Conviction rates for sexual assault against women are shockingly low, to the extent that, even in a developed nation such as the United Kingdom, only 6 per cent of rape allegations result in a conviction, a far lower rate than for any other violent crime. As The Guardian columnist Julia Bindel puts it, ‘rape might as well be legal’. Disturbingly low conviction rates have many explanations, but one contributing factor is the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard of evidence employed in criminal cases. This standard requires that the jury not…
Read MoreCategory: General News
Is It OK To Automatically Hate Sex Offenders?
A few months ago I was asked by the editors of Sex Offender Law Report to write an article, intended for a legal system readership, discussing the inner-life of sex offenders, including analysis about whether some offenders are more/less dangerous than others, and if we can tell the difference. (They are, and we can.) That article will likely be published in mid-2017. In the interim, I want to present a simplified version here, written for both a clinical and lay audience. And yes, I realize this is a controversial subject. After all, if there’s…
Read MoreEFF to Supreme Court: Strike Social Media Ban for Sex Offenders
Yesterday, EFF and its allies Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy & Technology filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down under the First Amendment a North Carolina law that bans “registered sex offenders” (RSOs) from using all Internet social media. This law sweeps far too broadly. Social media are one of the most important communication channels ever created. People banned from social media are greatly handicapped in their ability to participate in the political, religious, and economic life of our nation. Full Article
Read MoreNew evidence says US sex-offender policies are actually causing more crime
… Cases like this might seem to argue for even tougher controls on ex-offenders convicted of sex crimes. But new research indicates that the existing sex-offense regime in the US actually may be making repeat sex crimes more likely. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender housing and mobility – New research
A new study looks at the residential patterns of registered sex offenders 15 years after arrest. Full Article
Read More60-year Sentence in Child Pornography Case Is Found Substantively Reasonable
On Tuesday, the Second Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Brown. The opinion presents an interesting debate about how the federal system punishes defendants accused of child pornography charges. I encourage defense attorneys to check out both the concurrence and dissent, for some powerful arguments about the risks of unreasonable sentences in child pornography cases. Full Article
Read MoreAnother Eye-Popping Statistic
Earlier this year, I talked to the press spokesperson for a state senator who was proposing a new ban targeting those on the state’s sex offender registry. I asked her about the purpose of the legislation–why focus on this group of ex-offenders? The question seemed to catch her off guard: “Oh! Well these people reoffend at very high rates compared with others!” she replied. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreTwo Federal Courts Call BS on Banning Sex Offenders From ‘Child Safety Zones’
A couple of years ago, ____ ____, a registered sex offender who lives in Hartford City, Indiana, received a citation for sitting in his brother’s car. The car was parked outside his brother’s house, which happens to be across the street from a school. By sitting in it, ____ violated a local ordinance prohibiting anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from entering a long list of “child safety zones”—including schools, parks, libraries, swimming pools, athletic complexes, movie theaters, and bowling alleys— or “loitering” within 300 feet of…
Read MoreRegistrant Entrepreneurs Create, Sell Holiday Cards
Registrant entrepreneurs have organized to create and sell holiday cards which are available in a variety of sizes. Each of the 12 cards has a different sports theme ranging from golf to NASCAR racing. The cards can be purchased online at www.crazysantacards.com. The proceeds of all sales will benefit registrants and their families. “The holiday cards are beautifully illustrated and contain witty messages,” stated ACSOL president Janice Bellucci. “I will support registrants and their families by purchasing the holiday cards they have created.”
Read MoreFederal judges challenge collateral consequences
Federal judges have begun speaking out about the burdens imposed by severe collateral consequences and the limited ability of courts to mitigate the resulting harm. This is particularly true in the Eastern District of New York, where some judges have openly lamented the lack of statutory federal expungement authority and have used their opinions and orders to call upon the legislature to ensure that those with criminal records are given a fair shot at success. Among the more vocal critics of collateral consequences is recently retired Judge John Gleeson, who…
Read MoreKentucky, Indiana among states not meeting federal sex offender registry mandates
Neither Kentucky, Indiana nor Illinois are among the 18 states in the nation meeting federal guidelines for sex offender registering and notification. In its most basic form, registering as a sex offender means providing certain information, including physical description, fingerprints, a DNA sample, social security number and Internet communication identities to the authorities in the area where the person is going to live, work or go to school. While many states, including Kentucky, began requiring convicted sex offenders to register in the 1990s, it didn’t become federal law — known as the…
Read MoreSex offender registries discourage rehabilitation (Opinion)
Ten years ago, ____ ____ shared a bottle of vodka and played video games with a fourteen-year-old girl in his basement. The two engaged in sexual activity. When her father’s concern for her whereabouts led him to the home, she told him and the police she had no memory of the incident. ____ was sixteen. He was sentenced to five years, most suspended, and put on probation and the sex offender registry for ten years. Full Article
Read MoreAnd Now We’re Talking About Internment Camps?
A Donald Trump supporter cited the United States’ use of Japanese internment camps during World War II as precedent for implementing a registry of Muslim immigrants in an interview on Fox News Wednesday. President-elect Trump first suggested creating a registry for Muslims in November 2015, and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told Reuters on Tuesday that Trump’s immigration advisers were drafting a proposal on how this could be implemented. Full Article Related Internment Camp Survivor George Takei Warns That Trump’s Muslim Registry Is “A Prelude To Internment”
Read MoreListening to Sex Offenders
Last year, Lenore Skenazy hosted a brunch at her home in New York City. The “free range kids” advocate invited journalists, fed them quiche, and introduced them to two guest speakers. Both were young men who had served time for sex crimes against minors. Full Article
Read MoreAre Sex Offenders Human?
In July 16, 2015, Barack Obama visited a federal prison, the first sitting president ever to do so. It was a powerful statement of support for a broad movement—stretching from Black Lives Matter to Right on Crime—to reform the U.S. criminal justice system, one of the most punitive in the world. Six months later, on February 8, 2016, the president signed a law requiring the passports of citizens with convictions for sex offenses to be marked “Sex Offender,” globalizing an already extraordinarily harsh domestic system of surveillance and punishment. In…
Read MoreNotice of Appeal Filed in IML Case
A notice of appeal was filed today in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the first formal step required in order to appeal the dismissal of the only court challenge to the International Megan’s Law (IML). “The IML unfairly and unjustly labels hundreds of thousands of American citizens as sex tourists and sex traffickers,” stated ACSOL President Janice Bellucci. “This punishment will increase when the State Department adds unique identifiers to their passports.” The IML challenge was filed in federal district court in February, one day after it…
Read MoreUS Department of Homeland Security’s Malicious Immigration Policy Has Destroyed at least 4000 Families Since 2011
Submitted by “Robert” – By the agency’s own statistics, the number of denied Adam Walsh Act family petitions will surpass 4000 by 2017. This is a staggering number of families decimated by USCIS for no apparent reason. Each of these cases highlights the stories of immigrant families and US citizens who struggle for years to cope with the heartbreaking effects of our country’s broken immigration system. USCIS’s malicious AWA policy serves no rational purpose and undermines the goals of family unity. For years after its enactment, the USCIS has either…
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