[washingtonstatewire.com – 8/20/19] Willie Russell is running for the Snohomish County Council this year. He squeaked through the August primary, and will face Stephanie Wright in November for Council position 3. He is also a Level III sex offender. You can read the narrative from the sheriff’s office database here. I recently spoke with Russell in an extended conversation. I wanted to ask him about his interest in running, and about his campaign. But, I was particularly interested in understanding why, with his background, he would be willing to put…
Read MoreCategory: National
FL: More sex offenders arrive so NSB wants to make rules more strict
There are more sex offenders moving to New Smyrna Beach and that has prompted city leaders to consider shrinking the locations where both sexual offenders and sexual predators can legally live. Full Article
Read MoreNC: GPS monitoring violates some sex offenders’ rights, NC Supreme Court rules
[thestate.com – 8/16/19] Sex offenders have rights, too, and in some cases the state has been violating those rights, the NC Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The ruling concerns people who have been ordered to submit to satellite-based monitoring for the rest of their lives, which forces them to wear a tracking device so law enforcement can track their location via GPS using an ankle bracelet. Nearly 500 North Carolina sex offenders could now be freed from lifetime surveillance by the GPS monitoring program. However, it’s not yet clear how…
Read More10th Circuit Rules Special Conditions Allowing Probation Complete Discretion over Internet Use is Excessive
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/16/19] The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in US v. Blair, ruled that a special condition on the Defendant’s Internet use that was “limited to those the defendant requests to use, and which the probation officer authorizes” involved a greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary for deterring criminal activity because it allows the probation office to completely ban the defendant’s use of the Internet by failing to place any restraints on a probation officer’s ability to restrict a defendant’s Internet access. Blair argued that this special…
Read MoreEpstein might not have been killed, but sex offenders’ prison deaths often are ‘choreographed’ | Opinion
[miamiherald.com – 8/12/19] Many people aren’t buying the official “suicide” story from the Manhattan Correctional Complex that housed financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on suicide watch until late July. Theories that Epstein was murdered to protect any number of political cabals are widespread on social media. President Trump has suggested that Bill and Hillary Clinton were involved and the Resistance is convinced that someone offed Epstein to protect the president. That dead men tell no tales is a seductive explanation for Epstein’s expiration, but it ignores correctional reality.…
Read MoreFL: Congratulations Derek!!! Appellate Court Voids Lauren Book’s Injunction
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/14/19] The order was issued by the 4th District Court of Appeals today so it’s being posted prior to our adding commentary in an effort to share this as quickly as possible. The court voided Senator Lauren Book’s restraining order against Once Fallen’s Derek Logue. We all knew it was bogus, now the court’s agree! Logue v. Book UPDATE: All the credit MUST go to attorney Gary Edinger, of Benjamin, Aaronson, Edinger & Patanzo for writing an incredible appellate brief. Lots of appreciation to Gary, Jamie Benjamin and…
Read MoreWI: Rhinelander Common Council approves new sex offenders ordinance
[starjournalnow.com – 8/13/19] The Rhinelander Common Council met Monday and held the final public hearing for the new sex offender ordinance. No concerns or questions regarding the ordinance were brought forth at the public hearing, and the council approved the new ordinance unanimously. The sex offender ordinance limits registered sex offender housing and activity areas within proximity to places where children are present such as schools, playgrounds and parks. It also limits holiday events in which sex offenders can participate such as disallowing handing out candy to trick-or-treaters or dressing…
Read MoreA Critical (Non-Dershowitz) Look at Statutory Rape Laws
[verdict.justia.com – 8/13/19] Last week, Jeffrey Epstein died in jail, apparently a suicide. The prior month, he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges related to his and other men’s conduct with girls as young as fourteen. Most spectators to the very public humiliation that might have driven him to suicide, judged him very harshly. Epstein, in his mid-60s, had apparently slept with young girls and procured their services for some of his rich (and old) friends as well, allegedly including Epstein’s former lawyer, Harvard Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz (currently…
Read MoreApplication of Packingham – Internet Access
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/12/19] We often get questions from people who are confused by the application of Packingham (the SCOTUS decision that said Government cannot restrict access to social media) to their situation. To simplify: Packingham benefits people NOT ON PROBATION/SUPERVISED RELEASE. If you are on probation, a restriction on social media/internet access CAN be imposed. Packingham DOES NOT prevent a private business (ie: Social Media platform) from restricting your access to their platform. Read the full Florida Action Committee article
Read MoreAK: Without guidance, Alaska judges to ‘muddle through’ sex offender registry removal decisions
[ktuu.com – 8/9/19] ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – Without guidance, Alaska Superior Court judges will have to “muddle their way through” decisions over how a person can apply to be removed from the sex offender registry, says John Skidmore, the director of the criminal division with the Department of Law. In June, the Alaska Supreme Court determined that people on the sex offender registry had a right to due process, effectively meaning they could apply to be removed from the registry if they can prove they are no longer dangerous. Currently, there…
Read MoreWI: Students can face fines for sexting in Pewaukee
[cbs58.com – 8/9/19] PEWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) – The Village of Pewaukee is taking action to address the prevalence of sexting among minors by enacting an ordinance that allows police to issue citations for those caught exchanging nude photos or videos through electronic devices. “The whole idea is to change children’s behavior,” said Chief Timothy Heier of the Pewaukee Police Department. “Get them to stop and make better choices in life.” Sexting is not unique to the Village of Pewaukee. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association…
Read MorePentagon launches Catch program to identify serial sex offenders in the military
[stripes.com – 8/5/19] WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has launched a new program that aims to find serial sex offenders in the military by compiling information into a database submitted by sexual-assault survivors. The program, called Catch a Serial Offender, or Catch, allows survivors of sexual assault who are submitting a restricted report to provide information confidentially about the sexual assault incident as well as the accused offender to military investigators so they can try to identify serial offenders, according to the Pentagon announcement released Monday. The program was first announced…
Read MoreFL shaming: Could your real estate agent be a sex offender? You likely would never know
[palmbeachpost.com – 3/2/19] Maureen Stilwell had a bad feeling about the property manager in her Wellington neighborhood. He didn’t fit in well with the close-knit community. Folks didn’t like him, said Stilwell, who was on the board of her homeowner’s association at the time. Stilwell did a little digging. She quickly discovered that her community property manager was a registered sex offender. “I was amazed it came right up on Google,” she said. “I emailed the rest of the board and said, ‘We have to get rid of this guy…
Read MoreFL: Convicted sex offender drowned in Duval County jail cell toilet after beating
[firstcoastnews.com – 8/1/19] JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The inmate killed inside his Duval County Jail cell Tuesday was drowned in his jail cell toilet in addition to being beaten by his cellmate, First Coast News learned Wednesday. Paul Dixon, 43, was charged with 2nd-degree murder after police say he killed cellmate _, 56, on the fifth floor of the Duval County jail. Multiple sources tell First Coast News that ____, a convicted sex offender, was beaten by Dixon who then drowned him in his jail cell toilet. The official cause of…
Read MoreMore churches are checking the national sex offender registry. Is it helping?
[religionnews.com – 7/30/19] Since they were first offered an opportunity to pool their resources and buy background checks on volunteers and employees at a discount 11 years ago, about a third of Southern Baptist churches have signed up for the OneSource program from LifeWay Christian Resources. Earlier this year, LifeWay reported that 16,000 congregations and other church organizations ran background checks on men and women it hired through a service called backgroundchecks.com. (The Southern Baptist Convention has so far resisted calls to set up a database of its own, saying…
Read MoreVA: Sex Offenders’ Social Media Notice Law Upheld
Virginia’s law requiring sex offenders to provide law enforcement officials with information about their social media identity is constitutional, a Virginia appeals court ruled. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Convicted Arizona sex offender must register in Texas
A three-judge panel with the Texas 14th Court of Appeals determined July 11 that a person must register as a sex offender in Texas if they were convicted of sexual abuse via Arizona law. Full Article
Read MoreUS mass incarceration damages health and shortens lives
[thelancet.com – July 2019] The USA has a problem with incarceration. Since 1970, the number of people incarcerated has climbed from less than 500 000 to 2·3 million. Despite only 5% of the world’s population living in the country, the USA imprisons nearly 25% of all incarcerated people globally; the highest rate of imprisonment in the world. The sheer scale of imprisonment in the USA and its unequal burden on people from minority and poor backgrounds raises concerns about its impact on the health and wellbeing of the national population. While…
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