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…
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Assembly 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…
Read MoreCA: Changes Are Coming to California Sex Offender Registry
[independent.com] Fifty-four sex offenders live within two miles of the Santa Barbara Independent’s Figueroa Street offices. Their mugshots, height, weight, ethnicity, eye color, home addresses, criminal charges, and date they were released from jail are listed on the Megan’s Law website. That is about to change. California lawmakers voted last year to reduce the length of time required for sex-offender registration. This means a sizeable number of Santa Barbara County registrants will no longer be tracked or publicly identified. “It’s like putting a GPS on every shark in the ocean…
Read MoreCA: Sacramento Judge Rules Some of CDCR’s Prop. 57 Regulations Are Void
CA Proposition 57 tentative Ruling – 8 Feb 2018 (PDF) [ACSOL] A Superior Court Judge in Sacramento has ruled that provisions in emergency regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding registrants are void and therefore cannot be enforced. The regulation provisions at issue deny anyone convicted of a sex offense eligibility for parole consideration under Proposition 57. The judge’s preliminary decision was issued in a tentative ruling dated February 8, 2018, and was the subject of a hearing conducted in Sacramento Superior Court this morning.…
Read MoreFederal Judge Denies TRO at Coalinga
A federal judge on Friday denied a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requested on behalf of patients at Coalinga State Hospital to stop the confiscation and destruction of their personal electronics, including computers and electronic storage devices. The judge made his decision from the bench after more than an hour of oral argument from attorneys representing both the patients and the state hospital. “This decision will significantly harm hundreds of patients at Coalinga State Hospital who will lose important legal documents, treatment records and personal writings including novels and poetry,” stated…
Read MoreCA: Child porn ‘epidemic’ triggers Coalinga hospital lockdown, patients file lawsuit
Two patients at Coalinga State Hospital, which houses nearly 1,000 sexually violent predators, have filed a federal lawsuit against the hospital’s executive director and 10 other staff members for allegedly violating their civil rights during a recent crackdown on portable electronic devices that hospital officials say was prompted by a “child porn epidemic.” Sacramento civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit on behalf of two patients, Michael Saint-Martin and an anonymous claimant, in federal court Tuesday night. It asks the court to immediately halt a newly implemented hospital policy…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga Patients Attempt to Join City, County Lawsuit
Patients at Coalinga State Hospital filed today a motion in Fresno Superior Court that, if granted, would allow them to join an existing lawsuit that attempts to negate their votes taken in a recent City of Coalinga election. The City of Coalinga has blamed the patients for the defeat of its attempted increase in the city’s sales tax. “The voting rights of the patients at Coalinga State Hospital must be protected,” stated attorney Janice Bellucci. “The patients reside within the City of Coalinga and Fresno County has determined that they are eligible to vote…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga State Hospital locked down in sex offender dispute
[abc30.com] A California state psychiatric hospital, housing mostly sexually violent predators, has been locked down and visits canceled after a weekend protest over a crackdown on devices, like flash drives, that officials say are often used to smuggle child pornography. The patients at Coalinga State Hospital were protesting new restrictions on electronic devices, Department of State Hospitals spokesman Ralph Montano said Tuesday, but no injuries were reported. Department officials have cited lawsuit testimony asserting that there is a “porn epidemic” at Coalinga to justify the crackdown. At least 200 Coalinga…
Read MoreCA: As small riots rage at Coalinga State Hospital, details begin to emerge
[fresnobee.com] Patients at Coalinga State Hospital remained on lockdown Tuesday as a few details began to emerge about violent protests that have erupted since new rules restricting the use of personal electronic devices were put into place. Since it started this lockdown, the California Department of State Hospitals has released little information on what caused the lockdown, how that cause is being addressed or how long it will be in place and did not respond to The Bee’s questions by deadline Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Department…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga State Hospital said to be on lockdown, but no official confirmation given
Trash-littered hallways, jammed doors, broken windows and clogged sewage are problems reported at Coalinga State Hospital, which is being described as having “riot-like conditions,” according to emails sent to The Bee. On Monday morning, the hospital said it could not confirm if the facility was on lockdown, but that more information would be available Tuesday. The hospital has1,286 beds, according to its website. Of that, 941 patients, or 73 percent of the population in 2016, are classified as sexually violent predators. Full Article Related http://kmph.com/news/local/coalinga-state-hospital-under-lockdown-following-protest-by-patients https://www.facebook.com/KMPHFOX26/posts/10157163869879012
Read MoreCA: 4 men charged with killing Redondo Beach sex offender during home-invasion robbery
[dailybreeze.com] Four South Bay men were charged Friday with killing and robbing a registered sex offender, strangling him and attacking him with pliers and bolt cutters when he got out of his shower in his Redondo Beach apartment. The charges make them eligible for the death penalty. The victim, __________, 61, died Nov,. 28, five years after he was sent to prison for drugging a young male friend, shaving his body hair and sexually assaulting him in that same shower area amid allegations he had molested more than a dozen other…
Read MoreCA: Child trafficking is nonviolent crime under California voter-approved law
[kcra.com] Crime victims, groups start petition to stop early release of violent criminals Mike Luery Reporter Show Transcript SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Petition gatherers hit the streets of Sacramento on Thursday, trying to collect enough signatures for a new ballot measure that gets tough on crime. “In current law, rape by intoxication and rape of an unconscious person and a slew of other crimes are not considered violent for our state,” said Beth Hassett, executive director of WEAVE, or Woman Escaping a Violent Environment. WEAVE is a central player in…
Read MoreCA: Root and Rebound’s Feb 24 Berkeley CA Family Law Clinic for people with records
Root & Rebound will be hosting its second Family Law Clinic for people with records. Root & Rebound will be offering one-on-one appointments with their reentry attorneys for any person with a criminal record who needs help with issues related to family law. Date: February 24th, 2018 Time: 10 am – 4 pm Location: 1730 Franklin St., Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94612 At this clinic, get help with family law issues like: Understanding your rights in family court, probate court, or dependency court as a person with a criminal record.…
Read MoreCA: Was homicide victim attacked because of his alleged history as sex offender?
A Los Angeles man who was stabbed more than 50 times and whose body was dumped near Rosamond may have been targeted in the belief that he was a sex offender, according to a search warrant. The slaying of ____ ____ may be connected to comments found on his Facebook page alleging that the 32-year-old was a child molester, Kern County sheriff’s Detective Daniel Perez wrote in the warrant. In the years he’s worked in law enforcement, the detective wrote, he is aware that convicted or accused sex offenders are…
Read MoreCA: L.A. child molester to be released after spending 17 years in state hospital awaiting trial
Just before ____ ____ was scheduled to get out of prison, Los Angeles County prosecutors made a plea to the court: Don’t let him free — he’s too dangerous to live in public. While in his early 20s, ____ had lured young boys who lived in his South L.A. neighborhood to a spot near an alleyway with the promise of candy. He was convicted of molesting several children, ages 6 to 8, court records show. Prosecutors argued that ____ needed to be confined within the walls of a state hospital,…
Read MoreCA: We can’t afford showy but ineffective sex offender policies [commentary]
[with-justiceforall.blogspot.com] This was a recent headline in the Daily Democrat in Yolo, California, recently: ” ‘OperationVigilance’ targets Yolo County sex offenders.” http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20171216/NEWS/171219907 “Yolo County law enforcement conducted surprise compliance checks on over 300 sex offenders earlier this week…” “While many of the sex offenders investigated were in compliance, two sex offenders contacted were arrested for a variety of weapons, pornography and other violations. An additional 18 of these offenders are the subject of further investigation to determine whether or not they are in compliance.” “Over 60 law enforcement personnel…
Read MoreCA: City sues over election partly decided by sex offenders at state hospital
Coalinga City Council is suing Fresno County to overturn an election decided partly by the sex offenders in a state hospital. Voters rejected a penny sales tax increase by just 37 votes in November. 127 of those ‘no’ votes came from inside the walls of Coalinga State Hospital, where some of the state’s sex offenders are actually legal voters. Full Article Related http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/political-notebook/article184847643.html
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