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 MoreCategory: California
CA: 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…
Read MoreCA: Fresno sex offender faces 1,882 years in prison
[turnto23.com] BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A Fresno man was found guilty on Wednesday of numerous child molestation and child pornography charges and faces 1,882 years-to-life in prison. _______, 42, a registered sex offender was living with a family and was charged with sexually assaulting two female victims in their home over a period of one year from June 2014 to June 2015. Read more
Read MoreCA: California will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for sex offenders
[Time.com] (SACRAMENTO) — California said Monday that it will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders, such as those convicted of raping an unconscious person. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration will appeal the order by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner, said Vicky Waters, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The judge previously said in a tentative ruling that prison officials must rewrite part of the parole regulations in a ballot measure passed by voters in 2016. No…
Read MoreCA: Judge Issues Final Ruling in Prop. 57 Case
[ACSOL] Emergency regulations, intended to implement Proposition 57 and issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), must be set aside, according to a final ruling released today by a Sacramento Superior Court judge. The ruling specifically stated that “CDCR cannot substitute its judgment for what it wishes the drafters of Proposition 57 had said. Nor may CDCR’s…regulations override a clear directive in the Constitution. “Due to this ruling, CDCR’s emergency regulations issued in March 2017 cannot be enforced and new regulations must be issued. The new regulation…
Read MoreCA: NARSOL opposes CA Dep’t of Corrections’ blanket exclusion of sex offenders
[narsol.org] NARSOL is a national advocacy organization that defends and protects the interests of citizens convicted of a sex offense. We are acutely aware that this is a very serious subject and in no way condone sexual abuse. But we are also aware that culture, politics and policy over-react when creating proportional sanctions for these offenses. A large portion of our membership is comprised of family members of those convicted of a sex offense. They have seen first-hand the brutal and unfair treatment of their loved ones. It is clear…
Read MoreCA: After sexual predators swung an election, new law would change California voting rules
Four months after the patients of Coalinga State Hospital doomed a 1-cent sales tax needed to maintain police and fire staffing in the city, the California State Assembly is weighing a change to state voting law that would limit sexually violent predators’ voting rights. Full Article AB 2839 Related Assembly Bill to Disenfranchise Coalinga Patients
Read MoreCA: Keep violent sex offenders locked up (opinion by Jim Cooper, CA Assembly)
[sacbee.com] Two years ago, California voters were promised that violent sex offenders wouldn’t be released from prison early if they passed Proposition 57, the sweeping ballot initiative allowing the early release of inmates convicted of non-serious and non-violent crimes. But this month, a Superior Court judge tentatively ruled that sex offenders must be considered for early release under Prop. 57. If the ruling is made final, more than half of the 20,000 inmates now serving time for violent sex offenses could be back on the street. That was the hidden…
Read MoreACSOL Phone Meeting Alert for March 12: CA Tiered Registry
ACSOL will conduct a review of the California Tiered Registry during a phone conference call on Monday, March 12 at 5 p.m. (Pacific). The review will include attorneys Eliza Hersh, a leading legal advocate and educator in the movement for criminal justice reform, as well as ACSOL President Chance Oberstein and ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. The conference call will include a discussion of opportunities for some registrants to be removed from the registry prior to implementation of the Tiered Registry through certificates of rehabilitation as well as the reduction…
Read MoreAssembly Bill to Disenfranchise Coalinga Patients
[ACSOL] Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (Democrat, Fresno) has introduced a bill (AB 2839) that would disenfranchise patients at Coalinga State Hospital, including patients that recently defeated a proposed tax increase attempted by the City of Coalinga. The district represented by Assemblyman Arambula includes both Coalinga State Hospital as well as the City of Coalinga. The proposed bill, if passed, would require anyone adjudicated as a “sexually violent predator” (SVP) and committed to the custody of the State Department of Hospitals for “an indeterminate term” to vote at their “last known address.” Because individuals who are adjudicated as…
Read MoreCA: Rapist who moved to Carmichael says ‘human beings can change.’ His neighbors aren’t convinced
[sacbee.com] _____________, a Colorado man convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman in 2001, says the 16 years he spent in jail after his arrest have changed him for good. In that time, he got off drugs, sought a healthier lifestyle and studied Buddhism, Lawyer said on Wednesday, speaking in a jailhouse interview. He eventually taught career classes to other inmates that focused on ethics and character. “I’ve always taken responsibility for my crimes,” said ____, who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly violating a curfew imposed as part…
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