Recently I read some comments on another advocacy website pertaining to TN’s new law effective July 1, 2019, in which adult registrants may not reside overnight in a home with a minor in it. The comments that caught my attention weren’t the “we’ve got to fight and do something about this” comments, but instead, the number of defeatist comments, “nothing is changing, we’re only fooling ourselves, we’re not winning, little wins mean nothing”. One person even went so far as to say something to the effect that they felt like…
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FL: Florida’s sex offender population is aging. Where can they live out their silver years?
[miamiherald.co – 6/20/19] When Mark Sullivan found his roommate, Aquila “Bud” Albertson, grasping onto their refrigerator door, clearly in pain, Sullivan said the 94-year-old needed medical attention, but Albertson tried to downplay it. The roommates both knew Albertson wasn’t getting the medical care he needed daily. It was left to Sullivan to feed him, give him his glaucoma medicine and clean his sheets when he had accidents. But even Sullivan, 58, couldn’t provide around-the-clock care. He only found Albertson that day because he was given the day off from his…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Justices Nix Heavy Sentences for Repeat Sex Offenders
In an opinion that aligns Justice Neil Gorsuch with his liberal colleagues, the Supreme Court overturned a law that imposes heightened punishments on sex offenders who are caught with child pornography. “Only a jury, acting on proof beyond a reasonable doubt, may take a person’s liberty. That promise stands as one of the Constitution’s most vital protections against arbitrary government,” Gorsuch wrote for the plurality Wednesday. “Yet in this case a congressional statute compelled a federal judge to send a man to prison for a minimum of five years without empaneling a…
Read MoreBahamas: ‘Don’t Let Public See Sex Register’
The country’s leading counselling and advocacy services provider for abuse victims does not want a sex offender register to be made public. Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre, said a public register would be ineffective and would lure people into a false sense of security. Her comments when contacted yesterday came after the government published draft regulations for a sex offender registry earlier this month on its website. Full Article
Read MoreFlorida Action Committee Weekly Update 2019-06-18: Trip to ACSOL Conference
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/18/19] Dear Members and Advocates, Some people travel to Los Angeles hoping to run into celebrities or rock stars. My trip to LA for the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) provided just that. To myself and most people in the advocacy community, Eric Janus, Ira Ellman, Adele Nicholas, Emily Horowitz, Janice Bellucci and the others that presented at ACSOL are our rock stars! I was fortunate to meet with, learn from and speak to these celebrities in person! Professor (and former Law School Dean) Eric Janus…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Court Decision an Important Point on Path to Tipping Point
Another court has spoken the truth: registration is punishment. That court is Division III of the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case is People v. In the Interest of T.B. which was decided last week. This is a case that could be overlooked. After all, this court in only one of several courts of appeal in the state of Colorado. And the plaintiff in this case was a juvenile when he was convicted. The reason the case should not be overlooked is that it is an important data point on…
Read MoreNY: Bill preventing minors from living under same roof as sex offenders awaits Cuomo’s OK
Minors will no longer be able to live under the same roof as sex offenders who have committed violent sexual crimes thanks to a bill from Island Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore) that made it out of the State Legislature before the 2019 legislative session ended Friday. Full Article
Read MoreCO: “The ultimate scarlet letter”: A 29-year-old could get name off sex-offender registry for juvenile crimes if Denver court decides he’s being cruelly, unusually punished
[denverpost.com – 6/22/19] A 29-year-old Coloradan made to register as a sex-offender for the rest of his life because of two sexual offenses he committed as a child and teenager could get his name off the list if a Denver juvenile court determines the lifetime mandate is cruel and unusual punishment. The development comes via a Colorado Court of Appeals decision, which the 29-year-old’s attorney, Gail Johnson, described as groundbreaking. The decision signals a changing attitude on how long juvenile sex offenders must be tied to their crimes, and it…
Read MoreRomania: To have a national sex offender registry
Romania is to have a national sex offender registry that will allow the rapid identification of persons who have committed sexual offenses. President Klaus Iohannis signed on Thursday, June 20, the law on the organization of this Automated National Registry, which targets sexual offenders. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Colorado Sex-Offender Registry Takes Another Brutal Hit
Colorado’s sex-offender registry, already under legal siege, just took another hit. On June 20, the Colorado Court of Appeals determined that the lifetime registration requirement for Coloradans found guilty of two or more sex offenses when they were juveniles qualifies as punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The 2-1 decision means that a lower court can now consider whether that rule is unconstitutional — and such a finding would strike another blow against a law-enforcement concept that’s become increasingly controversial. Full Article Decision
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Where Does the Burden of Proof Lie?
Just by virtue of being on the registry comes the erroneous assumption that all registrants are a danger to the public. With some of what I’ll call, the lesser offenses, public urination, skinny dipping, sexting, etc. it doesn’t really seem that the state or federal courts “prove” that a registrant is a threat to the community. In the eyes of the law, a “sex offender is a sex offender” and the same registrant label is slapped on everyone for 10yrs. to life. Who bears the burden of proof that a…
Read MoreThe Marshall Project Wins an Edward R. Murrow Award [for “Banished”]
[themarshallproject.org – 6/19/19] “Banished,” The Marshall Project’s immersive multimedia story on the lives of sex offenders living in Miami-Dade County, Florida, who abide by some of the most restrictive housing policies in the country, has been awarded the national Edward R. Murrow Award for “Excellence in Video.” The organization was also awarded a regional Edward R. Murrow prize in the “News Documentary” category earlier in the year for “Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice, Episode 9,” produced in collaboration with WNYC. Deftly integrating text and video, “Banished” revealed the day-to-day…
Read MoreCA: Number of Registrants Increases Significantly
The total number of CA residents required to register has grown to 108,128 according to a report today given by the CA Department of Justice (CA DOJ) to the CA Sex Offender Management Board. This total represents an increase of more than 4,000 people during the past six months. Of that total number, CA DOJ reported that there are 78,191 registrants who are not in custody but who are living in the community. That total number also includes 16,455 registrants who are “in violation” for failure to register as well…
Read MoreFL: Fort Lauderdale relaxes restrictions on where sex offenders can live
[sun-sentinel.com – 6/18/19] Fort Lauderdale city commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to relax the city’s residency restrictions on sex offenders. Offenders will now be allowed to live close to bus stops but they are still barred from living within 1,400 feet of a school, daycare and other places children gather. The change will expand the available housing for convicted offenders from 1.4% of the city to 15.3%. It also brings Fort Lauderdale more in line with Florida state law. Dr. Amy Miller praised the ordinance as “an absolutely phenomenal step,” to…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Gundy v. United States – Affirmed
Judgment: Affirmed, 5-3, in an opinion by Justice Kagan on June 20, 2019. Justice Kagan announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor joined. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Thomas joined. Justice Kavanaugh took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Issue: Whether the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act’s delegation of authority to the attorney general to issue regulations…
Read MoreAL: Child sex offender-chemical castration bill sponsor State Rep. Hurst: ‘It should be surgical castration’ — Some offenders ‘ought to die’
[yellowhammernews.com – 6/13/19] Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB 379 into law, which is a bill that will mandate so-called chemical castration for certain sex offenders as parole condition for early release. The law received headlines all around the country, despite Alabama joining several states, which includes California, Louisiana and Florida, with chemical castration laws already on the books. If the bill’s sponsor had his way, it would go much further. During an interview on Huntsville radio’s WVNN, State Rep. Steve Hurst (R-Munford) explained his push for the…
Read MoreACSOL’s Third Annual Conference Offered Solutions to Registrants Challenges
About 200 people, including registrants, family members and supporters, attended ACSOL’s third annual conference on June 14 and 15 in Los Angeles. The conference included plenary presentations from Professor Eric Janus, civil rights attorney Adele Nicholas, ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci and ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. The conference also featured proposed solutions to challenges faced by both registrants and their families in the form of panels that addressed employment, housing, travel, parole and LGBTQ issues. In addition, a presentation was made by Dr. Leah Chankin, a representative of the CA…
Read MoreACSOL Emotional Support Group Meeting in L.A. on Sat, June 22
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, June 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. There is also a second Emotional Support Group meeting on the phone most months. If you want to attend this conference call, the group leader wants to talk with you first to ensure we don’t get inappropriate callers. He will tell you the date…
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