The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) is dedicated to protecting the Constitution by restoring the civil rights of registrants and their families. In order to achieve that objective, ACSOL will educate and litigate as well as support or oppose legislation. The ACSOL website and recordings are provided as a service to registrants, registrants’ families, and others for general information only. The information on the website and in the recordings are not designed to provide legal or other advice or to create an attorney-client relationship. You should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on their content. Prior results and case studies do not guarantee a similar outcome in future representations. ACSOL accepts no responsibility for any loss or damages that may result from accessing or reliance on content on the ACSOL website and recordings and disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability with respect to acts or omissions made by registrants, registrants’ families and others on the basis of content on the ACSOL website.
Important News / Announcements
Janice's Journal
General News Feed
WA: HB 1282 Will Allow All People Convicted of a Felony to Earn Up to 33% Off Their Sentence
[Washington Voices - wavoices.org - 2/7/21] Dear Friends, This Thursday, February 11, at 1:30 pm, the House Committee on Public Safety will vote on HB 1282. If this bill becomes law, all people convicted of a felony will have an opportunity to earn up to 33% off of their sentence. Currently, people convicted of a sex offense can earn a maximum of 10% off...
MN: Sex offenders at Moose Lake end 14-day hunger strike after reaching deal with state officials
[bringmethenews.com - 2/5/21] A group of men at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program's Moose Lake facility have ended their hunger strike after nearly two weeks. The group went on strike Jan. 21, demanding a "clear path" for release from the program, which has facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter, where "treatment is a death sentence" because despite serving their prison sentences, they're remanded...
FL: Bill Preventing Registered Sex Offenders, Predators From Having Time-Sharing With Minor Child Advances
[wmfe.org 2/4/21] Legislation making its way through the House would prevent parents registered as a sex offender or predator from being granted time-sharing with their child. The legislation is sponsored by Daytona Beach Republican Representative Thomas Leek. “I believe that if you are a convicted sexual predator or a sexual offender of a minor while you are an adult the presumption should be that...
International Travel 2021
This post is intended as a place for discussions about International Travel ONLY. For more information and previous discussions on the topic, please see International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019. In this International Travel 2021 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2020 post. We added a new post for 2021 in order to keep the discussion manageable. Please help us by...
West Covina Repeals Residency Restrictions
[ACSOL] The City of West Covina, located in Los Angeles County, has repealed its residency restrictions which prohibited registrants from living within most of the city. The repeal took place on February 2 during a regularly scheduled meeting of the West Covina City Council. "We commend the City of West Covina for repealing its residency restrictions," stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "Registrants and...
Pakistan approves public hanging of child sexual abusers
[dailypakistan.com.pk - 2/3/21] ISLAMABAD – The Senate Standing Committee on Tuesday passed two bills to seek public hanging of sexual abuse convicts, and penalties for the desecration of human corpses. The Criminal Laws Amendment Bill, 2020, was moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Javed Abbasi. The bill seeks to conduct the trial of sexual offenses against children, and set a time frame of...
Action Alert: Sign the Petition Supporting Poetry Magazine
[theguardian.com - 2/3/21] The prestigious Poetry Magazine, publishing since 1912, has been under attack for publishing a poem written by a man currently in prison for a sex offense. Please show your support for Poetry Magazine by adding your name to this petition. Here’s the story: The magazine published the poem in an issue focusing on work by “currently and formerly incarcerated people”, their...
General Comments February 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of February 2021. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
MN: High Court Weighs Boundaries of Sex Offender Self-Incrimination
The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in the case of a man who claims sex-offense confessions made to his probation officer as part of a court-mandated program are protected by the Fifth Amendment. Full Article
New Zealand considers striking down civil commitment: Human rights test case for post-sentence detention and restrictions
[stuff.co.nz - 2/2/21] A public safety law potentially amounting to a life sentence, was double-punishment for past crimes, the Court of Appeal has been told. A rare “full bench” of five judges was hearing a test case on Tuesday about the rights of mostly sex offenders who had finished their sentences but were still subject to restrictions, including three detained on prison grounds indefinitely...
IA: Arizona man who threatened Iowa lawmakers sentenced
[ap.org - 2/1/21] DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man who threatened to shoot Iowa lawmakers over his frustration with a failed attempt to change Iowa’s sex offender registry law has been sentenced to five years in prison. ____, also identified as ____ in court records, was sentenced Friday in Des Moines’ federal court, the Des Moines Register reported. ____was arrested in December...
FL: Florida amendment would halt min. wage increase for ex-felons
[wfla.com - 1/31/21] PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes introduced an amendment this past week that would reduce the eventual $15 minimum wage rate for ex-felons and workers under 21. Floridians voted back in November to gradually increase in the state’s minimum wage from $8.56 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. Supporters of the amendment had said it...
Janice’s Journal: Tiered Registry Law and Its Early Implementation Significantly Flawed
The Tiered Registry Law, passed in 2017, became effective this month more than three years after it became law. During that long period of time, more than 100,000 people convicted of a sex offense closely watched as the California state government slowly released information regarding the law’s implementation. One positive step in the implementation process was the public release of draft forms that registrants...
AZ: Bowers revives sex offender registry bill HB2674
[azmirror.com - 1/28/21 House Speaker Rusty Bowers is taking another shot at passing legislation making it easier for some people to get their names off the state’s sex offender registry. House Bill 2674 would give some relatively low-level offenders an opportunity to end their lifetime obligation to register as sex offenders. People convicted of crimes including sexual abuse of a minor who is at...
UK: Sex offender driven out of village by people chanting ‘paedophile’ at him
[devonlive.com - 1/28/21] A sex offender was driven out of his village after residents started chanted ‘paedophile’ at him, a court heard. _____, aged 31, moved out of the small community near Totnes once locals found out about his past. ... Mr Murray said: “He moved out of the small village of Harbertford when his history became known, people would chant ‘paedophile, paedophile’.” The...
VA: Virginia lawmakers squash repeal of civil commitment law
[13newsnow.com - 1/28/21] RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers have squashed a proposal to repeal a decades-old Virginia law that allows the state to hold certain sex offenders at a psychiatric facility after they complete their criminal sentences. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to send the bill to the Virginia State Crime Commission for a study, ending its chances of being...
MD: Maryland mom fighting to create tougher laws against child sex predators (HB531 and SB333)
[wjla.com - 1/28/21] A Maryland mom is back at it in Annapolis at the State House next week working to create tougher penalties for child sex abusers. Annie Kenny is fighting to pass the Sex Offender - Lifetime Supervision bill. The 2021 versions are HB531 and SB333. We first told you about Kenny in 2019. Mom wants Maryland sex offender laws changed to better...
FL: Congratulations Derek! Florida Supreme Court WIN
[floridaactioncommittee.org - 1/27/21] That’s it. The Florida Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of Derek Logue and against Senator Lauren Book, declining to hear the case and stating that no motions for rehearing will be entertained. Today was a great day for the First Amendment and an individual’s right to peacefully petition and protest against politicians. Lauren Book and Derek Logue are on...
A Conversation with Judith Levine and Emily Horowitz (Zoom Event on Feb 5)
[St. Francis College, Brooklyn] Join Judith Levine and Emily Horowitz for a conversation about Judith’s new book THE FEMINIST AND THE SEX OFFENDER (Verso, 2020). February 5, 2021 @ 8:10am-9:10am Pacific Time via Zoom Event sponsored by the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at St. Francis College Read more about this and sign-up here (required to attend) At the heart of the conspiracy...
Dion Harrell, an innocent Long Branch man who was sent to prison, dies at 53
[app.com - 1/23/21] Dion Harrell, who spent 28 years trying to prove he was an innocent man after a 1992 conviction for rape, has died at the age of 53. “We are saddened to share that our client Dion Harrell, 53, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 15 in Long Branch,” the Innocence Project announced on its website. The cause of death was not released....