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.
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Janice's Journal
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How a suicidal pizza man found himself ensnared in an FBI sting
This isn't a story about the police stings that we are all too familiar with. But it is another example of how the FBI goes too far with sting operations. This is based on a story on CNN.com back in 2017 Every day was the same for Rayyan, 21, a depressed pizza delivery man from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Working for a pizzeria in Detroit,...
CO: Supreme Court exempts people listed on registry from key 2019 decision
Ruling in 2019 prohibits sentencing defendants to prison followed by probation in same criminal case The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday exempted people with a sex offense conviction from a key 2019 decision that prohibited defendants from being sentenced to prison followed by probation in the same criminal case. People with a sex offense conviction in Colorado can face such punishment in some circumstances,...
The Punishment Economy: Winners and Losers in the Business of Mass Incarceration
Source: prisonlegalnews.org 5/1/21 by Daniel A. Rosen “This is an industry that profits from human suffering.” —David Fathi, Director, ACLU’s National Prison Project Starting with math may be a bad idea, but numbers help tell this story: In Virginia, keeping the average prisoner behind bars costs taxpayers about $30,000 per year; in some states like New York or California it’s twice that much. Prisoners...
MD: Who is Meredith Martin? Ex-teacher acquitted of sex abuse after student lied
Source: meaww.com 6/15/21 ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND: A former Arundel County, Maryland, high school teacher, has been acquitted of charges of having sex with a student after it was found that the victim who made the allegations lied years ago while under oath in court. Meredith Susan Barry Martin, 39, who was also a former biology teacher at South River High School, was found not guilty of...
Trinidad and Tobago: AG proposes two registries for people with a sex offense
UPDATED 6/16/21: T&T Senate approves law to allow public to access sex offender website [radiojamaicanewsonline.com - 6/16/21] Source: newsday.co.tt 6/16/21 The Attorney General has proposed 22 amendments to the Act to amend the Sexual Offences Act, Chap. 11:28. Chief among these are the creation of two registers of people with a sexual offense. Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, AG Faris Al-Rawi said the...
MT: Advocates not thrilled with new law to compensate wrongfully imprisoned
Source: kbzk.com 6/15/21 HELENA — Montanans who spent years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit now have a new path to get compensation for being wrongfully locked away – but those who fought for the law are less-than-thrilled about the final product. “I really feel like it got stolen away at the end,” said Cody Marble of Conrad, who was exonerated in 2017...
NARSOL – Advocacy Tool Kit on June 19
NARSOL's educational and inspiring webcast will be this Saturday, June 19th, from 8:00 AM until 3:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST). Be sure to sign up today and take advantage of this opportunity to learn about building your advocacy toolkit from experienced civil rights advocates. Then hear from two seasoned state legislators who will help us better understand the lawmaking process and which lobbying strategies work...
CA: Root and Rebound Re-Entry Events June-July
Source (sign up here): Root and Rebound 6/15/21 Root and Rebound is offering these useful events in California: FREE Virtual Reentry Legal Clinics July 13 - 15th, 2021 | 2 - 7 p.m. PT Open to Merced, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Mendocino, Lake, Del Norte, and Humboldt county residents Voices for Justice: On Tribal Justice See below for a recording of our most recent Tribal Justice event Liberation Celebration: A Juneteenth Community...
LA: Special IDs for people with a sex offense conviction: Safety Measures or Scarlet Letters?
Source: nytimes.com 6/15/21 Judge Patrick L. Michot, of the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, La., said the notation was “not the least restrictive way to further the state’s legitimate interest of notifying law enforcement.” “It could be accomplished in the same way that some other states utilize,” he said. “Louisiana could use more discreet labels in the form of codes that are known...
CA: Public Defender Offices Available to Assist Registrants Petition for Removal
Twenty public defender offices have made resources available to help registrants petition for removal from the registry. Below is a link to a list of those offices. Missing from the list is Los Angeles County, however, both San Diego and San Francisco counties are included on the list. Click here to see the list. This will also be available in the Resources menu
Emily Horowitz on the Failure of the Sex Offense Registry (Audio)
The Unspeakable Podcast w/Meghan Daum 6/13/2021 One sure way to lose a popularity contest is to fight for the rights of people convicted of a sex offense. But The National Sex Offense Registry, which was established during an era of panic over crime and child danger, has come with a host of unintended consequences. Sociologist Emily Horowitz is one of a handful of academics...
CT: New CT Laws: Weapons, Underwater Farms And The ‘Clean Slate’ Bill
Source: patch.com 6/13/21 CONNECTICUT —The state's General Assembly 2021 Regular Session adjourned June 9, but promised to convene a special session before the end of the month to tackle the legal marijuana bill. Will it pass? That's still a coin-toss, but a number of bills have made their way out of the House and Senate and onto Gov. Ned Lamont's desk, where they were...
ACSOL Phone Meeting July 10, 2021
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next phone meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, July 10, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time and will last at least two hours. This meeting will be recorded and then posted as an audio recording within 24 hours....
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TX: Man sentenced to 40 years in prison for failing to register
[Source: click2houston.com - 6/10/21] GALVESTON, Texas – A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by a Galveston County jury after he failed to register on the sex offense registry, according to the Galveston County Criminal District Attorney. Thomas Lee Alexander, III was required to register with local law enforcement because of a 1995 conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in...
CA: 25 suspected child predators arrested in Riverside following month-long operation
[Source: foxla.com - 6/9/21] RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Twenty-five suspected child predators were arrested in Riverside County following a month-long operation combatting human trafficking. "Operation Intercept," conducted by the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team (RCCET) in partnership with the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking, was a proactive undercover enforcement operation with the intent to locate possible sexual predators who actively look for minors on social media...
Retired Army major general demoted for sex crime conviction
[Source: wtop.com - 6/8/21] WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secretary of Defense has reduced a retired Army major general to the rank of second lieutenant after his guilty plea in Virginia in 2020 to charges of rape and incest. The Army Times reports Pentagon spokeswoman Lisa Lawrence says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demoted Maj. Gen. James J. Grazioplene to second lieutenant after determining that second...
FL: Martin County deputies arrest multiple people listed on the registry for altering their driver’s licenses
[Source: wptv.com - 6/9/21] STUART, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office is warning business owners to be on the lookout for doctored driver's licenses when hiring potential employees. "So, on his license, apparently there is supposed to be something that states that he's a "sexual predator" or something on his license and his has like a cigarette burn there," said Hillary Hughes. Hughes...
South Carolina Supreme Court Declares Lifetime Registration Without Court Assessment to be Unconstitutional
[ACSOL] The Supreme Court of South Carolina issued a decision today that declared unconstitutional lifetime registration in that state because the state does not provide registrants "any opportunity for judicial review to assess the risk of re-offending." Specifically, the Court ruled that lifetime registration violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. "Because of this decision, registrants in South Carolina will no longer...
American Law Institute Adopts Revisions to Model Penal Code That Include Major Changes to Sex Offense Registries
[Ira Ellman of ACSOL - 6/9/21, UPDATED 6/11/21] On June 8, 2021 the membership of the American Law Institute gave its final approval to a revision of the Model Penal Code’s chapter on Sexual Assault and Related Offenses. This project was initially authorized by the ALI Council in 2012. The appointed Reporters, Professors Stephen Schulhofer and Erin Murphy of the New York University School...
FL: Palm Coast man kills self outside courthouse before he was to be sentenced for CP
[Source: news-journalonline.com - 6/9/21] A Palm Coast man drove to the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell on Tuesday morning to be sentenced to 3½ years in prison on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. But instead of walking into the courthouse, Mario ___, 47, remained in his truck and apparently shot himself to death outside the courthouse, according to a release from...