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
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Justice 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…
Read MoreRSOL Conference Recap
Advocates and supporters of reforming sex offender laws from throughout the nation converged on its second largest city over the Labor Day holiday weekend to participate in RSOL’s sixth national conference, “Justice for All.” From the evening of Thursday, August 29, through the late morning of Sunday, September 1, the City of Angels played host to the living angels of a cause deeply rooted in the hope for justice and constitutional freedom for more than 700,000 American citizens who populate the country’s myriad registration schemes from coast-to-coast. Organized with increased…
Read MoreMD: Registered sex offender beaten to death in Reservoir Hill
BALTIMORE —The Labor Day weekend in Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill ended with the beating of a 52-year-old man on the street in full daylight. The man — who the 11 News I-Team has learned is a registered sex offender — later died. A witness said an orange traffic cone was used as a weapon. The attackers seemed to be carrying out instant street justice with their target claiming he’d done nothing wrong. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Social networking ban for NC sex offenders remains in effect
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Supreme Court has granted a stay to keep a state law that bans sex offenders from using social networking websites in effect. Attorney General Roy Cooper requested the stay after a Court of Appeals ruling last week ruled the law unconstitutional because it is vague and violates free speech. Full Article
Read MoreNew research finds forensic experts play for pay (Video)
Daniel Murrie of the University of Virginia and Marcus Boccaccini at Sam Houston State University presented new research in the Aug. 28, 2013, issue of the journal Psychological Science that indicates that forensic psychologists and psychiatrists provide the group that is paying them for their testimony with the evidence that group, prosecution or defense, expects to be best for their case. Full Article
Read MoreMasha Allen Lawsuit: Child Porn Victim Sues Viewers For $150K Apiece
PHILADELPHIA — A child pornography victim from Pennsylvania is using a law that carries her name to seek at least $150,000 each from her father, 13 other jailed men and anyone else who viewed explicit images of her. “Masha’s Law” is named for Masha ____, a Russian orphan adopted at age 5 by divorced Pittsburgh-area millionaire ____ ____. He’s in prison for making and posting about 200 sexually explicit images of her that authorities believe have been viewed millions of times online. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Bill to restrict certain RSO re. their interaction with minors
Michigan Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has introduced Senate Bill 454 which by any standard should be considered unconstitutional. Given it was introduced the end of July, it is FIRST intended to be a Halloween restrictions bill, but reading the bill shows us it extends 365 days of the year and to circumstances far beyond Halloween; Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and to other types of celebrations. And for those certain sex offenders who are required to register for a lifetime, a lifetime restriction. Read more
Read MoreN.Y. County Outsources The Job Of Monitoring Sex Offenders
NPR – A suburban county on Long Island, N.Y., is taking a novel approach to monitoring sex offenders: It’s giving the job to a victims’ advocacy group. The measure was approved unanimously earlier this year; lawmakers call it a cost-effective way to keep citizens safe. But a local lawyer calls it a “vigilante exercise,” and convicted sex offenders are organizing to challenge the legislation. ____ ____, 42, a convicted sex offender, is among those who object to the methods of Parents for Megan’s Law, the advocacy group hired by Suffolk County. ____,…
Read MoreCO: Englewood’s Sex Offender Residency Restriction’s Ruled Unconstitutional [UPDATED]
DENVER – In a case brought by ACLU attorneys, a federal district court yesterday invalidated an Englewood ordinance that restricts where persons convicted of certain sex offenses can live, ruling that the ordinance violates the Colorado Constitution. Englewood’s ordinance makes it a crime for persons convicted of certain sex offenses to live within 2000 feet of any school, park, or playground, or 1000 feet of any licensed day care center, recreation center or swimming pool, or any property located next to a bus stop, walk-to-school route, or recreational trail. Judge R. Brooke…
Read MoreTX: Harlingen couple jailed for beating convicted sex offender
A Harlingen couple is facing criminal charges after being accused of brutally beating a convicted sex offender. Harlingen police arrested 31-year-old Monica Nieves and her 19-year-old boyfriend Juan Quezada. Investigators told Action 4 News that it all happened on the 200 block of East Madison Avenue. Police said Nieves slapped and attacked the man while Quezada jumped in to punched him. Both of them told police that they did it because the man was a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Lawmaker wants to expand death penalty to include sex crimes
CLEVELAND (AP) – The case of 3 Cleveland women held captive for a decade is inspiring an Ohio lawmaker to call for expanding the state’s death penalty law. State Rep. John Becker of suburban Cincinnati wants the death penalty to cover some sex-related crimes. Full Article
Read MoreFL: They Shoot Sex Offenders, Don’t They?
In this week’s print edition of New Times, you’ll find a feature story on the warring opinions over Florida’s sex offender registry. It’s also not the only piece of journalism around town this week diving into the issue. Over the last three days the Sun-Sentinel has dropped a large-scale investigation into the state’s Jimmy Ryce law, a safeguard designed to keep the state’s worst sex offenders locked up after their prison time. Even though the investigation’s data-mining turned up some troubling trends, the series was a textbook knee-jerk sex offender story: the data…
Read MoreNC: Court strikes down law banning sex offenders from social media
RALEIGH, N.C. — A 2008 law making it a felony for registered sex offenders to use social media websites in North Carolina was struck down Tuesday after a challenge by a Durham man. ___ ___., a registered sex offender from Durham, appealed to the state after being convicted in May 2012 of accessing a commercial social networking website. ___ alleged that North Carolina General Statute 14-202.5 violated his rights to “free speech, expression, association, assembly and the press under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.” Full Article
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