[kcra.com 4/17/18] BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A man who spent nearly 25 years on California’s death row for raping and killing a toddler before his conviction was overturned won’t be retried and could be freed within days, authorities said Tuesday. Vicente Benavides Figueroa, 68, has remained in prison even though the state Supreme Court last month overturned his 1993 conviction on grounds that medical testimony at his trial was false. Advertisement Many doctors who testified to the cause of the girl’s injuries recanted. Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green announced…
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CA: Bill to accelerate sex offender registry notifications clears Riverside assembly
A Riverside County lawmaker’s bill to require prisons, county jails, mental institutions and other facilities to hasten alerts to the California Department of Justice regarding the release of registered sex offenders was unanimously approved today by the Assembly. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Three Opportunities in Thirty Days
We have three opportunities during the next 30 days to Show Up – Stand Up – Speak Up. Our first opportunity is in Sacramento on April 24 when the Senate Public Safety Committee will consider Senate Bill 1143. If passed, that bill would require registrants convicted of an offense involving a minor to disclose their status as a registrant to potential landlords as well as to home sellers if the property is within one-quarter mile of a school or a park. The penalty for not making such a disclosure is…
Read MoreCA: Pair of bills aimed at release of sex offenders pass Public Safety Committee
A locally authored bill about where the state places sex offenders once they’re released from prison passed the Senate Committee on Public Safety on Monday. Senate Bill 1198, introduced by Sen. Scott Wilk, and Senate Bill 1199, which Wilk authored, address significant concerns about how the criminal justice system deals with individuals convicted of sex crimes. Full Article
Read MoreSenate Committee to Hear SB 1143 on April 24
The Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider Senate Bill (SB) 1143 on April 24. If passed, SB 1143 would require registrants convicted of an offense involving a minor to disclose their requirement to register to both potential landlords as well as those who have a house to sell. If a registrant failed to make this disclosure, the landlord or seller could lawfully cancel an existing lease or contract. “This bill must be stopped,” state ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “If the bill becomes law, there will be a…
Read MoreCA: Neighbors concerned after registered sex offender moves feet away from elementary school
[10news.com] Neighbors concerned after registered sex offender moves feet away from elementary school SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Neighbors are concerned after they say a registered sex offender moved into their Rancho Bernardo community, just feet away from an elementary school playground. ____________, 32, was convicted of possession of child pornography and lewd and lascivious acts with a child in Tennessee in 2013. Neighbors say they became concerned after ____ moved into a townhouse in their neighborhood weeks ago. According to records on the Megan’s Law website, ____ lives on the…
Read MoreCA: We pay millions for sex offender therapy at Coalinga hospital. Most patients aren’t in it
Thirteen years after Coalinga State Hospital was built to treat the state’s sexually violent predators, some of the men there say they’re more like prisoners than patients, and that the multimillion-dollar facility once criticized for its amenities is a sort of purgatory failing to rehabilitate offenders — and therefore failing the public. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Divided State Supreme Court Upholds DNA Swabs for Felony Arrests
California can continue collecting DNA samples from suspects arrested on, but not necessarily convicted of, felony charges, a divided state Supreme Court held Monday. Full Article
Read MoreDamaging Justice to Make a Point About Rape
There’s currently a campaign to recall a Superior Court judge in my county. Judge Aaron Persky presided over the 2016 trial of Stanford student Brock Turner, who was ultimately convicted of digitally penetrating an unconscious woman on campus. With Turner a young first-timer with no previous police record, the Probation Department recommended a sentence of six months in jail and three years’ probation, focused on rehabilitation. As is typical, the judge followed this recommendation. California law also requires that Turner register as a sex offender for the rest of his…
Read MoreCA: May 9 Hearing Scheduled for Bill That Would Disenfranchise SVP’s
The Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee is scheduled to hear AB 2839 which, if passed, would disenfranchise hundreds of men who are otherwise eligible to vote and have been designated sexually violent predators at Coalinga State Hospital. The hearing will take place on May 9 at 9 a.m. in Room 444 of the State Capitol. “ACSOL encourages its members to attend this hearing in order to protect the voting rights of almost one thousand registrants,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. AB 2839 was introduced by Assembly member Dr. Joaquin…
Read MoreCA: Spitzer Applauds Board for Rescinding Vote, Warns Colleagues About Sex Offender Data
[voiceofoc.org] (Orange County, CA) – Supervisor Spitzer applauded his colleagues for joining him in rescinding their votes to place homeless individuals in tents in Orange County cities. Supervisor Spitzer voted against the original plan, which passed 4-1, which he argued could place dangerous individuals—in addition to homeless who need intensive mental and substance abuse treatment—right into the heart of three Orange County cities—Irvine, Laguna Niguel, and Huntington Beach without a shelter operating plan. The Bridges at Kraemer Place, in Spitzer’s district, operates with nearly 200 occupants who are screened for…
Read MoreEmotional Support Group Meeting – March 31, Los Angeles
ACSOL will host an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday March 31, 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting.
Read MoreCA: Root and Rebound Free Legal Clinics
[rootandrebound.org] Part of Root & Rebound’s mission is to conduct free legal clinics in California for those in the process of reentry to society. For a list of legal clinics and other services, view the Public Education Team Newsletter: Go to http://www.rootandrebound.org/community-trainings Click on the long “Click here” button. Click on “Join our mailing list” at the top of that list. The emails contain recent additions (see below) that have not yet been added to the newsletter. Below are recently-added upcoming legal services clinics in Santa Rosa, Fresno, and Contra…
Read MoreCA: California Lawmaker Banned From Hugging After Investigation
[usnews.com] SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California state senator has been told to stop hugging people after an investigation concluded that his trademark embraces made multiple female colleagues uncomfortable. However, the investigation released Thursday found Sen. Bob Hertzberg’s frequent hugs are not intended to be sexual and more often than not are not unwelcome. Hertzberg, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area, has earned nicknames such as “Hugsberg” and “Huggy Bear” for greeting men and women alike with giant hugs. The Senate Rules Committee formally reprimanded him on Tuesday and…
Read MoreACSOL CA Action CANCELLATION Alert for May 8 LA Court Murder Hearing
UPDATED May 1, 2018: The May 8 press conference and filing of lawsuit has been postponed. Future date to be determined and announced. Correspondingly, ACSOL will not be meeting as an organization at the hearing. Original (obsolete) March 16 posting: ACSOL members are encouraged to attend a court hearing on May 8 in Los Angeles County that will feature four men charged with the brutal murder of a registrant in late November 2017. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 4 of the Los Angeles…
Read MoreCA: Vidak authors measure to prevent sex offenders from secretly moving in next door to schools, parks and child care centers
State Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) today announced he is amending his Senate Bill 1143 to prevent sex offenders from secretly moving in next door to schools, parks, and child care centers. Click here (pdf) to view the bill’s amended language. … “Given the Court’s and Brown administration’s reluctance to keep sex offenders from living near children, we looked into other possible solutions,” said Vidak. “Our SB 1143 will force these sex offenders to at least, before they attempt to buy or rent near a school, park or child care center, notify the…
Read MoreCA Sex Offender Management Board to Release Recidivism Report
[ACSOL] The CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) will soon release the results of a 10-year study on recidivism rates for those convicted of a sex offense, according to a CASOMB member. The study is expected to include topics such as the number of people convicted of indecent exposure who later committed a sex contact offense. According to the board member, a preliminary copy of the report reveals that number is zero out of a group of more than 300 people. During today’s CASOMB meeting, several additional reports were issued…
Read MoreCA: Prop 57: Letting Californian Sex-Offenders On The Loose [Editorial]
Initially, Proposition 57 seemed to be a feasible solution to California’s prison overcrowding. It promised that nonviolent offenders would be offered parole if they had already served their primary sentences and did not pose any threat to society. However, this changed when Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner ruled that thousands of sexual offenders would be eligible for parole under Proposition 57’s “nonviolent crime” clause. On March 5, the state of California announced that it will appeal Judge Summer’s ruling by arguing that those convicted of sexual violence should…
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