[ky3.com – 10/23/18] SALEM, Mo. — We are now just 8 days away from Halloween and one local sheriff’s office here in the Ozarks wants to make it a safe night for all the kids going door to door. That’s why the Dent Co sheriff’s office wants a particular group of people to put a sign outside their home. The Dent County Sheriff’s Office is asking all the registered sex offenders in the county and especially those inside the Salem city limits to put this sign reading, no treats or…
Read MoreCategory: National
RI: City Officials Stoke Mob Mentality in Front of Sex Offender’s Home
When _____ _____ , a convicted child sex offender, was released from prison after serving almost 30 years, he quietly moved into the Washington Park neighborhood in Providence. One would not have expected a welcome wagon — but an angry mob should not have been the result either. Because his crimes were committed so long ago, Gardner is not subject to the community notification provisions that apply to more recent offenders under the state’s Megan’s Law. But the police leaked his address to public officials, and a media circus ensued.…
Read MoreLauren McCluskey Murder: What’s the Point of the Sex Offender Registry?
At approximately 8:20 p.m. on Monday, October 22nd, University of Utah college student Lauren McCluskey, 21, was found shot to death inside a car parked on campus. Only a short time before, the star track-and-field athlete had been on the phone with her mother, Jill McCluskey, who reported hearing her daughter’s last words. “Suddenly, I heard her yell, ‘No, no, no!’ I thought she might have been in a car accident,” Jill McCluskey said in a statement to press. “That was the last I heard from her.” … Rowland’s status…
Read MoreGA: DCS honors two Rome officers for work on sex offender law
Two Floyd County Department of Community Supervision officers received commendations Tuesday for the efforts to clarify the importance of ongoing supervision of sex offenders across the state of Georgia. Brandon Henderson and Cody Franklin were honored in front of their peers for raising questions that led to an amendment of state law this year. SB 174 was passed in 2017, which called for anyone who was on supervision, including sex offenders, but did not have any restitution owed, to be placed on unsupervised status after two years. “A lot of…
Read MoreGA: All registered sex offenders will gather in Council Chambers on Halloween
[Updated] With Halloween right around the corner, Grovetown is rounding up registered sex offenders to make the night a little less frightening for parents and children out trick-or-treating. Full Article Jones for Mayor Facebook Page Related Media Washington Post Article 10/24 http://metrospirit.com/beware-sex-offenders-grovetown/ 10/24 https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/10/27/mayor-causes-stir-over-what-he-declared-will-happen-to-sex-offenders-on-halloween-night 10/27
Read MoreNH: Man found dead in Keene ID’d; police say he was sex offender
[unionleader.com – 10/17/18] KEENE — The identity of the man found dead in the woods off Route 101 on Oct. 6 has been confirmed as Peter R. ________. ____was reportedly found in the wooded area near Main Street. Keene police detective James McLaughlin said Tuesday that ____was known to police before he died. “He was a registered sex offender,” McLaughlin said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released the man’s identity, and police made the information public. McLaughlin said the death is not being investigated as suspicious at this…
Read MoreNE: Federal judge pulls stay that kept juveniles off sex offender registry
A federal judge Monday lifted the stay he issued last month that had kept the Nebraska State Patrol from putting juveniles on its sex offender registry if they weren’t tried as adults. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Post-Release Placement of Sex Offenders Complicated by Residence Limits
The Court of Appeals heard arguments on Tuesday in a case brought by a sex offender who alleged the state did not do enough to help him find appropriate housing before his release from prison, which caused him to be held in state custody for several months after his scheduled release. Full Article
Read MoreDiscussion: How can registrants make a living?
This is an open discussion where you can share your ideas on how we registrants can find employment in a society that discriminates against us. For example: What regulations we are up against; Available job resources; Tips on the types of jobs that are most available to us; Your success story. If your information is specific to your state, please mention the state. We’d also like to hear your ideas on how registrants can start their own business—preferably without a major investment. What does it take? How can we avoid…
Read MoreNY: Senator Murphy questions State on placing sex offenders in homes for the developmentally disabled
[nysenate.gov – 10/11/18] Albany, NY – Being a sex offender carries with it the often well-earned reputation of being unable to mix with society. Even hardened criminals have expressed their disgust with the lewd and deviant acts perpetrated by sex offenders. A recent study has found dozens of sex offenders in New York State living in group homes for people with developmental disabilities. Their crimes can run the gamut from watching child pornography to public exposure to sexual assault. In his capacity as Chairman of the New York State Senate…
Read MoreGuy Hamilton-Smith on Sex Offender Registration & Social Media [audio]
[shows.pippa.io – 10/10/18] In this episode, Guy Hamilton-Smith, Legal Fellow at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center, discusses his article “The Digital Wilderness: A Decade of Exile & the False Hopes of Lester Packingham.” In Packingham v. North Carolina (2017), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the First Amendment protects the right of registered sex offenders to use social media. Nevertheless, many states make it almost impossible to exercise that right, by prosecuting technical reporting requirements as strict-liability felonies. Hamilton-Smith explains how this…
Read MoreOH: Body of registered sex offender found wrapped in plastic; death ruled homicide
[palmbeachpost.com – 10/10/18] MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO — The man whose body was found wrapped in plastic Monday afternoon by a Browns Nursery worker was identified as a 47-year-old Clay Twp. man. Steven T. Johnson died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, but it’s too early to know how long he’d been dead, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Johnson reportedly was identified through fingerprints. Johnson’s body was discovered off Arlington Road on nursery property, Sgt. M.D. Hutchison of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. Read…
Read MoreGA: Thomas County deputies keep ‘watchful eye’ on sex offenders
[walb.com – 10/4/18] THOMAS CO., GA (WALB) – Locating and registering sex offenders is a top priority for Georgia sheriff’s offices. The Thomas County Sheriff’s Office said they verify registered sex offenders multiple times throughout the year, as part of the “Operation Watchful Eye” initiative. Lt. Tim Watkins, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief investigator, said Halloween is one of those holidays that they make sure all registered sex offenders in the county are where they’re suppose to be. “They have to be inside their residence. They cannot have any decorations…
Read MoreMA: Sex offenders have access to kids on Halloween
[bostonherald.com – 10/7/18] Sex offenders are forbidden under state law from driving an ice cream truck, but they can hand out all the candy they want on Halloween in what one child advocate is calling a risky oversight. “Halloween is like Christmas for sex offenders,” said attorney Wendy Murphy. “They know they’ll have lots of access to kids and that they can’t get in trouble even though they’re required to stay away from children.” Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas all have “no candy” laws that ban sex offenders…
Read MoreFL: Ex Post Facto Lawsuit Filed (FAC)
A lawsuit was filed in Federal Court challenging the Florida Sex Offender registry. The suit is a facial challenge, filed on behalf of persons required to register in the State of Florida. It argues that the registry violates the Ex Post Facto clause of the constitution, constitutes Cruel and Unusual Punishment, violates Procedural Due Process, violates Substantive Due Process, is unconstitutionally Vague, has no rational relationship to its purpose and asks the Court to permanently restrain and enjoin the FDLE from enforcing the registration statute. More from Florida Action Committee
Read MoreWA: DEFAMATION? Website Names Men Anonymously Accused Of Sexual Assault
A website created by University of Washington students allows users to anonymously post the names of men who have allegedly committed sexual assault — an act that could land the site’s administrators in legal hot water. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Texas Supreme Court to hear sex offender law challenge
The Texas Supreme Court will consider a challenge to the state’s retroactive sex offender laws that some say unfairly stack new punishments on those convicted in plea deals. Full Article Related TX: For some sex offenders, their deal with the state wasn’t really a deal
Read MoreMA: The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry with Dr. Emily Horowitz [presentation]
[sopri-ma.org – 10/25/18] with Dr. Emily Horowitz, author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws are Failing Us Thursday, October 25 @ 7pm Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle Street coming out of Harvard Square, Cambridge) Emily Horowitz, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis College (Brooklyn, NY), will review some of the research and evidence about sex offense registries and the harm they cause. She will discuss recent efforts to challenge these popular but ineffective and damaging policies. “The sex offense registry is essentially…
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