UPDATE 3/27: AB 558 hearing has been postponed indefinitely. Update: AB 558 is scheduled for hearing by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on March 28. Public Safety Committee contact info below. Update 3/15: The hearing scheduled for March 21 has been postponed indefinitely. Update 3/10: March 21 at 9 a.m. in Room 126 of the State Capitol. Please join us to speak in opposition to the bill. Plan to spend the entire morning there as it is one of many bills to be considered that morning. Assembly Bill 558, which would significantly…
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The Lingering Impact of Justice Kennedy’s Trumpesque Claim About Sex Offenders
Last week Robert Montgomery, a senior deputy attorney general at the North Carolina Department of Justice, seemed to have little success convincing the Supreme Court that his state’s law banning sex offenders from social media is consistent with the First Amendment. But at least one statement Montgomery made in defense of the law went unchallenged, even though it has no empirical basis. “This Court has recognized that [sex offenders] have a high rate of recidivism and are very likely to do this again,” he said. “Even as late as 20 years from when…
Read MoreSex offender sues Ventura school district
A registered sex offender who committed his crime 27 years ago has sued the Ventura Unified School District over a district policy that forbids him from taking his child to and from her elementary school. Full Article
Read MoreThe Supreme Court’s Sex-Offender Jurisprudence Is Based on a Lie
The Supreme Court believes most sex offenders will keep committing sex crimes. The data suggests otherwise. Full Article
Read MoreTrinidad & Tobago: Bring sex offenders registry
The T&T Government should partner with the Angel Watch Centre and the United States’ Department of Justice in a bid to alert foreign law enforcement partners about intended travel by convicted registered sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Englewood cuts in half its distance restrictions on where sex offenders can live
The Englewood City Council on Monday approved a measure that would cut in half its 2,000-foot buffer between parks and schools and where newly arrived sex offenders can live. But city leaders decided to allow offenders who already live in the city to continue doing so regardless of the buffer. Full Article
Read MoreHow the Supreme Court Spread a False Statistic About Sex Offenders
When a false idea gains traction, spreading far and wide, it’s always interesting to try to trace it back to its source to figure out what caused it to catch on in the first place. The New York Times has an NY Times: Dubious Data Belies Supreme Court’s Stance on Repeat Sex Offenders, and it pertains to a common myth about sex offenders: that they have extremely high recidivism rates relative to other types of criminals. Full Article Related NY Times: Dubious Data Belies Supreme Court’s Stance on Repeat Sex…
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Read MorePublic Crime Registries Rarely Work, So Why Do They Continue to Grow?
____ ____ says he’s a changed man. After spending 25 years in jail for killing a man during a home invasion, ____ is looking for a second chance: “I’m not in the lifestyle I used to be in. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I’m just trying to build something up before it’s too late. I’m 55 years old and I don’t have social security, retirement, or a pension.” While it’s difficult for most ex-felons to reintegrate into society, ____’s road is particularly tough. That’s because he is required to…
Read MoreDubious Data Belies Supreme Court’s Stance on Repeat Sex Offenders
Last week at the Supreme Court, a lawyer made what seemed like an unremarkable point about registered sex offenders. “This court has recognized that they have a high rate of recidivism and are very likely to do this again,” said the lawyer, Robert C. Montgomery, who was defending a North Carolina statute that bars sex offenders from using Facebook, Twitter and other social media services. The Supreme Court has indeed said the risk that sex offenders will commit new crimes is “frightening and high.” That phrase, in a 2003 decision upholding Alaska’s sex offender registration law, has…
Read MoreCO: Sex offenders see stringent parenting rules relaxed in Colorado, prompting debate over child safety
Colorado’s sex offenders have long maintained the state treats them as pariahs, closely monitoring where they live, what they look at, who they talk to and what they discuss. One claimed in federal court filings that he was warned against keeping a crucifix because it displayed partial nudity. Another, convicted of groping a woman, said he had to write down his thoughts every time he saw a school bus. Full Article
Read MoreNC: She was portrayed as soft on sex offenders. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to back her up
Robin Hudson could have gotten smeared for siding with sex offender Lester Packingham. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to vindicate her – and remind us all of the dangers of a politicized judiciary. Hudson, an N.C. Supreme Court justice, was in fact smeared when she dissented in a separate case in 2010 involving child molesters. In her 2014 re-election bid, Hudson faced a half-million dollars worth of TV attack ads from special interests that twisted that dissent and portrayed her as soft on sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreOK: OK was JUST Certified AWA/SORNA Compliant by the SMART Office, Six Years After the AWA Deadline. And Delaware is No Longer Certified, Why?
Today on Twitter the SMART Office (@DOJSMART) tweeted that Oklahoma just became Federal Adam Walsh (AWA) / Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORNA) Act of 2006 compliant. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Law would bar high-risk sex offenders from living in motels
A Rhode Island lawmaker is co-sponsoring a bill that would limit how long level III sex offenders can live in hotels and motels. Full Article
Read MoreDE: ACLU loses appeal in challenging sex offender GPS monitoring
Delaware’s Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union to a law requiring GPS monitoring of certain sex offenders who have been released from prison and are on probation. After hearing arguments Wednesday, the court issued a two-sentence order Friday upholding a Chancery Court decision in favor of the state. Full Article Related Search de: DE: Supreme Court weighs sex offender GPS monitoring
Read More‘What’s Not Left to Do?’: Chelsea King’s Family Talks About Chelsea’s Law, Years Later
It’s been seven years since Poway teen Chelsea King was kidnapped and killed. Her parents, Brent and Kelly King, speak with NBC 7’s Greg Bledsoe about the 7th Annual Finish Chelsea’s Run, happening on March 4 in Balboa Park, in honor of their daughter. Full Article / Video
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Senate Bill 26 Has Been Stopped!
Senate Bill 26, which would have prohibited all registrants from visiting all schools for all reasons has been stopped! This early victory in the State Capitol came about, in part, because of the efforts of 36 people — registrants, family members and supporters — who lobbied in opposition to that bill a few months ago. In a series of meetings with members and staff of the Senate and Assembly, registrants explained how the bill would harm, not help, school children. They also explained that the bill could prevent them from…
Read MoreFirst, They Came for the Sex Offenders …
We must speak up for the rights of those on the fringes of society. The Supreme Court’s ruling on sex offenders’ First Amendment rights will signal how much protection we can all expect. Full Article
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