Category: National

IA: Iowa Supreme Court says State has ‘no duty’ to end what sex offenders call ‘silent mandatory minimum’

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Source: desmoinesregister.com 12/7/21 Do prisoners have a right to be paroled? And if so, do they have a right to access programming required to be eligible for parole? As a new decision from the Iowa Supreme Court shows, there’s no easy answer to either question. The court’s ruling, issued before Thanksgiving, denied an effort by seven Iowa prisoners to challenge what they described in court filings as a “Catch-22” that forces some inmates to wait far longer than others to complete their sentences. The issue before the court involved Iowa’s…

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FL: Florida Supreme Court makes it risky for a defendant to tell a judge ‘I’m innocent’

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Source: floridabulldog.org 12/7/21 The Florida Supreme Court is sending this message to criminal defendants: If you think you were wrongly convicted, keep it to yourself. Ignoring long-standing law, the justices decided that when defendants dare to dispute their guilt instead of owning the crime, state trial judges may pile on extra prison time. The court ruled last Thursday in the case of Alvin Davis, a 43-year-old black man with a lengthy rap sheet that includes convictions for attempted murder, robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. After a jury…

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FL: Sex offender freed from prison moves in near family pool in The Villages!

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Source: villages-news.com 12/4/21 A 60-year-old sex offender released last month from a Florida prison has moved in with his mother near a family swimming pool in The Villages. Edward ______ was released Nov. 25 from a state prison. He has registered a permanent address at 1312 La Estrellita Way in the Village of Santiago, not far from the El Santiago swimming pool and recreation center, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Read the full article  

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LA: Lutcher Man Charged with Failure to Report International Travel as a Sex Offender

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Source: justice.gov 12/3/21 NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that WILLIE ______, age 56, was charged on Friday, December 3, 2021, by grand jury indictment with two counts of failure to report international travel as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). If convicted, WILLIE ______ faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000.00 fine, a term of supervised release of between 5 years and life, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Read the full…

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TN: To end retroactive punishment, a judge has ordered the removal of eight men from the sex offender registry

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Source: washingtonnewsday.com 12/4/21 To end retroactive punishment, a judge has ordered the removal of eight men from the sex offender registry. To stop their retroactive sanctions, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ordered the removal of eight individuals from the sex offender list. In her order on Friday, Trauger said, “Tennessee officials continue to defy the Constitution’s guarantees.” “The same analysis applies… to Tennessee’s own, very comparable scheme and practices, according to federal district courts in this state. Officials in Tennessee have continued to apply the state’s long-held-to-be-illegal policy on others…

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CIA Files Say Staffers Committed Sex Crimes Involving Children. They Weren’t Prosecuted.

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Source: buzzfeednews.com 12/1/21 Declassified CIA inspector general reports show a pattern of abuse and a repeated decision by federal prosecutors not to hold agency personnel accountable. Over the past 14 years, the Central Intelligence Agency has secretly amassed credible evidence that at least 10 of its employees and contractors committed sexual crimes involving children. Though most of these cases were referred to US attorneys for prosecution, only one of the individuals was ever charged with a crime. Prosecutors sent the rest of the cases back to the CIA to handle…

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NY: Author Alice Sebold apologizes to man cleared in 1981 rape

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Source: local10.com 11/30/21 Author Alice Sebold publicly apologized Tuesday to the man who was exonerated last week in the 1981 rape that was the basis for her memoir “Lucky” and said she was struggling with the role she played “within a system that sent an innocent man to jail.” Anthony Broadwater, 61, was convicted in 1982 of raping Sebold when she was a student at Syracuse University. He served 16 years in prison. His conviction was overturned Nov. 22 after prosecutors reexamined the case and determined there were serious flaws…

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FL: Guaranteed income program breaks down barriers for formerly incarcerated [including registrants!]

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Source: alligator.org 11/22/21 Community Spring fellows believe a criminal sentence shouldn’t impact lives after people serve their time. The nonprofit organization, which is known for breaking down structural poverty and supporting low-income people through monetary support, is running Just Income GNV. The privately funded pilot program, designed by formerly incarcerated individuals, assists formerly incarcerated people re-enter society with a guaranteed income. Community Spring hires fellows, specifically those who have been impacted by poverty, to identify systemic forces that spur further economic difficulties. The 2020-2021 fellowship class created the Just Income…

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VA: Virginia professor to step down after backlash to research on ‘minor-attracted’ people

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Source: nbcnews.com 11/24/21 An academic in Virginia whose research on “minor-attracted people” sparked threats and a petition calling for their removal announced their resignation Wednesday, university officials and the scholar said in a joint statement. Allyn Walker will remain on leave until they step down as an assistant professor of criminal justice and sociology at Old Dominion University in May. “We have concluded that this outcome is the best way to move forward,” university President Brian Hemphill said in the statement. He added that he hoped the move will help…

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NY: Conviction overturned in 1981 rape of ‘Lovely Bones’ author Alice Sebold

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Source: kcra.com 11/24/21 SYRACUSE, N.Y. —A rape conviction at the center of a memoir by award-winning author Alice Sebold has been overturned because of what authorities determined were serious flaws with the 1982 prosecution and concerns the wrong man had been sent to jail. Anthony Broadwater, who spent 16 years in prison, was cleared Monday by a judge of raping Sebold when she was a student at Syracuse University, an assault she wrote about in her 1999 memoir, “Lucky.” Broadwater shook with emotion, sobbing as his head fell into his…

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FL: Serena’s Law: Closing a loophole that allowed sexual abusers to continue working with kids

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Source: winknews.com 11/24/21 There’s a loophole that allows sexual abusers to continue working with children been if an organization does a background check. But, because of one young woman’s bravery, the system is fixed. … Now, “Serena’s Law” requires each clerk of court to post the identity online of someone who has an injunction or restraining order filed against them for the protection of a minor. She wants to focus on educating others about what abusers do. Read the full article  

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IA: Supreme Court upholds prison sex offender treatment process

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Source: radioiowa.com 11/24/21 The Iowa Supreme Court rules against a group of inmates at the Newton prison who said their constitutional rights were violated by a delay in getting sex offender treatment need to be considered for parole. The ruling says the Iowa Department of Corrections has not postponed treatment in order to delay parole. It says it is a numbers problem where there are more male sex offenders in Iowa’s prison system than spots available for treatment. Read the full article  

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NC: Scammers targeting sex offenders in NC

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Source: cbs17.com 11/17/21 The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said it recently learned of a scam aimed at getting thousands in cash from those on the sex offender registry. The sheriff’s office said an investigator received two calls on Wednesday about the scam. Both cases involved a caller saying a person needed to bring $2,000 in cash to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to avoid arrest for failure to appear and comply with a DNA order. “The people who received the calls were told this was not a scam, they would…

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VA: ODU professor on leave amid protests over research on pedophilia

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Source: axios.com 11/20/21 Old Dominion University put a professor on administrative leave following an uproar over their research into people who are sexually attracted to children. Driving the news: “Reactions to Dr. Walker’s research and book have led to concerns for their safety and that of the campus,” the public university wrote in a statement on Nov. 16, adding that Professor Allyn Walker’s leave is “effective immediately.” Walker, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice, sparked controversy over the use of the term “minor-attracted people” in their academic research.…

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AL: Law enforcement praises technology for helping fight crime

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Source: wbrc.com 11/15/21 Keeping the community safe now comes with the flash of a solar-powered camera. Local law enforcement praised the technology for helping them solve crimes. These days, no matter where you go, it’s likely your picture has been taken. Cities across Alabama were ramping up security, installing Flock Cameras as a part of their crime-fighting strategy. “Stolen vehicle, wanted persons, Silver alerts, Amber Alerts, registered sex offenders and other notifications like that,” Cpt. Shane Ware with the Vestavia Hill’s Police Department explained. Read the full article  

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CO: Amid Criticisms A Sex Crimes Registry Is ‘Overly Harsh,’ Colorado Rebrands The Term ‘Sex Offender’

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Source: thefederalist.com 11/20/21 The Sex Offender Management Board of the State of Colorado has voted to rebrand the term “sex offender,” replacing it with the euphemistic phrase, “adults who commit sexual offenses.”  The board’s decision passed following a 10-6 vote on Nov. 19 will not change the language used in criminal justice proceedings, the Colorado Sex Offender registry, or the name of the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board itself. It does, however, apply to the “Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders.”…

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OK: Registered sex offender back behind bars after attending own child’s birthday party

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Source: kfor.com 11/15/21 A registered sex offender in Edmond was arrested on Friday night after attending his own child’s birthday party, where he was illegally surrounded by children. “Doug ____ had been on my radar for quite some time,” said Brian Bates. Local private investigator Brian Bates had been looking into registered sex offender Doug ____ for years before this happened on Friday night. “I received information from some parents that Doug ____ was getting ready to host a child’s birthday party at a local trampoline park,” Bates said. “Sure…

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