNY: Gov. Cuomo Supports Banning Sex Offenders From Subway
You see all kinds of things on the subways, but if one New York City lawmaker has his way, repeat sex offenders won’t be among them. City Councilman Chaim Deutsch’s proposed ban is designed to prevent certain sex offenders from taking public transportation, CBS2’s Jessica Moore reported Wednesday. Full Article UPDATE 4/2: NEW YORK LAWMAKERS WANT TO BAN SEX OFFENDERS FROM THE SUBWAY. THAT WON’T SOLVE ANYTHING. (Commentary)
Read MoreOrganizations Join ACSOL’s Opposition to AB 884
Three organizations have joined ACSOL in its opposition to Assembly Bill 884 by sending formal letters of opposition to the Public Safety Committee. The organizations are Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, East Bay Community Law Center and Root & Rebound. In their letters, the organizations emphasized that Assembly Bill 884 would harm the original Tiered Registry Law which they supported in the past. They also noted the fact that a lifetime registry for all registrants does not increase public safety. “We appreciate the support of these organizations and look forward…
Read MoreIN: Sex offender ban includes grandparents
A grandparent who has been convicted as a sexually violent predator would not be able to care for his or her grandchildren under the current version of a bill barring predators from serving as child care providers. That possible scenario is perhaps the last remaining concern among legislators who have so far been unanimous in passing Senate Bill 258, resulting from a loophole found when an Anderson sexual offender advertised as a babysitter. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Huge increase in released sex offenders is draining resources from other inmates
Across the United States, a growing number of incarcerated individuals are being released to face the barriers to reintegration with no support. From 1990 to 2012, the number of max-outs – those who serve their entire sentences incarcerated and are released entirely unsupervised – increased by 119 percent, so that according to the latest numbers from Pew Charitable Trusts, the current max out rate across the country is 22 percent. … Nevertheless, the number of individuals released to supervision in New Jersey continues to decline. In 2003, nearly 7,777 individuals…
Read MoreFL: Bill to ban child sex dolls advances in Florida legislature
A Florida bill to ban childlike sex dolls passed its third Senate committee on Wednesday and is headed to the Senate floor. Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, sponsored SB 160 amid an international conversation surrounding child sex dolls and their link to increased sexual preying on children. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments March 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of March 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreFL: Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable
It was the kind of headline guaranteed to generate clicks even over the winter holidays and amid a federal government shutdown: “Number of Sex Offenders Living in Florida Is Growing,” warned the Associated Press. In December, the Florida legislative auditor’s office released a report noting that the number of people on the state’s sex offender registry had expanded 53 percent since 2005, to about 73,000. But the report also contains this detail: 60 percent of those on the list live out of state, are in prison, or have been deported—up…
Read MoreIN: Amendment bars sex offender from son’s school activities
A registered sex offender previously able to attend his son’s school activities per a trial court-granted request was denied that exception Monday when the Indiana Court of Appeals determined an amended statute barred him from entering school property. Full Article Article
Read MorePA: SORNA Registration Equal to Being “In Custody”
For a federal court to consider a habeas petition, the petitioner must be “in custody” at the time the petition is filed. Past cases have found custody to include parole restrictions, own-recognizance release pending appeal, and community service obligations. Today, the Third Circuit held that the requirements that come with registration under Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act satisfy the habeas custody requirement because SORNA restricts registrants’ physical liberty in various ways, including banning computer internet access and requiring them to appear frequently at a state police barracks, in…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Court poised to rule for challenger in dispute over constitutionality of sex-offender law
This morning the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a dispute over the constitutionality of a federal law that requires convicted sex offenders to return to prison for at least five years – and possibly for the rest of their lives – if a judge finds that they have committed certain crimes. The defendant in the case, an Oklahoma man who served time for possessing child pornography and was then sent back to prison after he violated the terms of his supervised release, argues that the law violates his right…
Read MoreWant to build safer online communities? Drop the ban.
Creating safer and more equitable communities — both in real life, and online — is an important undertaking. Undoubtedly we are in agreement that those who cause harm and havoc should be stopped and made accountable for their actions. The broader (and more difficult) question comes in what we do next. To make this less abstract, in “real world” parlance, this is often called re-entry: the process of people returning to their lives, families, and communities after involvement with the justice system. Full Op-Ed — Guy Hamilton-Smith is a member of the ACSOL Board…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: When Will They Learn?
The CA state legislature began a new two-year session just last month. And in that short period of time, legislators are already heading down the wrong path. What path? The path which identifies all individuals convicted of a sex offense as dangerous and likely to commit a new sex offense. For example, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty who is known for his compassion for those who are or have been incarcerated, introduced a bill (AB 277) that would allow parolees to earn “reintegration credits” that could ultimately allow them to travel greater…
Read MoreCA: New Bill Would Expand Lifetime Registration Requirements
Assembly member Melissa Melendez has introduced a bill (AB 884) that would expand the requirement to register for a lifetime to anyone convicted of Penal Code Section 288(a) when the Tiered Registry Law takes effect in 2021. As currently written, the Tiered Registry Law authorizes individuals convicted of the same penal code section to petition for removal from the registry after a minimum of 20 years. “We must stop this bill!” exclaimed ACSOL Exeuctive Director Janice Bellucci. “If the bill is passed, at least 40 percent of the people on…
Read MoreMO: Bill aims to track sex offenders when moving
A new bill making its way through the Missouri House is seeking to track some of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders when moving between counties. Sponsored by Missouri Rep. Randy Pietzman of Troy, Missouri, House Bill No. 2653 would require offenders who have been convicted of first-degree child molestation to wear an electronic monitoring device. “I come from a district that is kind of plagued with sex offenders,” Pietzman said. “I was looking for some kind of an avenue to bring attention to it.” Full Article
Read MoreLiving with 290: Certificate of Rehabilitation – 2019 (Updated)
UPDATE 2/23: Removal from the Registry (below) Original Submission 2/9: Last month, I received my Certificate or Rehabilitation, thus ending my duty to register and bringing to a conclusion a decade filled with challenges and a sense of utter hopelessness and despair. When this all began, I asked myself repeatedly, “How am I ever going to get out of this?” At my first ACSOL meeting (before it was called ACSOL), the dim feeling of hope I felt that day was still overshadowed by this vague and ominous sense of doubt.…
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