A Minnesota House committee unanimously voted Tuesday to support the position Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson are taking in appealing a federal judge’s decision that a state sex offender program is unconstitutional. Full Article
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FL: Miami-Dade Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Unsuccessfully Challenged
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently challenged the constitutionality of a Miami-Dade County, Florida ordinance that, according to the organization, forces sex offenders on probation into homelessness by imposing residency restrictions so harsh there is literally no place where they are legally permitted to live. … While that may indeed be outrageous, the federal district court hearing the challenge to the Miami-Dade ordinance did not find it unconstitutional. The court dismissed the suit in April 2015, finding the ordinance was not punitive in nature and advanced a legitimate governmental…
Read MoreIL: State sues prisoners to pay for their room, board
The $31,690 Johnny Melton received to settle a lawsuit over his mother’s death was going to help him start life anew after prison. But before he was released, after 15 months in prison for a drug conviction, the Illinois Department of Corrections sued Melton and won nearly $20,000 to cover the cost of his incarceration. When Melton was paroled earlier this year, he was forced to go to a homeless shelter, then was taken in by a cousin. He got food stamps. When he died in June, according to his…
Read MoreNH: Prisoner rights advocates push for audit of state’s sex offender treatment program
A group of New Hampshire lawmakers is requesting an audit of the state’s sex offender treatment program to address a purported backlog of inmates awaiting mandatory psychosexual therapy. Chris Dornin, founder of Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform-New Hampshire, said dozens of incarcerated sex offenders are currently approaching their minimum release dates but will be ineligible for parole because they haven’t yet begun treatment, which can last up to 18 months. Full Article
Read MoreKY: Many ‘sex offenders’ also deserve rights restored (Opinion)
Gov. Beshear’s recent decision to restore voting rights to many felons is an encouraging step toward criminal justice reform. The governor listed a litany of reasons why ‘it makes no sense” to deny opportunities to those seeking to rebuild their lives after serving out their sentences. He cited a key study that those whose rights are restored are less likely to commit another crime. Though this signifies a significant policy shift, I am disappointed that the governor’s executive order did not go far enough. He excluded among others, those who…
Read MoreAfter Sandusky wins back pension, PA senator calls for stricter forfeiture law
Jerry Sandusky might have gotten his public pension back, but one lawmaker wants to ensure taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for other sex offenders’ retirements. State Sen. Larry Farnese, D-Philadelphia, plans to introduce legislation that would bar public officials and employees from collecting retirement benefits if they’re convicted of, or plead guilty or no defense, to crimes that require registration as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. Full Article
Read MoreNH: 850 convicted sex offenders eligible to petition to get off state’s criminal offenders registry
Approximately 850 convicted sex offenders and offenders against children are eligible to petition to get off the state’s criminal offenders registry, after a little-noticed Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Mom Believes She Must Helicopter if Lowest-Level Sex Offenders Come Off Registry After 20 Years
FreeRange Kids: Here in my state, something wildly fair is about to happen: People who have been on the Sex Offender Registry for 20 years, who GOT ON the list for a “Level 1” non-violent sex crime like going to a prostitute, “public lewdness,” or peeing in public, are finally going to be allowed to get off it. Full Opinion Piece Lenore Skenazy is the author of the web blog Free-Range Kids. She was a speaker at the 2014 RSOL Conference in Dallas. My Interview in Salon about Sex Offenders…
Read MoreME: After attacks on Bowdoin students, nearby church shuts out sex offender group
A church next to the Bowdoin College campus in Brunswick has shut down a support group for convicted sex offenders, after college officials expressed concerns. Last week, Bowdoin’s director of security, Randy Nichols, said in an email to Bowdoin’s students and staff that he had only recently learned about the group, which had been meeting every Tuesday evening for two years at the First Parish Church, on the corner of Maine Street and Bath Road. Nichols said the presence of a group of sex offenders so close to campus was…
Read MoreFL: Palm Beach billionaire victims “complicit” so not truly victims, government says
A routine status check Monday on a 2008 federal lawsuit tied to sex offender ____ ____’s plea deal ended with a new allegation from the government. The two victims who filed the lawsuit — Jane Doe No. 1 and Jane Doe No. 2 — aren’t actually victims because they procured other girls for ____ and received money for it, Assistant United States Attorney Dexter Lee said in West Palm Beach federal court. If someone “is complicit in the offenses,” they can’t be considered victims under the federal Crime Victims’ Rights…
Read MoreMN: Judge rejects Minnesota’s bid to delay reforms in sex offender program
A federal judge has rejected a request by the state of Minnesota to delay dramatic court-ordered reforms to Minnesota’s controversial sex offender program. The decision, handed down Monday by U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, means the state must promptly evaluate hundreds of sex offenders who are detained at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) and release those who no longer meet the legal criteria for confinement. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex-offender registry requires reboot in Ohio and the nation: editorial
Title 1 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 created an all-inclusive state-by-state registry of convicted sex offenders. Known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title 1 also attempted the impossible: to protect the public, particularly children, from convicted sexual predators who had done their time and were now back on the street. Full Article
Read MoreUT: Change in law may get some off Utah sex offender registry early
(KUTV) A new bill at the state Capitol could cut time on Utah’s Sex Offender Registry for some people convicted of misdemeanor crimes. “It really acts like a scarlet A, a label,” Angie Fenimore told 2News. The author who said she was abused as a child, testified in support of the measure Thursday — and cast the registry as doing more harm than good. “It’s a wide net that catches everybody, from a 19-year-old who smacks the rear end of a 16-year-old, to someone who is a violent, predatory offender,”…
Read MoreNC: Private school will not rehire principal in wake of sex offender scandal
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – A Fayetteville private school principal will not return to her job after school board members voted not to rehire her after she allowed a sex offender to work on campus. In September, ____ ____ was sentenced to 11-months probation as part of a plea deal after she allowed a registered sex-offender to work at Freedom Academy. Dayton told Cumberland County Superior Court Judge James Ammons she was unaware of the law and thought the sex offender, ____ ____ , could work at the school as long…
Read MoreNY: Curran calls for Extension of Sex Offender Regisry
Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st AD) today called for the extension of the statewide sex offender registry that requires registration for Level One sex offenders who registered in 1996. Curran said these individuals were the first offenders to register with the system and were required to register on the statewide registry for a 10-year period at that time. This was extended in 2006 for an additional 10 years, for a total of 20 years, which ends in January of next year. Curran noted that a new roster of Level One sex…
Read MoreTX: Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to stop registering some sex offenders
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office will stop registering sex offenders who reside inside municipalities, it announced to cities in October. According to MCSO Lt. Brady Fitzgerald, these regulations were recently “discovered” by the Office, prompting a letter sent to cities sometime in September or October. … The city attempted to bargain with MCSO by offering to pay for 10 percent of their sex offender registrars’ salaries, which is roughly the workload created by the city. MCSO declined their offer. Full Article
Read MoreTN: TBI will soon post animal abuse offenders
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Come January 1, Tennessee will post online a list of animals abusers near you. It will be similar to a sex offender registry, and Tennessee will be the first to have a statewide site. “Her hind legs were put into a pot of water. Boiling water,” said Cindy Marx-Sanders as she held Molly the chihuahua. Molly was rescued from an abusive home. “She is exactly why we need an animal abuser registry,” Marx-Sanders said. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Cost of sex offender program shocks lawmakers
Lawmakers expressed shock Friday over the exponentially rising cost of a program to keep some sex offenders locked up after they complete their criminal sentences. The annual operating cost of Virginia’s Sexually Violent Predator Program is projected to hit $32 million next year – more than a tenfold increase in eight years. The General Assembly created the program in 1998 to keep sex offenders deemed likely to re-offend off the streets after they finish their criminal sentences. The process is known as civil commitment. Full Article Note: Article is from…
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