Presentation videos from from the National RSOL Conference continue to be published. Instead of posting them here piecemeal we are linking to the RSOL YouTube Channel. Thanks to RSOL for making these invaluable videos available. The 2013 National RSOL Conference was held in late August in Los Angeles and was hosted by California RSOL. — One of the presenters references an excellent article that was previously listed on this site – it is here again as a reminder. RSOL 2013: “Telling Your Story to the Media” – Article from the Dallas…
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MO: Sex offender registry – Find better way for offenders
It’s rare to find a progressive trend in our Republican-dominated legislature, but their recent effort (House Bill 301) to downsize Missouri’s “sex offender registry” is laudable, even as Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto is perplexing. Registering “sex offenders” (far too broadly defined) is based on the questionable idea that they are more likely to offend once released — even though a U.S. Department of Justice study of criminal recidivism rates showed many convicted of sex-related offenses had lower rates of re-arrest compared to other criminals. We don’t require armed robbers or other felons…
Read MorePrison Quotas Push Lawmakers To Fill Beds, Derail Reform
After three violent inmates escaped from an Arizona private prison in July 2010, prompting a two-week, multi-state manhunt, state corrections officials demanded improvements and stopped sending new inmates to what they called a “dysfunctional” 3,300-bed facility. Less than a year later, the company that runs the prison, Management & Training Corp., threatened to sue the state. A line in their contract guaranteed that the prison would remain 97 percent full. They argued they had lost nearly $10 million from the reduced inmate population. State officials renegotiated the contract, but ended up…
Read MoreNE: Sex offender restrictions go too far
Editorial, 9/19: The village board of Alexandria got some valuable advice from the ACLU about its proposed ordinance that would establish new restrictions on where sex offenders could live. The board ought to take heed. Following the ACLU’s recommendations could help the board steer clear of legal travails. The desire to protect children is understandable. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The legal restrictions the board is considering go too far. Full Article September 2013 Alexandria Nebraska Town Board Meeting on Youtube
Read MoreMA: I’m the Level 3 Sex Offender All Of You Have Been Talking About
The tall, middle-aged man strode to the microphone in front of approximately 100 citizens in the Belmont High School auditorium Thursday night, Sept. 19. Wearing loose-fitting jeans, a T-shirt and unbutton shirt combo over a slight paunch, the man could be anyone of thousands of parents or guardians ready to speak about school fees, the latest round of test scores or if the town can afford a new High School. He was anything but. “My name is ____ ____. ‘I’m the level 3 sex offender all of you have been talking about,”…
Read MoreRSOL Conference 2013 – Mary Sue Molnar: Introduction to Support Groups
Mary Sue Molnar of Texas Voices For Reason and Justice talks about her experience and the formula for successful support groups for ex-offenders. Phil Taylor also contributes his experience. – “Introduction to Support Groups” Recorded Friday August 30, 2013 in Los Angeles at the RSOL Annual National Conference. More RSOL Conference Workshop / Presentation Videos [hana-flv-player video=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFW_JftJK-o” width=”400″ height=”240″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFW_JftJK-o
Read MoreRSOL Conference 2013 – Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower: Restorative Justice and Sexual Offenders
Keynote Speaker Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower speaks on “Restorative Justice and Sexual Offenders” during the RSOL Conference in Los Angeles last August. More RSOL Conference Workshop / Presentation Videos [hana-flv-player video=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjUDF7isgbM” width=”400″ width=”240″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /]
Read MoreNY: County outsources sex offender monitoring to advocacy group
… Suffolk County on Long Island allows a victims’ advocacy group, Parents of Megan’s Law, to monitor sex offenders. The measure was approved unanimously in February of this year and is being heralded by lawmakers as a cost-effective way to keep the community safe. Parents for Megan’s Law is a nonprofit organization that will receive close to $1 million a year to implement the new sex offender monitoring law. The employees who undertake the monitoring of sex offenders are civilians. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Supreme Court rules on sex offender lawsuit [updated with decisions]
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Supreme Court says people convicted of sex crimes in other states are not required to register as sex offenders in Oklahoma if the convictions occurred before the Legislature passed a sex offender law and if they completed their sentence, probation or parole before Nov. 1, 2005. The justices ruled that two men convicted of sex crimes in other states were not offered the same protection under the law as people convicted of sex crimes in Oklahoma. Full Article Case Information http://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/supreme-court/2013/108819.html http://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/supreme-court/2013/108797.html
Read MoreNC: District Attorney accused of violating sex offenders rights
WENTWORTH – Is the Rockingham County District Attorney violating the constitutional rights of sex offenders? Someone seems to think so.A lawsuit, filed in August, claims Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr., N.C. Governor Pat McCrory, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and every other district attorney in the state did. “It is a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality on registered sex offenders being banned at certain locations,” attorney for the plaintiff Glenn Gerding said. Full Article
Read MoreFBI Releases 2012 Crime Statistics
The FBI estimated that in 2012, the number of violent crimes increased 0.7 percent, according to the figures released today. However, property crimes decreased 0.9 percent, marking the 10th straight year of declines for these offenses, collectively. The 2012 statistics show that the estimated rate of violent crime was 386.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,859.2 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. While the violent crime rate remained virtually unchanged when compared to the 2011 rate, the property crime rate declined 1.6 percent. Full Article
Read MoreWomen Against Registry: It’s Time
It’s Time! Women Against the Registry has taken notice that the ACLU of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit against Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin and two officers in the department, for “unannounced, random, and suspicion-less” searches of the home of a registered sex offender. The women of W.A.R. believe that it’s time for ACLU national and ALL state chapters to take action to protect the rights of registered citizens and their families. Too many laws and restrictions have made it virtually impossible for anyone on the public registry to find…
Read MoreAR: Doctor sues state over law barring Medicaid money to sex offenders
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — An Arkansas doctor convicted of possessing child pornography 13 years ago is suing the state over a new law that bars giving Medicaid money to convicted sex offenders. Dr. ____ ____ ____ filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday and asked a judge to block enforcement of the new restriction, which took effect Aug. 16. The law prohibits any registered se offender from providing Medicaid services in the state. Full Article
Read MoreJustice Department Announces $15.5 Million In Awards To Support Sex Offender Registration, Assessment, Intervention
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $15.5 million in Fiscal Year 2013 grant assistance for states, territories and tribal governments to use in implementing, training, maintaining and enhancing sex offender programming throughout the United States. More than $13.3 million will be used to develop or enhance sex offender registration programs; improve law enforcement and other justice agency information sharing as it relates to sex offender registration and notification; and implement other efforts aimed at furthering…
Read MoreRSOL Conference 2013 – Catherine Carpenter: Sexual Offense Laws and Constitutionality
National RSOL Conference 2013 – Professor of Law, Catherine Carpenter of Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles talks about just how punitive and extreme sex offender laws have become over the years and the ways in which they violate US citizen’s constitutional rights. [hana-flv-player video=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qyA9TU8nE8″ width=”320″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /] Youtube – RSOL Videos on Youtube
Read MoreMissouri Sex Offenders: “Women Against Registry” Says Labels Unfairly Destroy Lives
Next week, in addition to an intense showdown on controversial gun legislation, Missouri lawmakers will have an opportunity to enact a bill that would remove hundreds of sex offenders from the state’s online registry. In order to implement this proposal, lawmakers must override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto and go against the recommendations of St. Louis law-enforcement officials, victims’ rights advocates and other stakeholders. Supporters of the bill — which would allow some in the state to lose the permanent sex-offender label — are now organizing in favor of the proposal,…
Read MoreMI: Registrant in Macomb County stopped from leaving country
A convicted Macomb County child molester was stopped last week at an airport in his attempt to fly to Europe in celebration of his 25th wedding anniversary because he failed to notify operators of the sex offender registry. ____ ____, 61, of Southfield, was arrested Aug. 28 by Michigan State Police minutes before he and his wife were to board a Delta flight at Detroit Metropolitan Airport headed for Amsterdam, and ultimately to Prague. He was to return Sept. 9. “He said they were going on a 25th wedding anniversary…
Read MoreMO: High court mulls sex offender and gun laws
The Missouri Supreme Court considered Tuesday how to apply laws making it illegal for sex offenders to be near parks and for felons to possess a gun when their initial offense occurred before the restrictions were created. At issue before the high court in five separate cases was part of the Missouri Constitution prohibiting retrospective and ex post facto laws.In each case, defendants faced prosecution after running afoul of a law that applied to them because of a previous criminal conviction. A judge dismissed a charge in four cases, while…
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