No. Or at least that is what the empirical evidence and research on this issue shows. But that doesn’t mean we should not have them. The fact is that the registries don’t really do anything to improve public safety. They just make people feel safer and in control; unfortunately this is a false sense of security. Full Opinion Piece [Paul Heroux is a state representative from Massachusetts.]
Read MoreCategory: General News
Can a Child Be a Sex Offender?
Sitting down with someone branded a child sex offender wasn’t ever how Nicole Pittman imagined she’d be spending her days. Yet in doing that, she’s discovered how nuanced the world of crime and law can be. Full Article Related: Human Rights Watch – Raised on the Registry
Read MoreOp-ed: The sexual violence that has no name
He was my teacher. I was 19 years old and had graduated from high school the year before. I never said no. Legally, the incident was just poor judgment on both sides. Physically, there were no bruises. There was no force. This doesn’t fit the narrative of the girl who got drugged and raped at a fraternity party, nor does it resemble any sort of stereotype about a non-white stranger jumping out of the bushes and attacking the closest white girl. Full Article
Read MoreMonthly Meeting April 11, Lobbying April 13/14 in Sacramento (updated)
California RSOL will return to Sacramento to to conduct a monthly meeting for registered citizens / family members on April 11 and lobby on April 13 and 14 (please note new dates for lobbying). The lobbying effort will focus on creation of a tiered registry as well as opposition to two bills that would allow cities and counties to adopt presence restrictions. “If Assembly Bill 201 and Senate Bill 267 become law, registered citizens would once again be prohibited from visiting cities and counties within the state of California,” stated California…
Read MoreHow I Became a Monster
Hello. I’m a monster. Not just any kind of monster. Vampires and werewolves get to star in movies. They’re monsters, but they can also be heroes. I’m the worst kind of monster. I’m a sex offender. And the worst kind of sex offender. I’m a pedophile. Don’t worry. I’m locked up. I’ve been in a federal penitentiary for almost two years and I’ll be here for at least another seven. No time off for good behavior. Not for monsters like me. When I get out, I’ll be on lifetime probation.…
Read MoreChild porn restitution bill passes Senate, sets minimum damages for victims
A bill named for two women whose childhood images were turned into heinous pornography was handily passed in the Senate on Wednesday. The Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act was approved by a 98-0 vote. The measure gives hope to victims that they will finally be able to win major compensation from any single person who illegally viewed, made or distributed their images. Victims of child pornography and other sexual exploitation “ought to have access to full restitution from any single perpetrator for their losses,” said Senate…
Read MoreHouse bill would require DOD to publish names of military sex offenders
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan bill introduced in the house Thursday would require the Department of Defense to create its own sex offender registry along with a Website to make the information available to the public. Full Article
Read MoreDigital Darkness and Silence for Sex Offenders in the Information Age
“Is my Furby a computer?” With five months in jail and eight months of parole behind him, and four years of probation to go, Trevor finds himself contemplating the artificial intelligence of a Furby, and its threat to his future. As a registered sex offender, Trevor must abide by a bewildering array of rules, regulations and restrictions. He was introduced to the maze upon parole: He wasn’t supposed to use a computer or the internet, but his parole officer didn’t initially inform him of these constraints. Ironically, he found out…
Read MoreUK: Child prisoners more likely to become sex offenders, report suggests
Children who serve time in prison are at greater risk of becoming sex offenders later in life, a study has suggested. Researchers found teenagers who were sent to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) often went on to display sexual aggression in adulthood and would sometimes find themselves back in prison for offences such as rape and child abuse. Full Article
Read MoreMinnesota Sex Offender Program violates human rights (Opinion)
The Associated Press reported this week on the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. This civil commitment program allows the state to place sex-offenders who have finished their prison sentences into high-security custody for an indefinite period. In other words, if sex-offenders meet certain, supposedly objective criteria, Minnesota holds the authority to put them in a penal dungeon, with little hope of release within their lifetime. This is not only a violation of due process, but a complete removal of any of the needed neutral tendencies of law. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreGeneral Comments February 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of February 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreSex offender rules create leper colonies (Opinion)
In a perfect society there would be no sex offenders. In an imperfect society there are. In fact, today over 700,000 sex offenders are registered in the United States. More become registered each year with estimates of an additional 10,000 and 20,000 annually. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreSex offenders: Tougher restrictions a necessity (Opinion)
West Virginia – Lawmakers in the state House of Delegates are to be applauded for their passage of a measure that would prohibit certain sex offenders from loitering within 1,000 feet of a school or childcare facility. House Bill 2025 cleared the legislative chamber by a unanimous vote last week. The bill now moves to the state Senate where its passage is critical. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreVA: ACLU questions new sex offender bill
VIRGINIA (WAVY) — Their faces and address are already public, now one Virginia lawmaker wants registered sex offenders to face public hearings before going inside schools. To have access to Virginia public schools, House Bill 1366 would require violent sex offenders to pay for a newspaper ad publicizing a personal court hearing. It would run once a week for two weeks. Then anyone could attend the hearing and testify against them. Full Article
Read MoreMoral panic over sex offenses results in cruel and self-defeating overpunishment
I can think of no area of the criminal law, except perhaps international terrorism, into which contemporary American society has terrified itself into more ignorance than this. One of the guiding principles of western philosophy, etched in same Greek language spoken by Socrates and Plato into Apollo’s shrine at Delphi, is the maxim “Know Thyself.” When it comes to the darker side of human sexual conduct, we’d rather not. To do so will almost certainly force us to reckon with the fact that many of us aren’t the neat and tidy sexual beings we’ve convinced ourselves we…
Read MoreFifth Circuit reverses computer filter lifetime supervised release condition for sex offender
A Fifth Circuit panel yesterday handed down an intriguing little ruling in US v. Fernandez, No. 14-30151 (5th Cir. Jan. 14, 2015) (available here), reversing a notable condition of supervised release. Full Article
Read MoreDisgust, Dehumanization, and the Courts’ Response to Sex Offender Legislation
Sex offenders have been subject to unprecedented restrictions and punishment. The government’s treatment of sex offenders is a clear example of the dangers of laws derived from and upheld because of the emotion of disgust. Disgust has led to a dehumanization of this category of people, which has led to a stripping of their constitutional rights. The law’s treatment of sex offenders is a clear example of why the law should eschew employing the emotion of disgust during all proceedings. In addition, the courts’, particularly the Supreme Court’s, treatment of…
Read MoreConstitutional or Unconstitutional: Sex Offender Registration
The Constitutionality of Sex Offender Registration, Public Registries and the ever changing and expanding Federal, State and Local restrictions and regulations (via law) is a regular topic for writers, reporters and attorneys. Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003), ruled that registration is administrative not punitive but since 2003 every state took that ruling and ran with it as permission to restrict anything. Full Article More from It’s Time to Reduce, Reconstruct, Reclassify, Rethink and Reform the Virginia Sex Offender Registry
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