[foxnews.com (!)] Last week three of my four boys were herded into school-sponsored assemblies and asked to stand, raise their hands and pledge to never, ever hurt a woman. While their female classmates remained seated, my boys faced intense pressure to say: I promise To never ever Hit, hurt, or otherwise harm A woman, girl, or child. I understand That I am bigger and stronger Than many women, girls, and children. Therefore it is my DUTY To NEVER HARM them, Protect, Respect, Honor, and Love them No matter what. Aghast,…
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Best Buy defends practice of informing FBI about child porn it finds
[arstechnica.com] years Nearly 200 pages of documents released Tuesday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that Best Buy’s top officials have “enjoyed a particularly close relationship” with the FBI for at least a decade, if not longer. The filings were obtained by the advocacy organization as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in an attempt to better understand how the retail chain sometimes uses its “Geek Squad” tech support service to aid law enforcement. In a document from 2008, the FBI’s Louisville, Kentucky, division is described as having…
Read MoreFL: Ordinance would keep sex offenders from living in Vernon
[UPDATED links 3/7/18] [wjhg.com] VERNON, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – The Vernon City Council is in the process of adopting an ordinance that would prohibit sex offenders and predators from living in the city limits. Both Bonifay and Chipley have adopted a similar ordinance, causing more offenders to move into Vernon. “It was actually recommended by our attorney because she has been working with other communities who are adopting the ordinances and so she said it would be a good idea for us to address the issue,” Vernon mayor Tina Sloan said.…
Read MorePA: State Supreme Court remanding cases after Muniz
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Sex offender cases in Pennsylvania are being remanded in the wake of Commonwealth v. Muniz, the PA case which found their registry unconstitutional under the ex post facto clauses of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions. In Commonwealth v. Polzer, the appellant introduced the issue of whether, “SORNA’S irrebuttable presumption that all sexual offenders pose a high risk of reoffending violates procedural and substantive due process under the Pennsylvania Constitution.” and the due process clause of the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Read more…
Read MoreCA: California will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for sex offenders
[Time.com] (SACRAMENTO) — California said Monday that it will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders, such as those convicted of raping an unconscious person. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration will appeal the order by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner, said Vicky Waters, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The judge previously said in a tentative ruling that prison officials must rewrite part of the parole regulations in a ballot measure passed by voters in 2016. No…
Read MorePlea bargaining should not be an option for offenders in sex crimes
In the U.S., individuals accused of sexually based crimes are legally able to accept a plea deal that allows them to have reduced sentencing penalties. This is wrong and should not be allowed to the extent that it is currently bargained for. Full Editorial
Read MoreYoung Sex Offenders Shouldn’t Have to Register; It’s Ineffective and Hurts Everyone Around Them
Sex offender registration policies were initially developed for adults with sexual offenses, but have recently been extended to include youth with sexual offenses as well. At first glance, sex offender registration and notification (hereafter referred to as SORN) may make us feel safer, produce relief knowing that these individuals are being punished. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreAn Unexpected Journey by Nick Dubin, Mitigation Consultant
[foglightstrategies.org] PREFACE Nick Dubin, PsyD, is a consultant who helps with Foglight Strategies’ mitigation efforts. Nick has a Doctorate in Psychology and Masters in Special Education. He also has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is characterized in part by a difficulty in intuiting why certain courses of behavior are inappropriate. Nick, like many others before and after his case, had his life shattered when he was federally charged with the possession of child pornography. Nick was evaluated to be a low re-offense risk. Despite this, federal prosecutors went forward with…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to My Colleagues in Law Enforcement: Ending the Abusive Policy of Putting Children on Sex Offender Registries
[linkedin.com] by Robert Shilling Retired – Former Head of Crimes against Children at INTERPOL Dear Colleagues, Just like you, helping victims has been a passion for me. We do our job to prevent victimization, but we also do our job to “solve problems.” Too often we see solutions that are nothing more than “whack-a-mole” in their design and outcomes, chasing the problem from one area to another. This does not solve the problem. It exacerbates it. But in too many states, we are repeating this kind of negative cycle with the…
Read MoreCA: Judge Issues Final Ruling in Prop. 57 Case
[ACSOL] Emergency regulations, intended to implement Proposition 57 and issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), must be set aside, according to a final ruling released today by a Sacramento Superior Court judge. The ruling specifically stated that “CDCR cannot substitute its judgment for what it wishes the drafters of Proposition 57 had said. Nor may CDCR’s…regulations override a clear directive in the Constitution. “Due to this ruling, CDCR’s emergency regulations issued in March 2017 cannot be enforced and new regulations must be issued. The new regulation…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court May Revive a Legal Theory Last Used to Strike Down New Deal Laws
[UPDATED links 3/9/18] [slate.com] On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Gundy v. United States, a constitutional challenge to federal sex offender regulations. If, like me, you believe that America’s current sex offender regime is draconian, unjust, and counterproductive, that might sound like good news! And perhaps it is. But there’s one aspect of the court’s grant that may be very bad news from progressive viewpoint: It will only consider whether the policy in question violates the nondelegation doctrine—a hazy legal principle last used to strike down New Deal legislation in 1935. Full…
Read MoreThe Sex Offender Registry: Vengeful, unconstitutional and due for full repeal
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that at least 95 percent of all state prisoners will be released from prison at some point. However, convicted sex-offenders almost exclusively face the vengeful, additional punishment of registration under the Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act (SORNA). Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreDiscredited Sex Assault Research Infects U.S. Legal System
When a toxin enters a biological ecosystem, its effect is magnified as it moves up the food chain. Even if it can be cut off at the source, the ever-widening distribution of its increasingly harmful form can cause problems for decades. Misinformation functions in a similar fashion, gaining traction as it’s repeated by increasingly high-profile individuals who venture ever further from the source material. In this manner, distortion about the facts of sexual assault has affected the training of judges, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials. It is how misleading…
Read MoreTherapists’ Perceptions of Their Encounter With Sex Offenders [paper]
[researchgate.net] Haneen Elias and Muhammad M. Haj-Yahia February 2016 Abstract Despite the increasing interest in therapists’ responses to their encounter with sex offenders, there is a lack of research on their subjective perceptions of this encounter and on their experience working with this client population. The study presented in this article is part of a larger qualitative research project conducted among 19 social workers (12 were women and 7 were men; their ages ranged from 30 to 66 years; 15 of them were Jewish and 4 were Arab). In-depth semi-structured…
Read MoreCA: NARSOL opposes CA Dep’t of Corrections’ blanket exclusion of sex offenders
[narsol.org] NARSOL is a national advocacy organization that defends and protects the interests of citizens convicted of a sex offense. We are acutely aware that this is a very serious subject and in no way condone sexual abuse. But we are also aware that culture, politics and policy over-react when creating proportional sanctions for these offenses. A large portion of our membership is comprised of family members of those convicted of a sex offense. They have seen first-hand the brutal and unfair treatment of their loved ones. It is clear…
Read MoreSD: Fixing South Dakota’s offender registries
[rstreet.org] My name is Eli Lehrer and I’m here to testify on H.B. 1244. I am president of the R Street Institute, a conservative think tank headquartered in Washington. I also serve as adviser to the Criminal Justice Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). My comments on this bill represent only my personal views and are not necessarily those of ALEC or of R Street. I have worked in association with the justice system for almost two decades and have written widely on corrections and policing issues…
Read MoreND: N. D. Supreme Court destroys some electronics, returns others to family
[narsol.org] By Andrea Johnson . . . The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled [Feb. 22] that the state can destroy convicted sex offender______’s laptop and portable hard drive, but must return his X-Box and PlayStation to his family. ______, 38, of Minot, is serving 10 years in prison for child porn possession. He had appealed North Central District Court Judge Doug Mattson’s decision ordering his electronics be destroyed. He argued that the old Xbox and PlayStation 2 were not used in his crimes and are not forfeitable property. The Supreme…
Read MoreWI: Losing Track
[UPDATED links 3/4/18] [wisconsinwatch.org] Losing Track by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism explores flaws in Wisconsin’s GPS monitoring program for offenders. In 2013, the Center exposed problems including false alerts and lost signals that sent offenders to jail even when they did not violate terms of the monitoring. Full Series Related links: Opponents claim GPS monitoring violates civil rights; judges not so sure [Added 3/4/18] Homeless offenders create gaps in Wisconsin’s GPS monitoring system [Added 3/4/18] Electronic monitoring pioneer wants less punishment, more reward [Added 3/4/18]
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