Category: General News

IL: High court upholds ban on sex offenders in parks

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The state’s criminal code completely bars child sex offenders from entering public parks, despite an exception written into a similar but separate part of the law, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week. The 5-2 majority held that the exception in Section 11-9.3(a-10) of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, which allows child sex offenders to visit public parks with their minor children when other minor children are present, cannot be read into Section 11-9.4-1(b), which prohibits a child sex offender from “knowingly be[ing] present in any public park.” Full…

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FAMM and NACDL Present the Movie: The Vanishing Trial

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[famm.org – 6/6/20] Imagine you’re charged with a crime. Now you must choose between pleading guilty and receiving a shorter sentence–or going to trial and risking decades behind bars. “The Vanishing Trial” focuses on four individuals who were forced to make that excruciating choice. Each was threatened with a “trial penalty,” the term used to describe the substantially longer prison sentence a person receives if they exercise their constitutional right to trial instead of pleading guilty. We see how the trial penalty has led to the shocking disappearance of one of…

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Movie “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube

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[California Innocence Project – 6/5/20] “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube. The feature film follows the true story of Banks’ trials and tribulations in the American criminal justice system San Diego, June 5, 2020 – On Friday, June 5, 2020, “Brian Banks” started streaming free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube, and is expected to be free on additional platforms in the days to come. In 2002, Brian Banks was a highly recruited linebacker looking to attend USC to play under Pete Carroll.  His dreams were derailed…

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Inside an innovative program helping sex offenders reintegrate into society – and why it works

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[theconversation.com – 5/10/20] In recent years, the biggest increases in Australia’s prison population have come from people convicted of sexual offences. From 2017-18, this segment of the prison population increased by 10%. The following year, it was up again by 7%. As a corollary, more and more sexual offenders are being released from prisons back to our communities. Understandably, a great deal of public concern often accompanies the release of sexual offenders, especially those who have committed offences against children. Despite this, very few programs exist to support sexual offenders…

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8th Circuit Deems Failure to Register a “Crime of Moral Turpitude”

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[floridaactioncommittee.org – 5/8/20} The US Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit ruled yesterday that Failure to Register as a Sex Offender constitutes a crime of moral turpitude. In Bakor v. Barr, the Petitioner, a permanent resident of the United States, challenges his deportation back to his native country. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Attorney General may remove an alien “who at any time after admission is convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude.” Read the full article Read the opinion PDF on uscourts.gov website  

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Nevada Registrants Are Needed for Plea Bargain Study

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[Janice approves this study] Dr. Lisa Anne Zilney of Montclair State University in New Jersey is looking for Nevada research participants for a study titled “Contextualizing the experiences of sexual offenders“. These are the qualifications you must have: You must be in Nevada. You must be a registered sex offender. You must have had a tier change due to the 2018 Adam Walsh Act. Specifically we are looking for individuals who were tier 0 or tier 1. You must be 18+ years. It doesn’t matter if you are male or…

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Why Will This FBI Agent Not Be Prosecuted for Child Porn?

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We don’t know why the Department of Justice declined to prosecute the supervisory FBI analyst who “knowingly possessed child pornography” in violation of federal law. We don’t know how many images he or she possessed. We don’t know the identity of the child or children who were exploited for the sexual gratification of this FBI supervisory analyst. We don’t know what vile sex acts the child was coerced into performing. We don’t know whether the supervisory FBI analyst supervised cases involving child pornography or whether he or she steered law…

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IL: Lawsuit – Release Sex Offenders Who Have Served Their Time

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Sex offenders who have completed their sentences but are still being held in Illinois prisons should be released as part of the effort to reduce the state’s prison population during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The request for a temporary restraining order was filed on behalf of Marcus Barnes, a sex offender held at Graham Correctional Center, and about 300 other sex offenders who remain in prison because they have not located state-approved housing required for their release. Full Article

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FL: Broward jail inmate with coronavirus dies at hospital

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[sun-sentinel.co – 4/8/20] A convicted sex offender became the first Broward County inmate to die from the new coronavirus, underscoring concern over how the pandemic will pose problems for detention facilities across South Florida. Alan Pollock, 64, died at Northwest Medical Center in Margate on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Broward Public Defender’s Office, which represented him. Broward County’s jails have had at least five inmates test positive for the coronavirus, which has been spreading in detention centers across the U.S. Nationwide, the disease has infected hundreds of detainees as…

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MI: Judge: State sex offender registry can’t be enforced in pandemic

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[detroitnews.com – 4/6/20] A federal judge is commanding state authorities to stop enforcing rules under the Michigan Sex Offender Registry Act during the coronavirus pandemic. According to an interim order U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland issued Monday, officials are “preliminarily enjoined from enforcing registration, verification, school zone, and fee violations of (the act) that occurred or may occur from February 14, 2020, until the current crisis has ended, and thereafter until registrants are notified of what duties they have under SORA going forward.” On Valentine’s Day, Cleland declared the act unconstitutional…

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Looking For Additional Research Participants: Registered Sex Offenders, Male Or Female, 18 Years Of Age Or Older

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[montclair.edu] [Note from Janice: I recommend you take part in this survey because I have corroborated Dr. Lisa Anne Zilney, her professorship at Montclair State University and her past scholarly works re: registrants.]   Title: Contextualizing the experiences of sexual offenders Eligibility: You are a registered sexual offender in any state and are at least 18 years of age. Description:  This study looks at the long term and short-term impacts of plea deals for sexual offenders. Plea deals can be coercive in nature, innocent individuals sometimes plead guilty, and people…

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