Registered citizens continue to face banishment throughout the land. They are often torn from their families and relegated to the dark corners of society where they sleep in their cars if they are lucky and on the streets if they are not. Banishment comes in many forms. This commentary is limited to the two most insidious forms – residency restrictions and proximity restrictions. Both limit where a registered citizen may go. Both tear families apart. Neither accomplishes its stated purpose, that is, to increase public safety. There are a growing…
Read MoreCategory: California
Orange County: Is it time for District Attorney Tony Rackauckas to resign?
Sitting down with District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, I ask the same question I’ve been asking others for several days, but it’s personal when it comes to the man who has led prosecutions in Orange County for 18 years. … Several years ago, Rackauckas crusaded to close parks to sex offenders. It proved a costly battle – for local cities. … After costly litigation, every city has repealed its ordinance. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting – May 9 in Los Angeles
The monthly meeting for May will take place on May 9 in Los Angeles at the usual location in Los Angeles, at the ACLU Building at 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Start time is 10 am. The main focus of discussion will center on the recent California Supreme Court decisions about residence restrictions. We welcome registrants, friends and family and other supporters to attend. The meeting is off-limits to media and government officials in order to ensure everyone’s privacy. There is no charge to attend. Show up,…
Read MoreState audit faults evaluations of sexually violent predators
The state auditor released a report Thursday criticizing the Department of State Hospitals’ evaluation system for determining whether prisoners due for parole or psychiatric patients being held at Coalinga State Hospital are sexually violent predators. The audit found that evaluations of current and potential “SVPs” are inconsistent, and that there is no standard protocol used to determine whether those being assessed meet the criteria for confinement. The audit also found that evaluators lack clinical supervision and training, and that Coalinga has a “significant backlog” of annual evaluations that violates the rights…
Read MoreAnother View: Sex offenders are human beings, too
Ben Boychuck’s recent article (“Best solution may be sex offender ‘colonies,’” March 6) reminded me of a similar suggestion in 2010 by gubernatorial candidate Douglas Hughes to build a “pedophile island” off the California coast. Thankfully, Hughes was not elected, but his sentiments are often echoed across the nation. Full Letter to the Editor Related: Best solution may be sex offender ‘colonies’ (Opinion)
Read MoreIt’s Time to Rethink Our Approach to Sex Offenders
Each year, 10,000 to 20,000 sex offenders are released from prisons into communities that aren’t quite ready to accept them back. Restrictions on where offenders can live and loiter are a popular legal strategy to keep children out of reach of sexual predators, but in reality they keep offenders an arm’s length away from affordable housing and employment. Full Article Related: The Outcast at the Gate
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The March on Carson
We showed up. We stood up. We spoke up. Voices of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Caucasians. Voices of the young (age 7) and voices of the old (75+). We were heard. By the residents of Carson who honked their car horns in approval. By the Los Angeles Times who sent a photographer to capture images of the event. By KTLA TV who sent both a reporter and a videographer to record our voices and our actions. Our messages? We delivered three important messages in Carson on March 7,…
Read MoreRegistered sex offenders to march on Carson City Hall to fight restrictions
A group of convicted sex offenders will march to Carson City Hall on Saturday to demand equal rights to visit fast-food restaurants, parks, libraries and other public areas from which they are now banned. The protest is timed to coincide with the date of Martin Luther King Jr.’s voting-rights march to Selma, Ala., 50 years ago to emphasize that the issue is about a denial of constitutionally protected human rights. Carson imposes the state’s harshest restrictions against registered sex offenders. “We really want to call it to the attention of…
Read MoreBest solution may be sex offender ‘colonies’ (Opinion)
Sex offenders are the lepers of the 21st century – outcast and feared, with treatment elusive and at times inhumane. For centuries, the best medical minds thought leprosy was incurable – the first effective treatment emerged only in the 1940s – so colonies appeared, usually in remote places next to monasteries, where the lepers could live and die safely out of sight, out of mind. We don’t have a cure-all treatment for people who commit sex crimes, nor do we have sex-offender colonies. Perhaps we should. Full Opinion Piece More…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The California Supreme Court has spoken but what have they said?
The California Supreme Court has spoken but what have they said? The Court published two decisions today that were expected to determine whether residency restrictions are constitutional and if so, to whom do they apply as well as whether the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) may issue a blanket residency restriction to all registered citizens in San Diego while on parole. These issues are of vital importance to more than 100,000 registered citizens and their families. Unfortunately, the Court did not meet expectations because they failed to address…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Decisions re. Residency Restrictions [Update II with Editorials]
The CA Supreme Court Decisions in the People v. Mosley and In re Taylor Cases are posted. Please stay tuned for commentary from California RSOL. People v. Mosley In re Taylor Related Media: Reports LA Times OC Register SF Chronicle SJ Mercury Riverside Press-Enterprise – with CA RSOL mention San Bernardino Sun UT San Diego Huffington Post SCPR CBS San Diego ABC San Diego reason.com KUSI San Diego KEYT (with video of Janice Bellucci and CA RSOL) Reactions / Editorials / Analysis George Runner – Author of Jessica’s Law (February…
Read MoreCalifornia Legislature Will Not Consider Tiered Registry Bill This Year
The deadline for the introduction of new bills has passed and there is no tiered registry bill for consideration by the California legislature during this two-year session. “Despite strong efforts by the CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB), an author for the tiered registry bill could not be found,” stated Janice Bellucci, President of California RSOL. “The next opportunity to introduce the bill is projected to be 2017.” The CASOMB strongly recommended the creation of a tiered registry in a report issued in April 2014. CASOMB repeated its recommendation In…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Decision Regarding Residency Restrictions Due March 2
The California Supreme Court has officially announced that it will publish on Monday, March 2, two decisions regarding residency restrictions. The decisions are expected to determine the following issues: (1) whether residency restrictions are constitutional, (2) to whom do the restrictions apply and (3) if the restrictions can be applied to every registered citizen while on parole. The Court heard oral arguments in the case on December 2 in Los Angeles. During oral arguments in the case of People v. Mosley, the Attorney General’s office argued that residency restrictions are…
Read MoreCASOMB: Year End Report (2014)
The beginning of 2015 is an opportune time to provide an update and overview of activities, plans and recommendations of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) and the State Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders Committee (SARATSO). The picture of sex offender management in the state is a complex one with many moving parts. This Report touches on many of those components. It is anticipated, however, that actions by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of California government over the coming months will cause new issues to emerge…
Read MoreWanted: Protection for Kids (Editorial)
California is often labeled the most litigious state, and a rash of lawsuits around the state not only upholds this contention, but threatens the safety of California’s children. Local ordinances defining places where convicted sex offenders may not visit are apparently going the way of the dodo, under an onslaught of legal challenges aimed at expanding the rights of offenders. Two such lawsuits, targeting ordinances in Irvine and Orange County banning convicted sex offenders from visiting city parks and recreational sites, have resulted in those ordinances’ invalidation by a state…
Read MoreHemet Man Displays ‘Child Molester Danger’ Sign To Warn Residents Of Neighbor
HEMET (CBSLA.com) — A homeowner has displayed two bright green posters in a Hemet neighborhood in an effort to warn neighbors of a man who is registered as a sex offender on the Megan’s Law database. Doug Ennen made the posters, one of which says “Child Molester Danger,” and taped them to his two cars. He then parked one of those vehicles in front of a registered sex offender’s home. Full Article Related: Man posts signs to warn neighbors about child molester
Read MoreExperts: Reducing Prison Populations Best Way To Keep Sex Offenders Safe Behind Bars
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s extraordinary rate of prison homicides is rekindling a debate over whether the state needs to further reduce its prison population to ensure inmates’ safety. Experts say trimming the inmate population is also the best hope for protecting sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreTier it up
California is one of only four states that require adults convicted of certain sex crimes to register with local law enforcement each year for life. Crime-free for 50 years? Bedridden? It doesn’t matter. This lifetime requirement has turned California’s registry into the largest in the country. There are roughly 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., and around 100,000 of them live in California. Full Article
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