California’s sex offender registry didn’t protect Chelsea King. A registered child predator abducted, raped and murdered the 17-year-old high school senior after she set off for a jog on the trails around Lake Hodges in San Diego County in 2010. Authorities used DNA to track down John Albert Gardner III, who confessed to killing Chelsea and another teen, Amber DuBois, who had gone missing near San Diego a year before on her way to school. Chelsea’s father, Brent King, has been fighting ever since for stricter punishments and closer monitoring…
Read MoreMore News
DOJ urges SCOTUS not to review Sixth Circuit panel decision finding retroactive application of Michigan sex offender law unconstitutional
As reported in this post from last summer, a Sixth Circuit panel concluded in Does v. Snyder, No. 15-1536 (6th Cir. Aug. 25, 2016) (available here), that Michigan’s amendments to its Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) “imposes punishment” and thus the state violates the US Constitution when applying these SORA provisions retroactively. Michigan appealed this decision to the US Supreme Court, and SCOTUS in March asked for the US Acting Solicitor General to express its views on the case. Yesterday, the Acting SG filed this brief with SCOTUS stating that in “the view of the United States, the…
Read MorePA: Judge was right to protect foreign kids from U.S. sex predator, court says
An Allegheny County judge acted correctly when she sentenced a sex predator to a 20- to 40-year prison term to ensure he’ll be too old to molest foreign children when he is eventually deported, a state appeals court panel has ruled. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Should independent living complexes have to notify residents of sex offenders?
The Houston Housing Authority has changed the way the agency reviews its 60,000 tenants after Channel 2 Investigates found a registered sex offender getting a housing allowance he is barred from receiving. Full Article
Read MoreIA: State can’t block sex offender from having smart phone
The state can’t stop a convicted sex offender from having a smart phone or internet access, according to a ruling from the Iowa Court of Appeals. Full Article
Read MoreCourt strikes down sex registration requirement
A California appellate court has again struck down a requirement that ____ ____ ____, a well-known Redding man who often ran for elected office and who was sentenced to prison in 2013 for stalking a woman, register as a sex offender for life. In its June 30 ruling, the Third District Court of Appeal, which once again upheld his stalking conviction, reversed ____ ____ ____’s sex offender registrant requirement. Full Article Opinion 2015 Opinion
Read MoreNY: Sex offenders banned from driving for Uber, Lyft
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers approved a ride-hailing law in April, it would have allowed certain low-level sex offenders to drive for companies like Uber and Lyft. That’s no longer the case. Cuomo signed a bill late last week block all sex offenders from driving for ride-hailing companies for as long as they are listed on the state’s registry, regardless of the severity of their crime and how long ago it was committed. Full Article
Read MoreHouston federal judge revokes sex offender’s naturalized citizenship
A federal judge this week approved an order revoking the naturalized citizenship of a Harris County man convicted of a sex offense more than 20 years earlier, one of a growing number of immigrants stripped of citizenship in a push that began in the final years of the Obama administration. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Freedom from Tyranny of the Registry
Today we sit on top of a mountain. We take a short rest after an arduous journey up a steep path. We gather strength. We gather numbers. We prepare for what we believe will be the final legs of a journey for many who will reach freedom…..freedom from the tyranny of the sex offender registry. Our journey began six years ago when a brave elected official, Tom Ammiano, introduced the first tiered registry bill. He saw the truth, that the requirement to register is not a mere administrative requirement, but instead is punishment. Despite the…
Read MoreSex offender rules need to be revisited (Letter to the Editor)
Surely there needs to be a lot of changes made in the sex offender registry. I heard about a man in his early thirties who committed some sort of a sex crime. This young man wanted to become a male nurse. But because of his record, he could not get into nurse’s training. He paid an attorney $2,000 for his service, but his case is still pending. It went all the way to the governor two years ago, and the governor has not taken action to seal his records. This…
Read MoreBusiness Ethics Discussion Topic – Public Accommodation and the Sex Offender Registry
My company operates campgrounds on public lands under contract with various public agencies. Over the past several years, there has been a lot of discussion about public accommodation (e.g. can a private photographer choose not to serve a gay wedding). This has never really been a big issue for me in my business, both due to my personal tolerance of just about anyone and the fact that we operate on public lands, which gives us an extra responsibility for broad accommodation. Yesterday a sheriff’s deputy in Arizona comes by one…
Read MoreIRE: Seeking to track sex offenders poses human rights questions
The idea of electronic tagging for sex offenders is not a new one. It was considered by the Department of Justice in 2009 in relation to the Discussion Document on the Management of Sex Offenders, and continued to gain political interest in the following years, up to the recent announcement that new legislation will make provision for this perceived shortcoming in our law. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Iredell sex offender’s charges dismissed after Supreme Court ruling on social media
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has overturned a nearly 10-year-old law in North Carolina that banned registered sex offenders from using social media like Facebook. The unanimous ruling allows the roughly 257 registered sex offenders in Iredell County access to social media online, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Woman’s License Mistakenly Marked ‘Sexual Predator’
A Florida woman took her children to Disney World for a fun weekend, but was denied service at the hotel. When she asked why she was not allowed to stay there, she was shocked by the response. Now, the mother is taking legal action. Tammy Lemasters was denied service at Disney World and when she asked why, she was told it was because her driver’s license listed her as a sexual predator, the New York Daily News reports. She was shocked by the revelation, as she has no history of any…
Read MoreBrock Turner judge Aaron Persky responds to calls for his removal
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who came under fire for sentencing former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to six months in county jail for sexual assault, sought Friday to dismiss demands for his removal, saying the court of law should be separated from the court of public opinion. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments July 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of July 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreNARSOL calls on Zuckerberg, Facebook to change policy
Having already contacted Mark Zuckerberg by letter dated June 27, 2017, NARSOL has now released a nationwide press release hoping to bring additional pressure upon the social media giant to cease its nearly nine-year-old practice of barring registered citizens from creating or maintaining Facebook user accounts. Full Press Release Related How Would You Feel If Facebook Ended the Ban on Sex Offenders?
Read MoreFL: Registered sex offenders listing Walmart as their home address
Attention Walmart shoppers, pervs in aisle seven! Customers at the retail giant’s store in Cocoa, Florida, were shocked to hear that at least 16 registered sex offenders have listed the place as their home address, WFTV reported. State law permits homeless offenders to use the address of the closest physical address for their registration. Full Article
Read More