[chicago.suntimes.com – 3/25/21] The state’s job is to balance the needs and rights of… [people with a prior conviction] …with those of all others. A single building in Englewood, a neighborhood with plenty of struggles, has been home to not one or two or even three… [people listed on the registry] …— but to literally dozens. That strange and — for most Americans — troubling fact came to light recently when people in the neighborhood became aware of, and objected strongly, to one man in particular who had moved into…
Read MoreTag: Residency Restrictions
NY: Sex offenders can be detained after sentences completed
New York’s top court upheld a law Monday that allows the state to keep sex offenders confined under some circumstances even after they have completed their sentences. In three decisions handed down Monday, the state Court of Appeals said the law didn’t violate due process guarantees, and did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Full Article
Read MoreNE: Homeowner Association Seeking Injunction Against Sex Offender Residency
A Beatrice homeowners association is seeking a judge’s order that would prevent a convicted sex offender from residing in their neighborhood. Full Article
Read MoreGA: New bill would bar sex offenders from living near their victims
A new bill in the state Legislature would ban registered sex offenders in Georgia from living within 2,000 feet of their victims or their victims’ immediate family. Full Article
Read MoreMN: What’s the Deal with Hibbing’s Sex Offender Population
HIBBING — ”Why are so many sexual offenders moving here?” If you think there is a compounding number of registered sex offenders moving to Hibbing, you’re not alone. There is a common pattern that emerges each time law enforcement notifies the public that a person with a level 3 sexual offense is relocating to the city: concerned community members share online posts to raise awareness and comment, wanting to know why “so many” are coming here. Others wonder aloud if the city or police department somehow benefit. After all, it…
Read MoreCA: How Whittier mayor, City Council candidates would solve the homeless crisis
For more than a year, Whittier’s political leaders have been wrestling with how to handle the local homeless crisis, which has seen the development of three encampments. Two of those encampments have been cleared, but the debate rages on. With a March 3 election date set, voters will get an opportunity to say how well the city is doing managing the issue and whether new faces — and ideas — are needed. … Challenger I.L. Leon Savage, an accounting bookkeeper, would remove sex offenders from their homes to create space…
Read MoreCA: Sex offenders can’t live near Fresno schools. This lawsuit says that’s unconstitutional UPDATED
UPDATE:Janice Bellucci was asked this morning to participate today (Wednesday, 1/22) in a live radio interview on a radio station in Fresno, the Broeske & Musson Show, on KMJ. which can be found online or at 580 AM. The show will begin right after the 10 a.m. news and could continue until 11 a.m. Please call in if you can. (See comment below) Fresno County’s policy that keeps sex offenders from living within 3,000 feet of places like parks and schools is unconstitutional, according to an attorney suing the county…
Read MoreWI: WISCONSIN CAME CLOSE TO CHANGING A RULE THAT OFTEN LEAVES PEOPLE ON SEX OFFENSE REGISTRIES HOMELESS
Republicans are leading an effort to get rid of blanket restrictions on where some people with sex-offense records can live. A Democratic governor is blocking them. Full Article
Read MoreAR: Sex-offender housing laws raise hitch
Legislators have passed several laws over the past couple of decades that limit where sex offenders can live in hopes of keeping communities safe, but some state officials say such laws often impede registrants from successful rehabilitation. Arkansas prison officials say they must figure out a better way of housing sex offenders released from prison because a growing number of them are homeless and tracking them has become a national concern. “They have to go somewhere,” said Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Community Correction. “The community reaction to sex…
Read MoreNY: Pushed Out and Locked In – The Catch-22 for Disabled, Homeless, Sex-Offender Registrants
Across New York, people are incarcerated for weeks, months, and even years after their prison release dates. These individuals are not confined for violating prison disciplinary rules or committing new crimes. New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) detains them, instead, because they are homeless. DOCCS refuses to release prisoners to community supervision without an approved address. But for prisoners required to register as “sex offenders,” finding housing means navigating a web of restrictions that are levied exclusively on people convicted of sex crimes and that dramatically constrain…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade uproots sex offender camp yet again. Does harsh law really make public safer?
The latest eviction order came earlier this month: Some 70 paroled child sex offenders, now living in a flimsy village of tents, cardboard boxes and rusty campers in an industrial zone just east of Miami International Airport, were told they had to find a new home — yet again. Full Article
Read MoreSan Diego To Enter Settlement Talks In Sex Offender Residency Lawsuit
San Diego City Council members on Tuesday will get their first official update in two years on a lawsuit challenging a city law that restricts where sex offenders can live. In August 2017, council members went against advice from the City Attorney’s Office and refused to repeal an ordinance banning sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and other minor-oriented facilities. The city has not enforced the law since 2009 because of previous challenges to its constitutionality. Full Article
Read MoreCA: City of Lomita Repeals Residency Restrictions
The City of Lomita, which is located in Los Angeles county, has repealed its residency restrictions which prohibited registrants from living permanently or temporarily within 2,000 feet of schools and parks as well as 300 feet from child care centers. As a result of the restrictions, registrants were unable to stay even one night in a hotel or motel in the City of Lomita. The Lomita City Council repealed the city’s residency restrictions during a regularly scheduled meeting on September 3. The repeal will become effective on October 2. “Registrants…
Read MoreFL: More sex offenders arrive so NSB wants to make rules more strict
There are more sex offenders moving to New Smyrna Beach and that has prompted city leaders to consider shrinking the locations where both sexual offenders and sexual predators can legally live. Full Article
Read MoreCO: State and local laws push more registered sex offenders into low-income communities
The laws requiring the names of convicted sex offenders nationwide to be catalogued, and available to the public, bear the names of children sexually assaulted and murdered by predators who had committed sex offenses before. The goal was to prevent the same from happening to other children. The Jacob Wetterling Act. Megan’s Law. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The intent of the laws may be unassailable. But throughout the country, they have largely sequestered sex offenders in low-income neighborhoods. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Wayside residents sue City of Aurora, challenge state’s residency laws for registered sex offenders
The 19 child sex offenders who were told they must leave Wayside Cross Ministries by July 26 have filed a civil federal lawsuit against the city of Aurora, arguing the men should not have to move and challenging the state’s residency laws for registered sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Georgia Law Punishes Registrants, Breaks Up Families
Registrants and their families are suffering in the State of Georgia. The cause of their greatest concern is a state law that prohibits anyone convicted of a sex offense that took place after July 1, 2008, from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of a long list of locations including schools, churches and any place “where children congregate”. As a result of this law, there are thousands of families in Georgia that are already homeless or could become homeless at a moment’s notice. One of those families includes a…
Read MoreCA: Organization protecting sex offenders’ rights continues statewide lawsuit campaign, sues Lompoc
An organization dedicated to protecting the rights of registered sex offenders is ion a campaign to sue cities throughout California with ordinances in place that it believes are unconstitutional. The city of Lompoc is one of the group’s most recent targets. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who is the founder and executive director of Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, and anonymous Lompoc resident John Doe filed a lawsuit against the city in February. According to the complaint, the organization claims the city’s ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live violates state…
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