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Does Social Justice Exist for Registrants? [opinion]

[blog.womenagainstregistry.org] There are dozens of definitions of Social Justice. Wikipedia defines it as the concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity and social priviledges. The Business Dictionary puts a different spin on it, the fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the “natural law” that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice. The Center for…

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Employment Opportunity – Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Fellow at Mitchell Hamline School of Law

https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offender-litigation-policy/ The Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center seeks applications for a full-time fellowship position. This is a two-year, full-time position, working directly with the director of the Center. We seek a person with superior research, writing and organizational skills, with a demonstrated interest in impact litigation, particularly involving sex offense policy, who can take charge of developing resources and initiatives supporting this litigation and related policy changes. We will accept applications until the positon is filled, but prefer applications prior to January 31, 2018. While start date is…

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CT: Law would bar sex offenders from most public spaces

[mycitizensnews.com] [1/3/18 UPDATE: The ordinance passed http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2018/01/02/naugatuck-puts-its-property-off-limits-to-sex-offenders/]   NAUGATUCK — Sex offenders will no longer be allowed in borough-owned parks, schools, playgrounds, recreation and event centers, pools, gyms, sports fields and facilities, trails, or open space if the Board of Mayor and Burgesses approves a new “Child Safety Zone” ordinance. The board will hold a hearing on the proposed ordinance at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Hall of Burgesses at Town Hall, 229 Church St. The ordinance was inspired by a young girl who was raped repeatedly as a child,…

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NY: This 11-year-old got wrongly caught up in Pervnado

[nypost.com] __________, a Brooklyn sixth-grader in a schoolyard tussle with two girls, got caught up in the sex-harassment tornado. __________ insists he only tried to grab the water bottle and backpack of classmates who had tossed his stuff during lunchtime horseplay. But the school charged him with “conduct of a sexual nature.” He was accused of trying to touch one girl’s breast and kiss her and of “humping” another girl from behind. “Like, I’m not sexual,” the baby-faced 11-year-old wrote in a city Department of Education statement. “I do dumb…

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RI: Lawsuit seeks to block R.I. law limiting number of sex offenders in homeless shelters

[providencejournal.com] PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An advocacy group for the homeless is asking a federal judge to block a Rhode Island law set to go into effect Monday that limits the number of convicted sex offenders who can stay at Rhode Island homeless shelters. In a lawsuit against the state filed Friday in U.S. District Court, lawyers representing the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and six registered sex offenders argue that the law passed in September is unconstitutional and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit asks for an injunction…

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WV: Cuts at Supreme Court might look good at first, but will harm people

[wvgazettemail.com]   In a written response to questions about remodeling West Virginia Supreme Court justices’ offices — in a clear effort to change the subject and distract from the issue-at-hand — Justice Margaret Workman noted that, in the last year, the court has “already saved almost $8 million so far this year.” Justice Menis Ketchum wrote it was $7 million. They attempted a kind of bait-and-switch to change the topic. OK, I’ll take the bait. Let’s look more deeply into this attempted distraction, the way that the majority of the…

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CA: We can’t afford showy but ineffective sex offender policies [commentary]

[with-justiceforall.blogspot.com]   This was a recent headline in the Daily Democrat in Yolo, California, recently: ” ‘OperationVigilance’ targets Yolo County sex offenders.” http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20171216/NEWS/171219907 “Yolo County law enforcement conducted surprise compliance checks on over 300 sex offenders earlier this week…” “While many of the sex offenders investigated were in compliance, two sex offenders contacted were arrested for a variety of weapons, pornography and other violations. An additional 18 of these offenders are the subject of further investigation to determine whether or not they are in compliance.” “Over 60 law enforcement personnel…

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NJ: New Jersey child molesters won’t face castration threat any time soon

[trentonian.com]   In a year filled with arrests for sexual crimes against child victims, there is a familiar refrain heard each time one of these arrests is announced. “Castrate him,” is shouted from all corners of society and social media. Almost 80 alleged child molesters or kiddie porn collectors were arrested this year by a regional task force. None of those offenders, however, will ever have to face castration-style penalties if convicted in New Jersey Superior Court. That’s because New Jersey, unlike a handful of states across America, lacks a…

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CA: City sues over election partly decided by sex offenders at state hospital

Coalinga City Council is suing Fresno County to overturn an election decided partly by the sex offenders in a state hospital. Voters rejected a penny sales tax increase by just 37 votes in November. 127 of those ‘no’ votes came from inside the walls of Coalinga State Hospital, where some of the state’s sex offenders are actually legal voters. Full Article Related http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/political-notebook/article184847643.html

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Media face challenges in rush to sexual misconduct reckoning

[richmond.com]   NEW YORK (AP) — Talk-show host Tavis Smiley isn’t just upset with PBS for firing him on sexual misconduct charges. He’s upset about his depiction in the media. Smiley believes that if he hadn’t talked publicly about romantic relationships with subordinates at his company, the behavior that led to his downfall, the public would make little distinction between him and those who have been accused of sexual assault or rape. Conflation of different forms of misbehavior — the idea itself is controversial — is one of the issues…

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Once a sex offender always a sex offender — even beyond death?

Who was Benjamin Gran? Registered sex offender sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release after he was caught with a massive amount of child pornography; Autistic young man caught in a “witch hunt” after being duped by an unrepentant pedophile; Third fatality in the deadly Amtrak derailment; Member of the Special Olympics team; Member of a pedophile group online; Someone who paid his debt to society and was on the right path; Convicted sex offender found in possession of child porn while working in IT at a college; Huge train…

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The Christmas I Sat Next to a Sex Offender

Last year my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas with our infant daughter. She couldn’t understand the holiday, of course, but that didn’t stop us from discussing Advent calendars, wreaths, and Jesse Trees in depth, continuing a friendly argument about Santa Claus that has been going on since our engagement. Citing our childhood experiences as rationale, we hashed out the significance of the Incarnation in the form of felt, cardboard calendars filled with chocolate, and a fat man driven around by reindeer. Christmas in my youth meant festive cooking…

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IN: Sex Offenders Sue Over Indiana Registry Requirement

[US News] INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three men have filed a lawsuit over an Indiana requirement that they register as sex offenders when moving to the state, saying they’re being treated differently than other residents in similar situations. Patrick Rice, Adam Bash and Scott Rush all were convicted out of state and before the enactment of the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act, The Indianapolis Star reported. The men’s lawsuit says that in accordance with an Indiana Supreme Court ruling, the Department of Correction does not typically require sex offenders convicted before…

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CA: Federal Court Limits Residency Restrictions to Parolees

A federal district court ruled on Dec. 22 that residency restrictions adopted by cities and counties may only be applied to registrants while on parole.   “This is a significant victory for registrants and their families,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “The Court’s decision dramatically reduces the ability of a city or a county to restrict where a registrant may live.” According to the court’s decision, the general rule is that local governments are preempted by state law from adopting laws that restrict the daily lives of registrants because state law “fully occupies” the field of…

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NY: Cuomo wants revenge porn posters to register as sex offenders

[New York Post]   Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to criminalize revenge porn — and force the creeps who post it online to register as sex offenders — under a plan he’ll unveil in his upcoming State of the State Address, The Post has learned. As part of the proposal, the governor also intends to outlaw “sextortion,” or threatening someone into preforming sex acts. “The dangerous proliferation of sextortion and revenge crimes disproportionately targets young women and girls and causes harm and embarrassment that can follow victims their entire lives,” Cuomo…

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