A Manchester man with disabilities who has petitioned for years to get off the state’s public sex offender registry, and who won the chance this year to argue his case in court, has been arrested, accused of failing to disclose an online account. ____ ____, 66, was detained Wednesday and charged with one count of failure to register, a felony. A police detective told the Union Leader he had created a Facebook account, but did not elaborate. Full Article Related NH: 850 convicted sex offenders eligible to petition to get…
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MN: Reforms to state sex offender program suspended by appeals court
The state of Minnesota won a round in court Thursday, when a federal appeals panel suspended a judge’s order that would have required prompt changes to the state’s troubled sex offender program. In October U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ordered the state to revamp the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP), including changes that could lead to the accelerated release of sex offenders. On Thursday the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary administrative stay of Frank’s order; it remains in effect while the appellate panel considers the state’s request…
Read MoreFL: 40 people have no place to go after homeless camp vacated
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — After it was discovered a handful of sex offenders were among about 40 people living in tents on a piece of property in Kissimmee, the property owner told them they had to leave. Most of the homeless people evicted from the property along Old Vineland Road have no place to go, and the city of Kissimmee and Osceola County have no help to offer. Full Article
Read MoreMA: Supreme Court Rules Amended Sex Offender Registration Law Ex Post Facto
On July 12, 2013, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill requiring the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) to amend registry requirements for defendants classified as level two and level three sex offenders, under G.L. c.6, §§ 178D and 178K. Level two offenders are deemed only a moderate risk for reoffending, and prior to the new law, the Board was barred from publishing those offenders’ registry information online. Lawmakers deliberately sought to change that policy, and enacted a law that allowed the Board to retroactively post on…
Read MoreFL: FATSA Recommendations on the Florida Registry
The Florida Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers submitted a report to the Florida Legislatures Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) making several evidence-based recommendations for Florida’s Sex Offender Registry System. Full Article
Read MorePA: Kane appoints special prosecutor to unravel PornGate
Pennsylvanians have already suffered the indignity of learning that judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials have used state computer systems to exchange pornographic, racist and misogynistic emails. Now, state taxpayers will pick up the bill for a team of special prosecutors hired to sort out the sordid details of PornGate. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Tenacity Results in Victory in Carson
Our tenacity paid off! More than 18 months, 3 lawsuits and 2 protests later, the City of Carson has repealed its presence restrictions. In a vote of 3 to 0, the City Council decided to rid the City of Carson of its presence restrictions which both violated state law and denied the civil rights of more than 100,000 individuals. This important vote was taken despite a proclamation in 2014 by a member of the City Council to “declare war” upon registered citizens. This important vote was taken because we did…
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreCarson Revises Presence Restrictions [updated with media]
Media links at the bottom – The Carson City Council agreed on December 1 to revise the city’s ordinance which restricts where registered citizens may be present. As a result of the revisions, registered citizens may soon visit public sites such as parks, libraries, and swimming pools as well as private sites such as fast food restaurants. “At long last the City of Carson has decided to comply with existing state law by revising its ordinance,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. The City ordinance was initially challenged in a…
Read MoreTX: Proposed law would require sex offender signs [updated with approval]
GONZALES — The Gonzales City Council approved an ordinance at Tuesday night’s regular monthly meeting requiring registered sex offenders within the city limits to post signs in their yard alerting everyone to their crime. Though councilmen were quick to move forward with the motion, it took several more minutes to explain what the law could actually do. City Manager Allen Barnes started by stating that several cities in the area have passed similar ordinances and said the law has been upheld by the courts. The ordinance would require registered sex…
Read MoreRedding man takes plea bargain in shooting of registered sex offender
REDDING, California – A 28-year-old Redding man pleaded guilty today in Shasta County Superior Court to attempted murder and use of a firearm in connection with the September shooting of a registered sex offender. In exchange for his guilty plea, Timothy Joseph Gould will be sentenced Feb. 2 to 15 years in prison. Gould must serve 85 percent of his sentence — about nearly 13 years — before he’s eligible for parole. Full Article Related Deputies: Man was shot ‘because he’s a sex offender’ http://www.krcrtv.com/redding-man-accepts-plea-deal-for-shooting-sex-offender/36746668
Read MoreMA: State lawmakers consider changes to the sex offender registry
BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The state legislature’s Committee on the Judiciary is taking a closer look at the Sex Offender Registry Board. Right now, the public only has access to information on level two and level three sex offenders. State Representative Shaunna O’Connell (R-Taunton) wants to make information on level one sex offenders available to those who request it from their local police stations. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Minnesota House panel votes to back governor sex offender stance
A Minnesota House committee unanimously voted Tuesday to support the position Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson are taking in appealing a federal judge’s decision that a state sex offender program is unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Unsuccessfully Challenged
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently challenged the constitutionality of a Miami-Dade County, Florida ordinance that, according to the organization, forces sex offenders on probation into homelessness by imposing residency restrictions so harsh there is literally no place where they are legally permitted to live. … While that may indeed be outrageous, the federal district court hearing the challenge to the Miami-Dade ordinance did not find it unconstitutional. The court dismissed the suit in April 2015, finding the ordinance was not punitive in nature and advanced a legitimate governmental…
Read MoreLoretta Lynch’s false claim on sex trafficking arrests
This is a story about how the language regarding the crime of sex trafficking has become so fuzzy that even the nation’s top law enforcement officer can speak before an international audience and utter wildly inflated statistics. Throughout 2015, The Fact Checker has dug into dubious statistics concerning sex trafficking, so this recent speech by Attorney General Lynch caught our eye. Lynch has taken a keen interest in sex trafficking, recently announcing more than $44 million in grant funding to combat human trafficking in the United States, including supporting law-enforcement…
Read MoreIL: State sues prisoners to pay for their room, board
The $31,690 Johnny Melton received to settle a lawsuit over his mother’s death was going to help him start life anew after prison. But before he was released, after 15 months in prison for a drug conviction, the Illinois Department of Corrections sued Melton and won nearly $20,000 to cover the cost of his incarceration. When Melton was paroled earlier this year, he was forced to go to a homeless shelter, then was taken in by a cousin. He got food stamps. When he died in June, according to his…
Read MoreNH: Prisoner rights advocates push for audit of state’s sex offender treatment program
A group of New Hampshire lawmakers is requesting an audit of the state’s sex offender treatment program to address a purported backlog of inmates awaiting mandatory psychosexual therapy. Chris Dornin, founder of Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform-New Hampshire, said dozens of incarcerated sex offenders are currently approaching their minimum release dates but will be ineligible for parole because they haven’t yet begun treatment, which can last up to 18 months. Full Article
Read MoreKY: Many ‘sex offenders’ also deserve rights restored (Opinion)
Gov. Beshear’s recent decision to restore voting rights to many felons is an encouraging step toward criminal justice reform. The governor listed a litany of reasons why ‘it makes no sense” to deny opportunities to those seeking to rebuild their lives after serving out their sentences. He cited a key study that those whose rights are restored are less likely to commit another crime. Though this signifies a significant policy shift, I am disappointed that the governor’s executive order did not go far enough. He excluded among others, those who…
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