7-31-2009 National:
Security issues prove difficult
The Defense Department is considering banning Twitter, Facebook and other social-networking sites for security reasons.
Wired's Danger Room blog reported that the reason for the latest proposed ban is that the sites may give hackers easy access to military networks.
“The mechanisms for social networking were never designed for security and filtering," said an unnamed source at U.S. Strategic Command in the blog entry. "They make it way too easy for people with bad intentions to push malicious code to unsuspecting users. It’s just a fact of life."
Strategic Command has asked the rest of the military for feedback on a social-media ban, Wired's blog reported.
“The answer is somewhere between” full access and a total bad, said DOD spokesman Bryan Whitman, quoted in a Navy Times article. “We’re working through this challenge of how do we operate in this environment — because these are important communication tools — and at the same time, provide the necessary protection to our systems [and] ensure the necessary operational security and private security concerns that any organization would have.”
The potential ban comes at a time when the DOD has overcome some of its initial reluctance and begun to embrace social media. The Armed Forces Press Services reports that the Army, for just one example, has been using MySpace effectively for recruiting. ..Source.. by Defense Systems
July 31, 2009
DOD may ban Twitter, Facebook, other social media
UT- Opinion: Should Utah Banish Sex Offenders?
Here is something written by someone who clearly does not know the differences between "banishment" and "Residency Laws" or any other sex offender laws. Is this the typical uneducated person in society?
7-31-2009 Utah:
Within one mile of almost any home, a sexual predator is residing. From Ogden to Provo, convicted sex offenders roam free. Many are looking for more victims. Do they live in your neighborhood?
They lurk in the malls and walk around in parks. Worst of all, some of them live within walking distance of schools.
Utah law requires all convicted sex offenders to check in with the Department of Corrections. For the rest of their lives, they are required to document their residence, and are required to notify the department of a change of address. Failure to comply is a Class A misdemeanor or 3rd degree felony, depending on prior conviction.
If a child is abducted, authorities activate the Amber Plan, which notifies citizens via radio, television, even business and electronic road signs. Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T.) units around the state go to local sex offenders and do a thorough check of their property and vehicles for signs of the missing child.
"The problem is," says a source inside law enforcement, "is there are not enough resources to ensure the offenders are where they claim to be. Many give fake addresses, knowing the chances of being caught are slim. Others move with no notification, making C.A.R.T.'s job more difficult."
Three out of four missing children die within three hours.
Since 2005, Florida has passed a series of laws to keep registered sex offenders at least 2,500 feet from places children gather, such as schools and playgrounds. Following these ordinances has led to the criminals living under a bridge in Miami.
During the day, many leave to visit family or find work. Most of the approximately 70 inmates are required to wear ankle monitors so the authorities can track their whereabouts. At night they return,and congregate in makeshift homes.
These laws are currently being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union. The A.C.L.U. argues the restrictions can and will cause sex offenders to commit more crimes.
Should Utah adopt a similar policy? Would that increase safety of Utah's children? Should a predator's health and well-being matter when compared to the safety of the ones they have prey upon? ..Source.. by Michael Ramos
FL- Causeway dwellers prefer to stay
7-31-2009 Florida:
The sex offenders who have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for three years are now reluctant to leave despite their deplorable existence.
Three years ago, few cared about the ragtag outcasts living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
Now, two lawsuits and a groundswell of national media coverage later, potential housing options for the convicted sex offenders are being negotiated among state and local officials, with legal challenges poised to fly through the courts. Even Gov. Charlie Crist has pledged to do his part to find a resolution.
But there is just one snag no one seemed to see coming: The sex offenders themselves are reluctant to leave their ramshackle abodes, no matter how deplorable their isolated existence has become.
Ron Book -- chairman of Miami-Dade's Homeless Trust and a victim's right's advocate -- is nevertheless marching forward on a mission to relocate the very people he once pledged to ostracize.
He has up to 18 possible units ready for them to move into and more to investigate.
But the causeway community isn't budging, at least for now.
``I guess they're trying to move us out of here because they're worried about the lawsuit,'' said Rickie, 24, who gave only his first name because he did not want it widely known that he lives under the causeway.
``I'd rather stay here. This where they put me in the first place.''
Book cited two obstacles: Many don't want to move into far south Miami-Dade County, while others have bought into a rumor that they may benefit financially from legal challenges brought recently on their behalf.
Two officials from the state Department of Corrections visited the encampment Thursday afternoon to offer another list of possible housing sites, Book said. They also spoke with some of the residents.
``They [state officials] were interested in the rumor that some of them don't want to go because they think they are going to miss some kind of a payday,'' Book said.
He theorized they may believe they stand to win money from a lawsuit brought on behalf of two causeway dwellers against Miami-Dade County earlier this month.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which brought the suit, said it seeks no monetary damages, so while the bridge dwellers won't benefit financially, they will benefit from changes in the residency ordinances if the lawsuit is successful.
``I don't want to depend on a lawsuit,'' said Troy Dumas, 32, who has been living in the camp for three months.
``I want to be with my family. No amount of money can take that away from me.''
The latest legal volley came Thursday, when Miami-Dade County filed a motion in Circuit Court that will move the case more swiftly through the courts. In the suit, the ACLU argues that the state law designating that sex offenders live more than 1,000 feet from where children congregate should supersede the county's ordinance, which prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school.
The 2,500-foot law, which has been expanded in other counties and cities to include playgrounds, parks, child-care centers and a myriad of other child-friendly places, has made it impossible for sex offenders to live anywhere, critics say. As a result, the sex offenders often go into hiding where no one can keep track of them.
Essentially, the county is asking the court to rule in the county's favor as a matter of law, based on the presumption that the facts presented in the ACLU's complaint are true.
No matter what the decision, the case will be appealed, said Randall Marshall, legal director of the ACLU. It would then go to the state Third District Court of Appeal.
Neither Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez nor Assistant County Attorney Thomas Logue were available for comment Thursday.
``We should win as a matter of law because the county's ordinance interferes with state law,'' Marshall said, adding that Gov. Crist's long-standing position that local jurisdictions should set their own boundaries ``is basically just wrong.''
The city of Miami, meanwhile, is suing the state, contending the Department of Corrections placed the sex offenders illegally under the bridge in violation of their 2,500-foot ordinance, which they say places them too close to a park. ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN
MI picks up bill to house sex offenders
7-31-2009 Michigan:
Mich. Prisoner ReEntry Initiative behind issue
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - If it weren't for the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative, one sex offender said he would be living in one of the state prisons. Instead, he lives at a Grand Rapids motel.
James, who did not want to provide his last name, stays at the Grand Inn, 3221 Plainfield Ave., NE.
He was convicted of indecent exposure, but after spending 9 1/2 years in prison, was released in October. James attends college, and told 24 Hour News 8 about his attempt to make something of his life.
"Well, I'm going to school, so I can have a business of my own," he said. "Now, I'm trying to move on and put my best foot forward."
Without the help of the state, he wouldn't be able to try, James said.
"What they do, they give us housing, like motels (and) we go out, try to find jobs or try to go to school," he said. "Try to better ourselves.
"I didn't have no place to go to. No family or nothing."
Michigan receives a discounted rate to house multiple sex offenders in hotels. It costs about $18 per night per person.
But the other guests of the hotels are notified of the arrangement. The offenders aren't allowed in the lobby, or anywhere else the guests go, including the pool area or online.
The sex offenders stay in a separate wing, monitored by a video surveillance system.
"This is a blind spot, and this is a blind spot," said Jamie Wilder, the hotel manager at the Grand Inn as she pointed to different spots in the hallway. "So, therefore, rooms like this, being that (they're) not on camera, (we) won't rent to any (criminal sexual conduct) case."
James understands the restrictions he faces.
In addition, he wears a tether when venturing outside motel grounds. He views it as a tool to help, and for society to regain its trust in him.
"I have to rebuild that by staying positive, looking for a job," he said. ..Source.. by WOOD TV
July 30, 2009
PA- Judge's Ruling On Sex Offender Draws Criticism
Finally, a judge that understands the principle of proportionality.
7-30-2009 Pennsylvania:
A judge's ruling on a convicted sex offender in Westmoreland County is drawing harsh criticism.
Judge Richard McCormick refused to impose a stiffer penalty against 56-year-old Thomas Rose of Delmont.
In 2006, 56-year-old Thomas Rose was convicted of luring an undercover agent from the Attorney General's office who he thought was a 12-year-old into a sexual relationship on the internet.
At the time, McCormick threw out the felony conviction and sentenced Rose to probation.
On Monday, McCormick again chose not to give Rose prison time after state appeals court judges ordered that Rose be resentenced on the felony conviction.
Just one day after the resentencing in McCormick's court, Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that he would no longer be prosecuting child predator cases in Westmoreland County.
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck says his office will now file all possible cases against internet child predators.
Judge McCormick did not return a call from KDKA-TV seeking comment. ..Source.. by KDKA2.com
FL- Levenson Shares Expertise in Newsweek Article, Videos
7-30-2009 Florida:
Jill Levenson, associate professor and chair of human services in the College of Arts and Sciences at Lynn, often quoted for her expertise and views on sexual offender residency laws, adds Newsweek to her ever growing list of media hits. (A list of Levenson's Research)
A licensed clinical social worker who got her start 20 years ago as a child protection social worker, she is a nationally known expert on sexual violence and has become a respected authority on, among other things, laws aimed at protecting children while punishing, tracking and rehabilitating sex offenders.
The Newsweek article, and accompanying 2-part video, focuses its piece on a group of sexual offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway as a result of the housing restrictions that have been imposed on them.
Fresh on the heels of her appointment as chair of a sexual offender task force created by Broward County Board of County Commissioners, Levenson was quoted and filmed by Newsweek for her expertise and experience on the subject and who says about the restrictions in the article: "there is no evidence that [they] protect children. In Iowa, for example, there was no reduction in the number of reported sex crimes after the restrictions took effect, she says.”
At the heart of the “other side” of the story is Ron Book of Plantation, Fla., who as a result of his own daughter’s abuse, became a champion of legislation to restrict sexual offenders, especially the local residency law. According to the Newsweek story, he began to reconsider his position and in an interview with a Newsweek reporter in June, he admitted, "I was wrong"--three times. A few days later he had dinner with Levenson.
“Five years ago, I thought of you as a predator sympathizer," he told her. "I didn't see the bigger picture." He concluded the evening by assuring her, "I will be part of the solution."
The issue is on newsstands now. Read the full Newsweek article and watch the videos on Newsweek's website. ..Source.. by Lynn UniversityFL- Strict rule actually hurts public safety
7-30-2009 Florida:
While no one wants a registered sex offender living nearby, they have to live somewhere. Where? The answer in Miami-Dade County is under a causeway.
It turns out the only place in the county where many sex offenders are able to find a place to reside and not run afoul of a highly restrictive residency ordinance is underneath the Julia Tuttle Causeway linking Miami to Miami Beach. Restrictions in Pinellas and elsewhere already are creating clusters of sex offender housing, and the extreme situation in Miami-Dade has even onetime advocates reconsidering their support of a tough residency restriction that is politically popular but practically unworkable.
Law enforcement officials say the best way to monitor sex offenders is by giving them a chance to live legally. Miami-Dade doesn't. In 2005 it passed a ban on sex offenders residing within 2,500 feet of places where children gather. That is far more restrictive than Florida law that sets those limits at 1,000 feet.
As a result, more than 70 resident sex offenders have ended up living in a shantytown under the causeway, frustrating efforts at tracking and intensive supervision. According to Walter McNeil, secretary of the Department of Corrections, there are "no other options for housing" for this population in the county.
This relegation makes it virtually impossible for local sex offenders to follow the conditions of their probation. For instance, the GPS monitors that some sexual offenders are required to wear have to be regularly recharged, but there are no electrical outlets under the causeway.
Politicians love to pass these sorts of housing distance buffer zones. It makes them look tough on criminals, particularly despised sex offenders. Tampa considered a similarly restrictive ordinance last year but didn't pass it after the city attorney told the City Council there would be unintended consequences that jeopardize public safety.
Sex offenders often don't leave the community when they can find no place to legally live. They become homeless or drift aimlessly, making public notification of their whereabouts effectively impossible. And by forcing sex offenders to live in squalor and removing them from the stability of their families, the likelihood increases that they will commit more crimes.
A suit filed earlier this month by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says that Miami-Dade's residency restrictions interfere with the proper operation of Florida's statutory scheme to track and supervise sex offenders. Similar arguments have succeeded elsewhere, including a case involving 2,500-foot residency restrictions in Jacksonville.
Now even Ron Book, a lobbyist who led the fight for the residency restrictions in Miami-Dade after his daughter was victimized, tells Newsweek.com that the residency restriction should be reduced. As chair of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, he is looking for alternative housing for those sexual predators living under the bridge, and he has asked Gov. Charlie Crist for help on a broader statewide solution.
A crisis in Miami-Dade could help produce a more reasonable approach throughout Florida to monitoring sexual predators, restricting their potential homes and protecting children. The most extreme efforts can produce unintended results, and forcing predators to live in groups under a bridge will not make communities safer. ..Source.. A Times Editorial
FL- Prisons ban prisoners from having pen pal ads
7-30-2009 Florida:
MIAMI — In her online profile, Paula Jones says she is 42, "nonjudgmental" and likes fishing, gardening and cuddling. There's a catch, though. Jones' picture shows her in her blue Florida prison uniform. She won't be out until at least 2010.
Her listing is posted on a Web site called WriteAPrisoner.com. She's looking for a pen pal.
"If you're looking for someone genuine and true, I'm looking for you," her profile says. "I'm just a stamp away."
By posting her profile, however, Jones is breaking a rule. Florida officials have banned inmates from having the Match.com-style listings, saying prisoners just create problems for their outside-the-pen pals.
Said by someone who clearly wants to deny inmates their constitutional right of association. Never forget, letters are subject to being read before mailing, and therefore cutting off access to society for these folks is not warranted, and contrary to the penal purpose of reforming inmates.
Other states — Missouri, Montana, Indiana and Pennsylvania — have similar restrictions. Now lawsuits in Florida and elsewhere say the bans are unfair and violate First Amendment rights.
"The public knows when they're writing to these people that they're prisoners," said Randall Berg Jr., a lawyer representing two pen pal groups — including Florida-based WriteAPrisoner.com — that have sued in the state. "Nobody is being duped here."
WriteAPrisoner.com president and owner Adam Lovell says the bulk of the people who use his site to write to inmates are from religious groups, military people stationed overseas and others affected by the prison. Fraud isn't as widespread as Florida corrections officials suggest, he said.
Jones, who is serving time in a women's prison north of Orlando, wrote in a letter to The Associated Press that she's not a danger to potential pen pals. She says she wants someone to write to for emotional support and to be less lonely.
"Not everyone has (ulterior) motives, lies or solicits," wrote Jones, who pleaded guilty to cocaine possession with the intent to sell. "Some of us ... even if it's very few are truly genuine and hope to meet someone good in our life."
But the Florida Department of Corrections doesn't want to take any chances. In 2003, the department changed its policy to prohibit inmates from advertising for pen pals or getting mail from pen pal groups. Inmates who continue to advertise can have privileges such as visitation or phone calls revoked.
The department made the change after receiving complaints from people who had been taken advantage of and from victims and their families who saw prisoners' ads, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.
"We're doing it to protect the public," Plessinger said. "Inmates can have pen pals — they just can't solicit for pen pals."
Other states make similar arguments and have now drawn similar lawsuits.
In Indiana, the American Civil Liberties Union is representing prisoners protesting the state's policy, which also prevents inmates from advertising on Web sites or receiving mail from pen pal organizations.
The ACLU also says it is working on a lawsuit over Missouri's policy and investigating the policy in Montana, where inmates may not receive mail from people who identify themselves as a pen pal.
For now, some Florida inmates are ignoring the ban and listing themselves anyway. The inmates communicate with the sites by sending letters in the mail, and sometimes family members pay the fees for the sites, about $40 a year for WriteAprisoner.com and other sites.
On WriteAprisoner.com, Florida members range from a 41-year-old who tells potential pals she's a 36DD to a 28-year-old who says he has had a "bumpy lifestyle" and is on death row for a crime he didn't commit.
Then there's a man spending life in prison for first-degree murder who has found another way around the ban.
"Please note that the Florida prison system is now locking us up in confinement for placing ads for pen pals," he writes on his WriteAPrisoner.com page. "So if you respond to this ad please don't mention the profile." ..Source.. by JESSICA GRESKO
AL- SGA celebrates win on sex offender bill
How does one fix this stupid law? Look at the facts used to support it, unbelievable! If they wish to help students they need better leaders than these who are stuck in their biases..
7-30-2009 Alabama:
By Alabama law, registered sex offenders cannot live within 2,000 feet of a day care, foster home or a K-12 school.
Following the SGA's lobbying during the 2009 legislative session, they now cannot come within 2,000 feet of the UA campus or any other Alabama college campus. Gov. Bob Riley formally signed the bill Friday with SGA officials in Montgomery.
State Rep. Jamie Ison, R-Mobile, who sponsored the bill in the House, said she applauded the SGA for supporting the bill and implementing programs to protect student safety.
“For students who are away from home for the very first time, there’s a valid reason why we’d want to protect those students,” Ison said. “There is nothing that would have prevented a convicted sex offender from living in the dorm next to a freshman student before.”
So what, sex offenders live next to people and never offend, what proof does this lawmaker have that ANY sex offender will re-offend if living next door to a college student?
UA spokesman Chris Bryant said in an e-mail that the scenario of a sex offender living in a dormitory was impossible even before the legislators passed the bill preventing them from living on campus. He said the housing application mandated that students reveal any felony convictions, including sex offenses.
With regards to the application, Bryant said all information is taken into consideration.
Ison said she sponsored this bill after three girls from her district were allegedly sexually assaulted three years ago. And with two sons at the University, she said she felt a personal connection to the issue.
There are sexual assaults all over the nation, what was the connection between the cited one and the University? She doesn't draw any connection.
Former SGA President Cason Kirby said the location of the assaults were very close to campus, included in the area that will be protected in the new law that takes effect in August.
Again, so what, were the assaults by FORMER REGISTERED sex offenders? Notice how they draw no connection to RSOs.
“Student living is very centered around the heart of campus,” Kirby said.
A registered sex offender will be able to attend classes at colleges and universities, but according to the bill, that person will not be able to work on college campuses. The person will also be barred from loitering on campus beyond class time.
While the bill cannot protect every student living around Tuscaloosa, Ison said it helps to have the bill focused on areas where many students live.
The bill does not exclude non-violent offenders charged with crimes such as statutory rape, a measure Ison said was not needed because fewer people are charged with such offenses.
“I think that the folks who are the sex offenders are the ones who are violent offenders,” she said.
There clearly is a problem with her thinker!
To continue protection for students, SGA President Steven Oliver said the SGA will step up its Crimson Watch program to help off-campus students be safe in their neighborhoods.
“We really want to put that extra step in there for students,” he said. ..Source.. by Amanda Peterson
Internet is predators' playground
7-30-2009 National:
Sgt. Scott Christensen knew in the mid-1990s that sexual exploitation of children on the Internet was going to grow into a huge problem.
But he never imagined that it would evolve into what it is today: parents exploiting their own children to manufacture child pornography, preteens sending naked pictures of themselves to strangers they meet in chat rooms, and police officers and teachers getting busted for soliciting sex from a child online.
“Over time, it has grown exponentially, and law enforcement hasn't been able to keep up,” Christensen said. “I thought that sometime we would be able to get a handle on it, but as technology moves, the predators move right with it.”
Christensen, 47, who retired Friday from the Nebraska State Patrol, created the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It has put hundreds of online sexual predators behind bars since its start in April 2000.
The Nebraska State Patrol was among the first 20 law enforcement agencies in the country to respond to online enticement and child pornography cases, using a federal grant.
The task force of two men — Christensen as the coordinator and Lt. Scott Kracl as a full-time investigator — wasn't enough to tackle the problem.
“We were busy from the time we started,” Christensen said. “We were seeing a huge demand. We had cases outside the metro area, and it was logistically impossible for the two of us to keep up with it.”
Christensen trained state troopers across the state and eventually reached out to local law enforcement agencies to help with the online investigations.
In Nebraska, more than 95 percent of those arrested on suspicion of online sex crimes since 2000 have been convicted, Christensen said.
“These cases are so strong as far as the evidence against the defendants that the majority of them will plead out,” he said.
Gene Klein, executive director of Project Harmony, an Omaha child advocacy center, said the state's task force and its affiliates have been vital in protecting children online.
“We need to quadruple this program,” Klein said. “It's making a difference.”
As the number of kids online continued to increase since 2000, so did the demand for investigators to regulate and monitor social networks and chat rooms, Christensen said.
“The predators are going to where our kids are,” he said. “It's not so much the playground anymore, it's the Internet.”
According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, the percentage of U.S. youths ages 12 to 17 who use the Internet increased from 73 percent in 2000 to 93 percent in 2006.
That jump was one reason Nebraska's task force in 2004 began training officers from La Vista, Lincoln and Norfolk in online investigations.
“The more officers doing online child exploitation cases, the more arrests that are going to be made,” Christensen said. “Business is booming.”
The State Patrol task force now has 14 employees plus 23 affiliates, including police departments in Bellevue, Papillion and Omaha.
Nationally, there are 59 task forces representing more than 2,000 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Through June of this year, Nebraska agencies made 38 arrests of people suspected of sexual solicitation of a child or child pornography offenses. The total for all of 2008 was 28. In 2007, it was 21.
The number of arrests doesn't begin to address the magnitude of the problem that's out there, Christensen said.
In a 2000 study, 76 percent of participating offenders convicted of possessing child porn or soliciting children online for sex admitted that they had molested significant numbers of children without being caught.
In fact, the study — conducted by Andres E. Hernandez, a psychologist and former director of the Sexual Offender Treatment Program for the Federal Bureau of Prisons — indicated that those offenders committed offenses that involved sexual contact at a much higher rate (30.5 victims per offender) than offenders convicted of sexual assaults that didn't involve the Internet (9.6 victims).
“There are a ton of people out doing it that have not crossed law enforcement or law enforcement hasn't had time to get to them,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are not going to get every one out there.”
Klein of Project Harmony said it's unfortunate that there aren't enough resources and investigators to constantly regulate what's happening online.
Chief Deputy Sarpy County Attorney Tricia Freeman agreed: “I think we are just scratching the surface.”
Although she commended law enforcement for its efforts, Freeman said: “What the police are doing can't take the place of the responsibility of parents being proactive and knowing what their kids are doing online.”
Klein said the Internet's impact on children is just becoming evident.
“Teenagers know more about accessing the Internet than their parents do,” he said. “The exchange of child pornography and the direct solicitation of children for sex are at levels far beyond what we could imagine.” ..Source.. by Leia Baez-Mendoza, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Congress: File sharing leaks sensitive data
7-30-2009 National:
Sensitive files like Secret Service safehouse locations, military rosters, and IRS tax returns can still be found on file-sharing networks, according to a report to a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday.
In many cases, that's because federal government employees or contractors installed peer-to-peer software on their computers without paying attention to which documents would be shared, Robert Boback, the chief executive of Tiversa, told the panel.
Boback said his company found the Secret Service's evacuation plans for the first lady and motorcade routes. (See an interview with Tiversa about Marine One documents found on a peer-to-peer network this spring.)
That led some politicians to announce that new federal laws were necessary to stop inadvertent file sharing.
"I'm planning to introduce a bill," said Rep. Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat who heads a House oversight committee. He said his legislation would limit the use of peer-to-peer software on all computer networks operated by the federal government or its contractors.
In addition, the Federal Trade Commission should investigate whether P2P software developers are violating the law, and the Obama administration should "undertake a national campaign to educate consumers about the dangers of file sharing software," Towns said. (In April, Towns' committee informed the FTC it had reopened an investigation into inadvertent file sharing.)
Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, suggested a similar approach. He wanted to know "whether there's some legal action that should be taken to protect intellectual property, to protect kids from pornography, to protect classified medical information, national security information."
The two-and-a-half hour hearing singled out LimeWire, which is probably the highest-profile P2P client in use today. LimeWire is distributed by Manhattan-based Lime Wire LLC (which sells a more featureful version called LimeWire Pro) and it uses the BitTorrent and Gnutella networks.
Lime Group chairman Mark Gorton tried to defuse some of the criticism, saying "the current version of LimeWire does not share any documents by default," and many security improvements were added in version 5 of the software--released in December 2008--that were absent from version 4.
Gorton also tried to make a more subtle point: the Gnutella network is an amalgamation of scores of different P2P clients, many of which may have different default settings, and LimeWire shouldn't be held responsible for someone's decision to share files using a program written by a different company.
It didn't work. "It is chilling what the public now has available to it," Towns said. "The idea that you can look at the first lady's information, where she's going, how she's getting there. Tax records, things of that nature...we need to get to the bottom of this."
Not helping was the fact that Gorton testified at an earlier hearing in July 2007 on the same topic.
"Mr. Gorton, I find your testimony today stunning," said Rep. Paul Hodes, a New Hampshire Democrat. "You promised us two years ago you were going to fix LimeWire."
Replied Gorton: "LimeWire does not control the computers of people around the country."
He added later: "It's not unreasonable to expect that people who install file-sharing software want to share files."
Other suggestions were more extreme. Rep. Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat who's more technically-inclined than most politicians (he has a doctorate in physics), said "the nuclear option is to block the Gnutella protocol" on a national basis.
But, Foster acknowledged, that wasn't likely to work. Another option, he said, would be to create a new version of the Gnutella protocol that allowed only limited clients--that curbed what folders or file types could be shared--to connect to it.
..Source.. by Declan McCullaghGA- Sex with animals? It’s not uncommon
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VA- Sex Offender Registry: Some say it goes too far.
7-30-2009 Virginia:
Is it a justifiable punishment, or the new scarlet letter? For years, there's been debate about online sex offender registries like the one here in Virginia. Some who are on it say it's ruined their chance of ever turning their lives around. Others say 'Don't do the sex crime, if you aren't willing to serve the online face time.'
CBS 6 sat down with a registered sex offender. He's asked us not to call him by his real name so, for our report, we'll call him Aaron. "It's the modern day scarlet letter," Aaron told our cameras. The scarlet letter he says he wears is the letter 'S', for sex offender. "Before I was ever convicted, I was already sentenced," he continued.
Aaron's story started a few years ago. The Richmond man said the incident that landed him behind bars happened at home on his computer. He thought he was chatting with a teenage girl, but in actuality he was communicating with a police officer.
Aaron went to jail and admits what he did was wrong. He feels that the state's sex offender registry goes too far. "You don't put the pictures of murderers, drunk drivers, or drug dealers on the registry, why me?" Aaron said in an interview with our station on Wednesday.
CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone says what started out as a good idea a few years ago may now cross the line. He says, "Are we doing more harm then good when we're putting all types of offenses on the internet instead of just the ones where they might reoffend? Is the site being watered down instead of doing what it originally intended to do?"
Regardless of some people's opinions, Sgt. Robert Holland says with 2.5 million hits on the state's website a year, it's informing the public. "People go to the website to find out who their babysitter is, or their neighbor, or even a potential daycare provider, so I think the site helps families gain knowledge."
For Aaron though, he says he did the crime and served the time. But he says he is forced to re-live his ordeal every day because of the website, "It's a life sentence, I have to live in the shadows forever." ..Source.. by Kelli O'Hara Staff reporter
TN- Mentally ill struggle to meet sex registry regulations
This is absolute proof of the unconstitutionality of registry laws! To convict someone of a law, that you know they do not have the mental capacity to understand, is itself a crime. This man's civil rights have been violated to the tune of the 500 days he has spent in jail in the past. I hope the judges and lawmakers that knowingly convicted him are placed in a special hell in the next world, they had the ability to help, and failed!
7-30-2009 Tennessee:
Carlton Hunter consistently fails to register as a sex offender, and he has served nearly 500 days in jail over the past five years as punishment for that.
Hunter, 45, was convicted in 1990 of two counts of attempted rape. He has racked up dozens of arrests since, almost all nonviolent misdemeanors: obstructing a passageway, public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia. And after he gets released on the minor charges, a new warrant inevitably is issued for his arrest when he fails to report it to the sex offender registry.
Hunter is homeless. He also is mildly mentally retarded and has paranoid schizophrenia. His attorneys say he has no family, nobody to watch over him, and he simply can't comprehend or comply with the rules of the sex offender registry.
The state agreed, granting Hunter an exception. He no longer will have to follow the rules of the registry. And though Hunter is an extreme case, some advocates are concerned that the law may need to be changed to deal with repeat offenders who lack the mental capacity to follow it.
"In terms of understanding mental illness, it's inconceivable that anyone could meet the requirements if they're mentally incapacitated," said Ben Middleton, senior vice president of core services at Centerstone.
Though there's no way to track how many people on the sex offender registry have mental illness, an analysis of the database showed that 9 percent of the 1,300 offenders in Nashville list themselves as homeless. Roughly 50 percent of those homeless offenders have been arrested for violating the laws of the registry in Nashville, according to their court records.
About 30 percent of homeless people have a severe mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Metro Public Defender Dawn Deaner first met Hunter at a jail docket for sex offender registry violators. He had already been picked up multiple times for the offense.
Soon, Deaner said, lawyers from her office would go to the dockets with Hunter's paperwork in hand, prepared to show the judge he couldn't be tried and hoping to get him out of jail as soon as possible.
"The registry and its specific language does not really include a category of what to do with individuals who are developmentally delayed or mentally ill, to the point they can comply with requirements," Deaner said.
It's been nearly two decades since he committed a violent offense, Deaner said, and it's rare to find someone as sick as Hunter. She fears cases like his may become more common as the state cuts mental health services.
"The competency of an individual can fluctuate, and competency can deteriorate," Deaner said. "If more people lose their services and become incompetent, you're creating more clients like Carlton who just don't have the wherewithal to remember."
Registration rules vary
Tennessee law requires anyone convicted of a violent sexual offense to register three times a year for life. Nonviolent offenders must register annually for 10 years. But all offenders must notify the registry within three days of an arrest or address change.
And though the law allows for people physically incapacitated through illness to stop registering, there's nothing that mentions mental illness or defect.
Deaner's office initially fought the rules with a lawsuit against the Tennessee Attorney General's office. Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said they made an agreement with Hunter after consulting with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
She refused to say whether they've been asked to consider if there's a larger issue worth examining with offenders like Hunter.
Hunter is the first person the TBI has been asked to exempt for mental issues, spokeswoman Kristin Helm said.
"We're open to any legislation, but right now we have to follow the law as far as what the registry requirements are," Helm said. "If there's a case and that circumstance can be proven, we'll look at it on a case-by-case basis."
More homeless housing
As for Hunter, his entry on the registry will be listed as inactive. No longer will he be arrested for violations. He occasionally stays at the Nashville Rescue Mission, but mostly he is a wanderer. His lawyers usually don't know where to find him until he turns up in jail.
To Sita Diehl, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness's Tennessee chapter, Hunter's dilemma is another reason Nashville needs more housing for the homeless.
"The question becomes, how can we keep ourselves and our children safe," Diehl said. "One way is to get these people into housing where we can keep better track of them, and get them stable." ..Source.. by Kate Howard
July 29, 2009
FL- Gov. Crist weighs in on sex offender laws
Mr Lip Service makes an appearance!
7-29-2009 Florida:
Gov. Charlie Crist, who has kept himself at arm's length in the thorny debate over sex offender residency laws, inched toward a compromise on Wednesday, saying he would help ``facilitate a solution.''
However, he reiterated his position that the state would not overrule local laws -- even if the residency boundaries vary greatly from one municipality to another.
The controversy stems from the legal and political wrangling over a group of sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami-Dade. The squalid camp of 70-plus convicted molesters have few options because residency laws prohibit them from living within certain distances of where children play or go to school.
FORCED UNDERGROUND
Over the past few years, municipalities have passed a patchwork of inconsistent boundaries, and critics charge that the laws have forced sex offenders underground, making it harder for law enforcement to keep track of them.
Asked Wednesday if local government buffers have gone too far, Crist said: ``Not necessarily. It's up to local government to make those decisions, and I wouldn't want to impose my will on them. I think they're doing what they believe to be responsible in their localities, and I want to be respectful of that.''
His statement came after a Newsweek article spotlighted the camp, and Ron Book, chairman of Miami-Dade's Homeless Trust, railed at the governor for failing to help fix the problem. After meeting with the governor and his staff, he was clearly frustrated.
``I had to walk away. I was annoyed. They don't even have a clue of a solution,'' Book told Newsweek.
LESS ANNOYED
On Wednesday, Book was more conciliatory. He said he called the governor and apologized for his Newsweek comments. The governor, he said, had become more proactive on the issue in recent days.
His staff, Book said, ``Engaged in a dialogue with me as we explore what options there are . . . they recognize this as a problem; we don't have to point fingers.''
RELOCATING
Meanwhile, Book is moving forward with plans to relocate the Causeway dwellers.
He is ready to move eight of them to a private apartment building in South Miami-Dade -- but he said they aren't happy about moving so far south, even though some of them have transportation.
``I concede it doesn't have a lot of mass transit opportunities,'' Book said.
``But you got people with cars, give me a break.'' ..Source.. by JULIE KNIPE BROWN
TN- State Not In Compliance With Federal Law, Adam Walsh Act
7-29-2009 Tennessee:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state is not in compliance with a Federal law called the Adam Walsh Act because Tennessee does not have a sex offender registry for juveniles which could cost the state $250,000.
Tennessee's sex offender registry is powered by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A touch of a button brings up adult sex offenders, down to where they live.
"Law enforcement, it's very important to them, they feel like, it helps them do a better job dealing with the sex offender when they move back into the community," says State Rep. Debra Maggart.
The TBI says juvenile sex offenders should also be on a list.
"We're talking about someone that has committed a violent sex offense," says Maggart. "It's not just about outing someone and saying that they did this and look at what they did, it's about protecting the community from someone who might do it again."
Maggart is crafting legislation that calls for 14 through 18 year olds, convicted of rape or attempted rape to go on a juvenile sex offender registry. She will introduce her bill in January. She's pushed different versions of it over the past two years.
Creating the registry would mean Tennessee would be compliant with the Adam Walsh Act and more than $250,000 would head to Tennessee law enforcement agencies as a result.
"I am very concerned about the negative impact of putting children on a sex offender registry," says Linda O'Neal, Tenn. Comm. on Children and Health.
Child advocates will fight the upcoming legislation on Capitol Hill because they said while adult sex offenders regularly re-offend. It is a different story for juveniles.
"We really need to give these kids a second chance because the research is very clear that treatment is effective, that most of them, overwhelmingly in the 90 percent range, they will never re-offend again," says O'Neal.
The Department of Children services and many in the juvenile court system are also against this type of registry, believing the system they have in place works just fine.
"For the really serious, really violent offense, most these adolescents get transferred to the adult systems and they go on the registry, and the judges know the ones that are really dangerous," said O'Neal.
Since there are federal dollars up for grabs some version of a juvenile registry maybe created. Most likely it could be a registry that only juvenile court judges and police are allowed to see.
Meantime the TBI has filed an extension with the Federal government, so Tennessee can comply with the Adam Walsh Act. That way those federal grant dollars will keep coming, at least for now. ..Source.. by News Channel5.com
FL- Ron Book to Charlie Crist: 'You are f**king wrong'
7-29-2009 Florida:
Lobbyist Ron Book had a testy exchange recently with Gov. Charlie Crist over whether the state Department of Corrections was placing sex offenders under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami, where a community of the unwanted has sprung up because residency restrictions give them no other place to live (more here on the most recent of the Miami Herald stories on the situation matter).
Book had advocated for get-tough on sex-offender laws, but he said they've gone too far and the situation under the bridge proves it. Worse yet, DOC is dropping off sex offenders there, he said. But Crist denied his agency was doing that, prompting a frustrated Book to lose his cool.
"You are f____ing wrong," Book told Crist, according to this recent Newsweek piece. Book confirmed the exchange. ..Source.. by Times Editor
Challenges of Serving Homeless Sex Offenders
7-29-2009 National:
Housing sex offenders is no easy task. In many communities, there are restrictions on where convicted sex offenders are permitted to live, which can severely limit housing options. This core issue, combined with the challenges of helping a convicted sex offender become financially independent, complicates the task of serving homeless sex offenders.
This workshop topic: the challenges of serving sex offenders.
4:00pm - Moderator to room of 50: "For those of you who work with sex offenders, f you have a successful story you want to tell, or a strategy you want to share, please raise your hand.
4:03 - All kidding aside, successful strategies for serving homeless sex offenders include working with parole officers and knowing your laws.
4:04 - One comment illustrates just how interconnected homeless services, prisoner re-entry, and housing sex offenders can be: "Our shelter is used as a dump for the prison; people come straight from prison to our shelter. Ironically, we're right next to a school."
4:07 - Great observation: serving a sex offender is hard enough, but navigating all of the restrictions placed on sex offenders by society complicates matters.
4:18 - Talk about collaboration, our group of 50 is making a list of challenges of serving an individual sex offender and challenges that society places on sex offenders.
4:21 - Serving homeless sex offenders has its challenges, even though it's doing the right thing. One organization had a released homeless sex offender refuse to the rules of the program, and went on to brutally murder a 13-year old girl. Faced with the decision to continue serving this population or not, they decided to continue. However, they lost all of their insurance and most of their board members. It wasn't easy.
4:24 - People who are housed, employed, and supervised are much less likely to re-offend than homeless sex offenders.
4:25 - Serving sex offenders is a re-entry issue, not a homeless issue. Amen.
4:41 - Sex offender or not, nobody should die on the streets. Reminds me of this story. "When you humanize people, even sex offenders,
4:43 - England and Scotland didn't impose residency restrictions (because they saw how well it worked here). Instead, they treated sex offenders as a public health issue. Statistic: 10-15 percent of convicted sex offenders will repeat offense, but 100 percent of convicted sex offenders will commit this crime once. We should focus on preventing this crime in the first place.
4:50 - How can homeless service agencies reach out to landlords to serve tough-to-serve populations? Answers: be honest with landlords about the nature of the crime. Also, supportive housing model, where organization pays rent and serves as intermediary between landlord and tenant, allows for early detection of problems and guaranteed rent for landlord. Win-win.
4:58 - One service-provider says that getting offenders into housing is the biggest hurdle; once they're in housing things are typically smooth sailing.
5:01 - Talking about serving homeless sex offenders can easily be over-simplified, or over-complicated. We need real answers for people's concerns about living in a community with sex offenders. People are scared. Sex crimes can be heinous.
5:05 - Great answer: Look at this from a public health perspective. When is the public safer? When convicted sex offenders are living under bridges in precarious situations, or in permanent housing with supportive services?
5:07 - This session has made clear that more research is needed on this topic. Data is needed on the summer of homeless convicted sex offenders and effective solutions. Researchers, graduate students, academics, think tanks - these service providers are looking at you!
5:10 - It's important to recognize that serving homeless convicted sex offenders takes a lot of patience and tenacity. It's not an easy job. But it's extremely important, albeit thank-less, work. ..Source.. by Shannon Moriarty
Controls On Phones Could Help Stop 'Sexting'
7-29-2009 National:
Parental Controls Being Used To Monitor Teens' Cell Phones
NEW ORLEANS -- Concerns are rising as parents are becoming more aware of the conversations that their children may be having through text messages.More than 80 percent of teens surveyed in a Hearst Magazine poll said they do text. Twenty percent say they take it a step further by "sexting." This latest trend has alarmed parents enough that they are now looking for ways to monitor their children's conversations.Mike Gibbs and his daughter, Kelli, have a understanding that there is to be no texting.
Like some other parents, Gibbs has chosen to remove texting from his daughter's cell phone plan altogether."She doesn't even have texting. She has the ability to, but she has to pay for it if she does," said Gibbs.Parents may not have to go as far as removing texting from their plans, however. Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said all mobile carriers now have basic parental controls free of charge.
Several carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless have additional controls that cost about $5 a month."There are new programs that will alert you if there are certain types of texts or questions being asked of your children," said Balkam. "'Where do you live? How old are you? Will you come and meet me?'"For iPhone users, there are now ratings for age-appropriate applications and restrictions to block explicit content.Marisa Nightingale from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy reminds parents that nothing is foolproof when it comes to texting and sexting."You have to remember, the teens are the ones who have mastered this technology first," said Nightingale.
"So chances are they are going to find a way around it if they really want to."Nightingale also reminds parents that they do not need to be an expert on technology to monitor their children."You are an expert on being a parent, so remember that," said Nightingale.There are several Web sites with more information on helping prevent sexting among teenagers.
- Family Online Safety Institute
- National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
- Filtering Software programs/Web sites:
textguard.com
safeeyes.com/iphone
tangle.com
Sex Offender iPhone App Sells Big
7-29-2009 National:
To the list of items that can be easily located with an iPhone (pizza joints, coffee shops, nearby friends), here’s one addition that might surprise you: sex offenders.
Top-Selling iPhone App: Sex Offender Locator
Another company profiteering from former sex offenders, using a fear-mongering technique. Contrary to the marketing claim that it will "Locate Sex Offenders," this product WILL NOT DO THAT, but what it will do is tell you where FORMER sex offenders (registrants) sleep and possibly where they work or go to school. Where they are at other times is unknown.
The product WILL NOT locate sex offenders because sex offenders are not registered, they are out committing sex offenses. This product uses wordsmithing to con the public into buying its services. The marketing is good and it fools the public into a false sense of security, as does the latest laws passed by lawmakers.
Launched in June, the Offender Locator iPhone application lets users view registered sex offenders living in their area.
Launched by ThinAir Wireless, a GPS-tracking and wireless monitoring company, the Offender Locator iPhone application lets users view registered sex offenders living in their area.
The app comes in free and paid versions, but after nearly two months in the App store, the 99-cent application is among the ten best-selling paid apps. Amid the games and entertainment applications, Offender Locator has grabbed the sixth spot on the list.
The company says the app is one part of its suite of “Peace of Mind” products (other services include a GPS tracking system for teenagers and an alert system that sends subscribers real-time text messages from government agencies about weather and emergency situations). ..Source.. by The Weiss Report
12 and in Prison
7-29-2009 National:
The Supreme Court sent an important message when it ruled in Roper v. Simmons in 2005 that children under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed were not eligible for the death penalty. Justice Anthony Kennedy drew on compassion, common sense and the science of the youthful brain when he wrote that it was morally wrong to equate the offenses of emotionally undeveloped adolescents with the offenses of fully formed adults.
The states have followed this logic in death penalty cases. But they have continued to mete out barbaric treatment — including life sentences — to children whose cases should rightly be handled through the juvenile courts.
This is also true of children on the sex offender registries throughout the nation.
Congress can help to correct these practices by amending the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, which is up for Congressional reauthorization this year. To get a share of delinquency prevention money, the law requires the states and localities to meet minimum federal protections for youths in the justice system. These protections are intended to keep as many youths as possible out of adult jails and prisons, and to segregate those that are sent to those places from the adult criminal population.
The case for tougher legislative action is laid out in an alarming new study of children 13 and under in the adult criminal justice system, the lead author of which is the juvenile justice scholar, Michele Deitch, of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. According to the study, every state allows juveniles to be tried as adults, and more than 20 states permit preadolescent children as young as 7 to be tried in adult courts.
This is terrible public policy. Children who are convicted and sentenced as adults are much more likely to become violent offenders — and to return to an adult jail later on — than children tried in the juvenile justice system.
Despite these well-known risks, policy makers across the country do not have reliable data on just how many children are being shunted into the adult system by state statutes or prosecutors, who have the discretion to file cases in the adult courts.
But there is reasonably reliable data showing juvenile court judges send about 80 children ages 13 and under into the adult courts each year. These statistics explode the myth that those children have committed especially heinous acts.
The data suggest, for example, that children 13 and under who commit crimes like burglary and theft are just as likely to be sent to adult courts as children who commit serious acts of violence against people. As has been shown in previous studies, minority defendants are more likely to get adult treatment than their white counterparts who commit comparable offenses.
The study’s authors rightly call on lawmakers to enact laws that discourage harsh sentencing for preadolescent children and that enable them to be transferred back into the juvenile system. Beyond that, Congress should amend the juvenile justice act to require the states to simply end these inhumane practices to be eligible for federal juvenile justice funds. ..Source.. NY Times Editorial
July 28, 2009
MS- Cheerleader sues school, coach after illicit Facebook log-in
7-28-2009 Mississippi:
A high school cheerleader claims a coach forced her to give up her Facebook account login information, only to see her account's contents shared widely with school officials, resulting in extensive disciplinary action. She's now suing everyone involved.
At this point, you would think that most users would be aware that they should keep embarrassing information off of Facebook. Everyone from potential employers to the press regularly check users' accounts on the service, looking for evidence of illicit or debauched behavior, and a number of jobs have been lost due to the information found there. Still, many fail to exercise discretion when using the service, people in positions of power are catching on, and there continue to be problems that result from the blurring of boundaries between public and private.
In what may be the latest example, a suit was filed in Mississippi that alleges a school official—more specifically a teacher acting in her capacity as a cheerleading coach—demanded that members of her squad hand over their Facebook login information. According to the suit, the teacher used it to access a student's account, which included a heated discussion of some of the cheerleading squad's internal politics. That information was then shared widely among school administrators, which resulted in the student receiving various sanctions.
As we noted when Bozeman, Montana attempted to obtain login credentials from anyone applying for a municipal job, it's easy for anyone to view pictures and text that a Facebook user has chosen to make public simply by signing up for an account with the service. By demanding login credentials, authorities gain access to materials that users have chosen to keep private. Whether this is done because people intend to get access to private data or because they are simply unfamiliar with how Facebook operates isn't always obvious, and probably varies from case to case.
According to this suit, the student's login details were requested during school hours, and the teacher accessed the account the same day. The account included the contents of a discussion between the student and a fellow member of the school's cheerleading squad about its internal politics, which was then allegedly shared with other squad supervisors and the school administration. The student was then "publicly reprimanded, punished, and humiliated" due to the contents of that discussion.
The student was allegedly forced to sit out of various school activities and had difficulties arranging her academic schedule to avoid taking classes from any of the individuals who were both coaches and teachers. Her parents claim that attempts to discuss the problem with school administrators brought them no relief.
The Student Press Law Center has more detailed account (via TechDirt) of the events, in which it reports that several other students asked for their logins simply deleted their accounts using their cell phones, preventing this sort of intrusion; the schools apparently have a filter that blocks access to its Web interface from school computers. It also suggests that the initial search of the Facebook accounts was done with the intent of finding pictures of the students smoking or drinking.
In any case, the suit alleges that the school's administration and staff, along with five John Does, violated the student's Constitutional rights to privacy, free speech and association, and subjected her to cruel and unusual punishment. There are also charges of causing emotional distress, defamation of character, and civil conspiracy. In general, courts have concluded that public school students have some constitutional rights, but only a subset of those afforded to the general populace. It may be that the student's lawyers are aiming broadly in order to find some area of constitutional law in which the student is clearly protected.
In any case, the message should be clear: either through malice or cluelessness, people in positions of authority are increasingly demanding complete access to users' personal accounts and, in moments of weakness, many users appear to be giving it to them. If there's information you're not comfortable sharing with the world, Facebook, Twitter, and similar services aren't the place for it. ..Source.. by John Timmer
DC- Concern Over Sexting Reaches Congress
7-27-2009 Washington DC:
Florida Congresswoman Introduces 'Aware Act' To Promote Internet Safety
One in five teenagers are sexting -- sending sexually suggestive texts or photos on cell phones.
A New Berlin teenager is accused of convincing more than 30 boys to send him naked pictures of themselves.
Police said Anthony Stancil then blackmailed his classmates with the photos into performing sex acts.
In a separate case earlier this year, dozens of Waukesha students were being investigated for sending nude photos of a girl over their cell phones.
Sexting has become a concern for not only parents, but for Congress.
"It was too much for an 18-year-old girl to go through," parent Cynthia Logan said.
It was a year ago this month that Jessie Logan committed suicide.
"I walked over into her room and saw her hanging," Logan said.
Her mother said it all stems from a sexting incident when a naked picture of Jessie -- intended for her boyfriend -- got forwarded and made the cell phone rounds at school.
Logan's case drew national attention. Now, she's turning her grief into action. The Cincinnati mother was on Capitol Hill earlier this year to lobby for Internet safety legislation.
"Sexting is the Internet concern of the moment," U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said. "And the concern we have is that we don't have enough Internet safety education in the schools right now. It's very haphazard and we need to make sure that we put the weight of the federal government behind it."
The Florida congresswoman introduced a bill this month called the Aware Act. It would allocate federal grants to nonprofits to teach kids how to stay safe online.
"(And) make sure kids know that they certainly should not be sending graphic pictures of themselves," Wasserman-Schultz said.
"Wasserman-Schultz said she wants quick action on the Aware Act and hopes to get it passed this year. It's one of several Internet safety bills now pending in Congress," WISN 12 News reporter Nikole Killion said.
Eric Cuoto, 17, of New Orleans, is pushing for action.
He met with lawmakers to call for more awareness about sexting as part of a teen cyber safety summit this summer.
"My message to teens is be very aware of what you do because it can hurt you," Cuoto said.
Just like it hurt Jessie Logan.
"It's abuse. She was abused," Cynthia Logan said.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. House also passed another Internet safety bill.
It would allow schools to re-allocate federal funding to develop on-line safety programs.
The measure now goes to the U.S. Senate.
In some states, teenagers are slapped with harsh charges if they're caught sexting, while others get a slap on the wrist.
Get a closer look at the wide-ranging penalties for sexting Tuesday on "12 News at 5:00." ..Source.. by WISN.com
FL- Get-tough stand is too expensive, isn't productive
7-28-2009 Florida:
It's not enough to know we've overreacted. Not hardly. Not when it comes to criminal justice.
Not even when it becomes obvious that ``get tough'' policies have become counterproductive and insanely expensive.
Florida's get-tough sentencing policies have packed the state's 60 prisons with 100,000 prisoners, too many of them of the non-violent, drug-addicted variety. We'll spend $2.4 billion this year to warehouse state prisoners. The trend lines indicate we'll need another 15 prisons within the next five years to maintain our irrational exuberance for harsh sentences with no rehab.
PRISON COSTS RISING
Prison costs go up in a budget-slashing year because we insist on packing druggies and juvies off to prison while spending relatively little on counseling or drug treatment or job training or in-prison education. Half of Florida's inmates, released unprepared to cope with the outside world, re-offend.
Earlier this month, Florida's Collins Center for Public Policy sent ``an open letter to the governor, the Legislature and the people of Florida,'' asking for ``a bold and serious conversation about justice reform.''
Florida, the letter stated, has ``too many prisons needing to be built at an astounding cost.'' Too many non-violent individuals get locked up. Too many youngsters are tried in adult court. Too many ex-offenders go back to prison ``because while behind bars, they received little or no job training, mental health and substance abuse treatment and the necessary life-skills tools to legitimately re-enter civil society.''
FAMILIAR ISSUES
Old stuff, really. Corrections experts have been saying this for years. But this was signed by three former Florida attorney generals, the directors of Florida TaxWatch, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the Florida Chamber Foundation, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Association of Counties. Not a bunch of bleeding-heart egg-head academics, but conservative leaders who can't stand frittering away billions on bad prison policy.
Still, finding politicians brave enough to undo get-tough policies won't be so easy.
Miami knows that too well. South Florida cities and counties have clung to ill-considered ordinances that by now have forced upwards of 80 sex offenders to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway -- recasting Miami into a place given to medieval justice.
Newsweek, in this week's issue, became only the latest national publication to eviscerate Miami's image, describing the causeway camp as ``a squalid and dreary place. The air is thick and stifling, reeking of human feces and of cat urine from all the strays that live there . . . Makeshift dwellings sprawl out in every direction -- tents clinging to concrete pylons, rickety shacks fashioned out of plywood, a camper shell infested with cockroaches. There is no running water or sewage system; inhabitants relieve themselves in shopping bags and toss the sacks into a pile of refuse that they burn periodically.''
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
The Newsweek article describes how Ron Book, the lobbyist who had pushed for the Draconian residency restrictions for sex offenders, now recognizes the escalating unintended consequences.
But even Book may find that city and county commissioners who originally voted for his get-tough ordinances won't be so receptive to a softer approach.
Policitians are not easily convinced to back off the concept of getting tough, even when the policy equates to getting stupid. ..Source.. by FRED GRIMM
