Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full? It’s a question many have asked when they believe not all of their needs or desires have been met. The answer to that question often depends upon whether the person who asked it is an optimist or a pessimist. I am an optimist and I declare that the glass is half full. That is, the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) has approved two proposed changes identified by the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) and CASOMB plans…
Read MoreTag: registry reform
New Study Finds Registries are Ineffective
A new study, published this month in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, finds that “SORN policies demonstrate no effect on recidivism.” The study is based upon meta-analyses of 18 research articles about 474,640 formerly incarcerated individuals in several states. Read more about the study Download a PDF of the study: The-effectiveness-of-Sex-Offender-Registration-and-Notification-A-meta-analysis-of-25-years-of-findings
Read MoreFL: Letter to the Editor: Sex offender registry issue needs to be addressed
Source: nwfdailynews.com 9/2/21 As a counselor in the state of Florida, I think it’s time to address challenges concerning social media and illegal sex with minors, and the growing number of designated sex offenders in our state (356/100K – total 76,000 in Florida – 800K nationally). All sex offenders are not child molesters. Pedophiles and rapists are. The US Bureau of Justice reports the average age of a sex offender is 14! Policemen, prosecutors, and judges need to stand up against this bad law. It’s the only law that allows continued punishment after sentencing…
Read MoreCT: Changes To Sex Offender Registry Will Be A Tough Sell
Source: ctnewsjunkie.com 8/27/21 Sentencing Commission weighs need for change versus public perception by Lisa BackusAugust 27, 2021, 5:00 am The proposal to move some people off the state’s sex offender registry is going to be a “heavy lift,” according to members of the state Sentencing Commission. But members said it should lead to greater public safety by allowing police to focus on high-risk registrants instead of continually monitoring people who no longer pose a threat. “With the volume of people on the registry, it dilutes their (law enforcement’s) ability to zero…
Read MoreW.A.R. Room Online Presentation Aug 24: Is reform a modern day cliche or the beginning of a tidal wave?
Source: womenagainstregistry.org 8/24/21 My Fellow Warriors, On August 24 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time, we will be celebrating WAR Room #10. It is amazing to witness our growth. The feedback we have received so far is nothing but uplifting accolades. We owe all of this tremendous success to you and to our guest speakers. Click here to pre-Register (required) I’ve been looking forward to WAR Room #10 for quite some time. We are privileged to have justice reform activist Rory Fleming as our guest speaker. Rory will be discussing his…
Read MoreAmerican 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 of Law, began work immediately, preparing drafts for discussion with the appointed project Advisors and the Members’ Consultative Group. As is normal with ALI projects, these…
Read MoreWill Sex Offense Registry Changes be Part of Criminal Justice Reform?
[medium.com/@zilneyl/ – 6/11/20] The killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement has sparked outrage and mass protests across the nation. Calls for police reform have created yet another divide among the American public. As we move toward what will likely be significant changes to the criminal justice system, will individuals on the sex offense registry be included in those reforms? Why So Many Laws? Throughout history the level of outrage associated with various types of criminals has changed, yet the moral disgust directed at sex offenses and…
Read MoreSex, Race, and the Law: Considering America ‘In the Dark’
[thenation.com – 7/18/18] If Childish Gambino’s song “This is America” and Boots Riley’s film Sorry to Bother You perfectly distill the absurd comedy and violent hell of the United States circa 2018, then Madeleine Baran’s In the Dark does the same in podcast form. The audio-documentary series dropped the haunting final episode of its second season earlier this month, and, like Donald Glover’s and Riley’s works, Baran’s opus lays bare the nexus of racial anxiety, guns, criminal “justice,” and capitalism in our nation. In the Dark is produced by APM…
Read MoreMI: Courts deemed Michigan’s sex offender registry unconstitutional. Two years later, nothing’s changed
[michiganradio.org – 7/14/18] The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the state of Michigan over its handling of the state’s sex offender registry. In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court ruled that aspects of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, SORA, were unconstitutional. The court’s opinion specifically noted portions of the act which allowed the state to retroactively impose punishments on individuals without due process. The state of Michigan appealed the circuit court’s ruling, sending Does vs Snyder to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October 2017, the Supreme Court decided not to…
Read MoreCT: Lawmakers Missed an Opportunity to Reform Sex-Offender Registry
[law.com – 6/28/18] Two years ago, the Connecticut Legislature held hearings on a variety of bills that would have modified the state’s sex offender registry. Rather than adopt any change, because of the complexities of our sex offender laws the Legislature asked the state Sentencing Commission to study the effectiveness of the current sex offender registration requirements. The commission was to report back by 2018. Under current law, when sex offenders have served their sentences and are released into the community, they must register on a public sex offender registry.…
Read MoreCA: California moving to “evidenced based” policies for Sex Offenders
[UPDATED LINKS 6/23/18] [floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/21/18] California, which has the largest sex offender registry in the US, has been taking steps in the right direction over the past couple of years. The State recently migrated towards a “tiered” system that would allow some registrants (those deemed “lower” risk to re-offend) to be removed from the registry eventually. While the plan wasn’t perfect, because it tiered people based on offenses rather than actual risk, California is now seeking to enact a new bill to help them introduce empirical evidence into their…
Read MoreMI: Unexpected comments from a prosecutor
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/6/18] Ingham County (Michigan) Prosecutor Carol A. Siemon, issued a statement concerning the sentencing of former Michigan State football players in connection with a sexual offense. Below is an excerpt from her statement, quoted directly: The sex offender registry is a blunt instrument that I believe needs to be reformed and streamlined so that law enforcement can make better use of the information. It would be more effective as a law enforcement tool to keep the public safe if it targeted the cases that are most likely to…
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