TN: TBI will soon post animal abuse offenders

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Come January 1, Tennessee will post online a list of animals abusers near you. It will be similar to a sex offender registry, and Tennessee will be the first to have a statewide site. “Her hind legs were put into a pot of water. Boiling water,” said Cindy Marx-Sanders as she held Molly the chihuahua. Molly was rescued from an abusive home. “She is exactly why we need an animal abuser registry,” Marx-Sanders said. Full Article

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TN: Pedophile Panic at the Salvation Army – No Teen Boys Allowed, Too Dangerous

When it comes to helping families in need, the Salvation Army turns a cold shoulder to one class of people: Teenage boys. A family in Johnson City, TN, found this out recently when, on a freezing cold night, they asked the organization for shelter. But because their family of five contained a 15-year-old boy, they were turned down. As the dad, Tim Lejeune, explained to WMC Action News 5: “They said he’s too old to stay on the women’s side, because of the women running around in their pajamas and they…

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TN: Kingsport police gets OK to set up sex offender community alert system

A new Tennessee law has paved the way for municipalities to establish their own sexual offender notification system. And the Kingsport Police Department wasted no time getting to work. … The state legislature passed the bill in April that allows local municipalities to create a sex offender notification system – and charge sex offenders a $50 fee to fund that system. This, on top of the $150 fee they must already pay to register as a sex offender. Full Article

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TN: Man spent 11 years in prison for rape he didn’t commit

NASHVILLE — ____ ____ didn’t rape that 12-year-old girl in March 1999. It’s a truth he bore for 11 years and three months in a Tennessee prison cell. Few believed him until DNA evidence in 2008 proved he didn’t sexually assault a preteen neighbor. Three more years passed before he was released from prison — and even then he still faced being tried on the charges all over again. But April 4, in light of the DNA evidence and a wavering victim, prosecutors in Marshall County finally dropped all charges. Full Article

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TN: Sex Offender Notification Bill Advances In Tennessee Legislature

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn.(WHNT)-A push for tougher sex offender notification laws in Tennessee came one step closer to reality Tuesday, part of an ongoing effort that originated in Lincoln County several months ago. A committee in the Tennessee Legislature approved HB 1860, a bill that would allow municipal and county governments to mail written notices and post flyers in communities that convicted sex offenders move to. … “This gives parents the knowledge of who is in their community,” said Blackwelder. “It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime…In this bill there is an additional…

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Op Ed: Tennessee Rep. Wants to Print “Sex Offender” in Red on Every Sex Offender’s Driver’s License

Matthew Hill, a Tennessee state representative who ran for office with an image of a fetus on his campaign fliers, has entertained the notion that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, and previously proposed legislation to force Tennesseans to exclusively speak English while at work, has got another bright idea. Hill is sponsoring a bill that would print the words sex offender—in three places, and in red lettering—on the driver’s licenses of everyone listed on the sex-offender registry in the state. Hill says that he was moved to support the legislation after…

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TN: Bill would place ‘sex offender’ on convicted offender’s license

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Should sex offenders have the status marked on their driver’s license in Tennessee? The idea received a good bit of debate Wednesday on Capitol Hill. A new bill would require the words “sex offender” to be stamped on a convicted offender’s driver’s license in red three times. It would increase state expenditures one time by $150,000. Full Article

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