FL: Miami-Dade Homeless Sex Offender Encampment Surpasses 200 People

The torture started in 2006. The cities of Miami-Beach and Miami got into a war of sex offenders because Miami Beach’s ordinance drove registrants without anyplace to live over to the mainland. Miami countered by passing their own ordinance to drive them back. The result, sex offenders couldn’t find anyplace to live and were living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway; the bridge that connects Miami Beach to Miami. Full Article

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NH: Lawmaker proposes registry for heroin dealers

The registry would be similar to the registry of sex offenders. Rep. Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, said it would allow Granite Staters to know if they live near anyone convicted of dealing heroin. “It basically sets up an offenders list,” Flanagan said. “Just like we have sex offenders, now we have drug dealers that are selling heroin, and I think they are equally as bad to the public.” Flanagan said he believes a public database would not only serve as a public service, but also as a deterrent for those who…

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MN: Judge mulls reforms to ‘unconstitutional’ sex offender treatment

A federal judge said Wednesday he will rule on the fate of Minnesota’s sex-offender treatment program within 30 days, hoping to protect the civil liberties of its patients but also communities where offenders might be released. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has already found the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) unconstitutional; during a morning court hearing Wednesday he heard arguments on its future from attorneys representing a group of confined sex offenders and from the state agency that runs the program’s two locked treatment facilities. Full Article

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HI: This Program Offers Sex Offenders Second Chances — And It’s Working

One day back in 2003, ____ ____ sat in a room at the Kulani Correctional Facility, listening to a recording of a frantic 911 call. A woman was on the line, clearly in distress: Her house was being broken into. Terrified, she was hiding in a closet and begging for help — but to no avail. A man soon broke in, raped the woman and killed her. ____, who had been locked up for seven life sentences — including one for a rape conviction — says listening to the recording…

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MO: Supreme Court weighing adult sex offender registration for youth

The Missouri Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday that could have wide-ranging effects on children accused of serious sexual crimes. The case involves a troubled, developmentally delayed 14-year-old St. Louis boy accused of sexually assaulting his 41-year-old adoptive sister. But it also could challenge the state’s little-known juvenile sex offender registry, and the juvenile court’s ability to place children on the adult registry. Full Article

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FL: Group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules

An organization that works to reform sex-offender laws in Florida is suing Seminole County and Sheriff Don Eslinger, alleging that a decade-old county ordinance is so restrictive that it prevents registered sex offenders from traveling to a grocery store, eating out at a restaurant or, in some cases, even leaving their homes. According to Seminole’s ordinance, sexual offenders or predators in most cases are not allowed to “travel through or remain within” 1,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers or playgrounds. Full Article

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2015 RSOL Conference Videos are online

Just in time for the weekend, video recorded presentations from the 2015 RSOL Conference in Dallas are online for public viewing. Presentations that may be of interest include International Travel, Starting Your Own Business, as well as several talks by Janice Bellucci. http://rsolconference.org/conference-videos/2015-videos-2/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ReformSexOffenderLaw

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OH: Report – 1 in 5 Ohio inmates are current or former sex offenders

COLUMBUS (AP) —A legislative report says one in five current Ohio prison inmates is behind bars now for a sex offense or was in the past. The report released Wednesday says about 7,700 inmates are serving time for a sex offense, and an additional 2,415 inmates have a prior sex offense. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction houses about 50,000 inmates. Full Article Report Profile of Sex Offenders in Ohio Prisons (2015)

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CO: Commerce City wants sex offenders to be employed and contribute to the community

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – What to do with sex offenders once they’ve served their time and are back in your neighborhood? Tracking them is one thing — making sure they stay employed and stay out of trouble is another. Because of that, Commerce City is taking a new approach to keeping tabs on sex offenders. “The biggest part of these guys not re-offending – is whether or not they’re employed,” said Commerce City Police detective Christian Rasmussen. Full Article

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MN: State pushes back against proposed reforms to Sex Offender Program

State officials are pushing back against a series of proposed reforms to Minnesota’s troubled sex offender program ahead of a high-profile court hearing next week. Citing concerns about costs, staff shortages and community opposition, administrators of the program argued in court filings this week against reforms that could accelerate the release of sex offenders from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). The program currently holds about 720 sex offenders indefinitely at secure treatment centers in Moose Lake and St. Peter. In June, U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank declared the…

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WI: Sex offenders have 1st Amendment right to photograph children

A Wisconsin law prohibiting registered sex offenders from photographing children in public violates their right to free speech, the state Court of Appeals held Tuesday. The decision by the Wausau-based District 3 court reversed the conviction of a 44-year-old Green Bay man who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the non-pornographic photos. It also found the law unconstitutional on its face, not salvageable by a narrowed interpretation or severing part of the statute. Because of a 2002 child sexual assault conviction, ____ ____ was on probation in…

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FL: Halifax Health launches visitor ID system

… The process will take less than a minute and the system will screen visitors to see if they are on the sexual offender list, said David Hall, director of education and volunteer services. “We don’t want to build a wall and moat around the hospital,” Hall said. “We want to decrease our potential risk.” Sex offenders will be denied access. Sex offenders and those without a photo ID could be granted an exception to visit dying relatives, Hall said. Full Article

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NJ: Supreme Court – Sex offenders who served their time can’t face penalties under new laws

Sex offenders can not be subjected to punishments under newly created laws if they committed their offense and served their time before the legislation was passed, the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision Monday. Full Article ———— Please note. .. this article is from September 2014. It was previously posted here at its original date. https://all4consolaws.org/2014/09/nj-supreme-court-sex-offenders-who-served-their-time-cant-face-penalties-under-new-laws/ Oooops. ***Moderator***

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