The use of actuarial risk assessment instruments to predict violence is becoming more and more central to forensic psychology practice. And clinicians and courts rely on published data to establish that the tools live up to their claims of accurately separating high-risk from low-risk offenders. But as it turns out, the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments such as the Static-99 and the VRAG depends in part on the researcher’s connection to the instrument in question. Published studies authored by tool designers reported predictive validity findings around two times higher…
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Missouri Sex Offenders: “Women Against Registry” Says Labels Unfairly Destroy Lives
Next week, in addition to an intense showdown on controversial gun legislation, Missouri lawmakers will have an opportunity to enact a bill that would remove hundreds of sex offenders from the state’s online registry. In order to implement this proposal, lawmakers must override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto and go against the recommendations of St. Louis law-enforcement officials, victims’ rights advocates and other stakeholders. Supporters of the bill — which would allow some in the state to lose the permanent sex-offender label — are now organizing in favor of the proposal,…
Read MoreMI: Registrant in Macomb County stopped from leaving country
A convicted Macomb County child molester was stopped last week at an airport in his attempt to fly to Europe in celebration of his 25th wedding anniversary because he failed to notify operators of the sex offender registry. ____ ____, 61, of Southfield, was arrested Aug. 28 by Michigan State Police minutes before he and his wife were to board a Delta flight at Detroit Metropolitan Airport headed for Amsterdam, and ultimately to Prague. He was to return Sept. 9. “He said they were going on a 25th wedding anniversary…
Read MorePolice Shoot Man While Trying to Serve Warrant in Lewd Conduct Case
A man under investigation by Irvine police for lewd conduct with a child was shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Tuesday. “Detectives were here preparing to serve a search warrant when they contacted the suspect in the parking lot,” Irvine Police Department Lt. Julia Engen said. An officer-involved shooting occurred a short time later, according to Engen. “The subject they were here to interview for their investigation was shot,” Engen said. Full Article
Read MoreMO: High court mulls sex offender and gun laws
The Missouri Supreme Court considered Tuesday how to apply laws making it illegal for sex offenders to be near parks and for felons to possess a gun when their initial offense occurred before the restrictions were created. At issue before the high court in five separate cases was part of the Missouri Constitution prohibiting retrospective and ex post facto laws.In each case, defendants faced prosecution after running afoul of a law that applied to them because of a previous criminal conviction. A judge dismissed a charge in four cases, while…
Read MoreRSOL Conference Recap
Advocates and supporters of reforming sex offender laws from throughout the nation converged on its second largest city over the Labor Day holiday weekend to participate in RSOL’s sixth national conference, “Justice for All.” From the evening of Thursday, August 29, through the late morning of Sunday, September 1, the City of Angels played host to the living angels of a cause deeply rooted in the hope for justice and constitutional freedom for more than 700,000 American citizens who populate the country’s myriad registration schemes from coast-to-coast. Organized with increased…
Read MoreHRW: Raised on the Registry – Brandon’s Story
Brandon and his wife, Marguerite, sat on the couch across from me in their dimly lit one-bedroom apartment in Bryan, Texas. Brandon looked down at his hands, resting in his lap, as he told me his story. He was 11 years old when he was charged with sexually touching a 7-year-old playmate. She was a family friend and one of a group of children Brandon’s two teenage sisters were watching while their parents were out to dinner. A few days later, the police investigation began. Despite his age, Brandon was…
Read MoreSupervisors want to get tougher on men who seek underage prostitutes
Trying to curb the number of men who pay to have sex with children, Los Angeles County leaders Tuesday urged state lawmakers to toughen penalties for men who seek out underage prostitutes. The resolution approved unanimously by the county Board of Supervisors calls for “johns” to face felony rather than misdemeanor charges, to be required to register as sex offenders and to pay higher fines. Full Article Also: The ‘repugnant, vile truth’ about sex trafficking in L.A. County
Read MoreMD: Registered sex offender beaten to death in Reservoir Hill
BALTIMORE —The Labor Day weekend in Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill ended with the beating of a 52-year-old man on the street in full daylight. The man — who the 11 News I-Team has learned is a registered sex offender — later died. A witness said an orange traffic cone was used as a weapon. The attackers seemed to be carrying out instant street justice with their target claiming he’d done nothing wrong. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments September 2013
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of September 2013. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreAmerican violence is higher than you think
…the figures that suggest that violence has been disappearing in the United States contain a blind spot so large that to cite them uncritically, as the major papers do, is to collude in an epic con. Uncounted in the official tallies are the hundreds of thousands of crimes that take place in the country’s prison system, a vast and growing residential network whose forsaken tenants increasingly bear the brunt of America’s propensity for anger and violence. Full Article
Read MoreHome Compliance Checks
Please post all comments or questions regarding residential compliance checks here…
Read MoreNC: Social networking ban for NC sex offenders remains in effect
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Supreme Court has granted a stay to keep a state law that bans sex offenders from using social networking websites in effect. Attorney General Roy Cooper requested the stay after a Court of Appeals ruling last week ruled the law unconstitutional because it is vague and violates free speech. Full Article
Read MoreNew research finds forensic experts play for pay (Video)
Daniel Murrie of the University of Virginia and Marcus Boccaccini at Sam Houston State University presented new research in the Aug. 28, 2013, issue of the journal Psychological Science that indicates that forensic psychologists and psychiatrists provide the group that is paying them for their testimony with the evidence that group, prosecution or defense, expects to be best for their case. Full Article
Read MoreRadio: Coalinga State Hospital News
Stories from men being confined against their will because they *may* commit future crimes. Topics: sex offender laws, pre-crime commitment, CA prison system, civil commitment, civil rights. Link
Read MoreCA RSOL Meetings – September 14 in LA and October 12 in Berkeley
California RSOL is pleased to announce two upcoming monthly meetings for registrants, friends and family in both regions of the Golden State. The Southern California meeting will be held on Saturday, September 14 at the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street in Los Angeles (usual location). CA RSOL will hold a meeting in Northern California on Saturday, October 12, in Oakland / Berkeley. The address is Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, ***1606 Bonita Avenue***, Berkeley, CA 94709. *** Please note: an incorrect address was listed previously for the Berkeley meeting…
Read MoreI, Pedophile
Child pornography should end. As an ex-convict, I ask: Is prison the most effective way to address demand? It was shortly before 3:00 a.m. on May 30, 2012 when I turned off my computer for the last time. I slid my recliner over three feet and tucked myself into my bed, for another sleepless session of self-loathing and self-pity. Later that morning, I would not be at my friends’ home as I had planned to help them celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Instead, I would find myself sitting on the hard…
Read MoreMasha Allen Lawsuit: Child Porn Victim Sues Viewers For $150K Apiece
PHILADELPHIA — A child pornography victim from Pennsylvania is using a law that carries her name to seek at least $150,000 each from her father, 13 other jailed men and anyone else who viewed explicit images of her. “Masha’s Law” is named for Masha ____, a Russian orphan adopted at age 5 by divorced Pittsburgh-area millionaire ____ ____. He’s in prison for making and posting about 200 sexually explicit images of her that authorities believe have been viewed millions of times online. Full Article
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