County awaits Albany ruling on GPS requirement for homeless sex offenders

Are there any politicians left with half a brain? These folks are homeless because they cannot afford housing, so you turn around and pile another expense on them, only fools would do that! Are the politicians willing to pay for that too?

3-31-2010 New York:

Suffolk County legislators are still waiting to hear back from Albany to see if a law they adopted last week requiring homeless sex offenders to wear global positioning system devices is valid.

On March 23, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously passed a law that requires homeless sex offenders staying at county-run trailers in Riverside and Westhampton, or those receiving $90 a day from the county to find housing on their own, to wear the tracking devices.

The law has been sent to Albany for review by state officials who will decide if it can be enacted, according to Legislator Jack Eddington, an Independence Party member from Brookhaven Town who sponsored the bill. It is not clear when that decision will be announced.

The New York State Office of Family and Children’s Services, which oversees Suffolk County’s Department of Social Services, does not issue rulings on policies unless there is a clear plan in place, said Rob Calarco, Mr. Eddington’s chief of staff. “That’s why we had to pass the resolution first,” he said.

Mr. Calarco expects that it will be at least a month before the Suffolk Legislature hears back from state officials.

Though he could not be reached this week, John Desmond, the director of Suffolk County’s Probation Department, previously stated that it is illegal for the county to force homeless sex offenders to wear the devices unless they are on probation.

About two-thirds of the county’s homeless sex offenders, who have recently numbered around 20, are on probation, according to Gregory Blass, the commissioner of the county’s Department of Social Services. Mr. Blass’s department, which oversees the two trailers, declined to comment on the new GPS requirement.

“We have to get clearance from the state,” he said.

Earlier this year, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy announced that the trailers—one of which is located on Old Country Road in Westhampton and the other next door to the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside—would be closed within weeks and that the county would transition to a voucher program. But the County Legislature has repeatedly refused to approve a money transfer that would allow social services to expand the voucher program and shutter the trailers.

Mr. Eddington, the chairman of the County’s Public Safety Committee, said the GPS devices will cost $28 each, and that fee includes renting them and hiring an outside agency to do the monitoring.

Predicting that the trailers will eventually be shuttered, Mr. Eddington said he introduced the bill to quell the fears of colleagues over who will be monitoring the offenders once the trailers are closed. He said that there is nothing stopping an offender from checking into a hotel, using the voucher, and later leaving to go elsewhere for the night. “Which is wasting money and is illegal,” Mr. Eddington said.

Legislator Jay Schneiderman said he had sponsored a similar bill last year, but it never made it out of committee. The Independence Party legislator from Montauk said he hopes that the state will sign off on the county law soon.

“I’m thrilled that they passed it,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “I just don’t want to get everybody’s hopes up.”

Meanwhile, the stalemate over closing the two trailers continues. The trailers have been the source of controversy since their placement in 2007, and many East End officials and residents have called them an unfair burden.

Since the transition to the voucher system has been delayed, officials are looking at other alternatives to housing the homeless sex offenders. Mr. Blass said county officials are again considering resuming efforts to find alternative sites for the trailers in western Suffolk County, which they failed to do earlier this year. The county in 2009 spent $850,000 in taxi fares to transport its homeless sex offender population, which at times reached 30 people, from western Suffolk County, where most of them are from, to the trailers.

William Lindsay, the presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature, said he is working on a solution, though he could not say what that was this week. Through an e-mailed statement, Mr. Lindsay said the voucher system isn’t working, and that the trailers unfairly burden the East End. He then pointed out that moving them will cause an “uproar” in other communities.

“I am not ready at this time to provide details about any new plan, which is still being formulated,” Mr. Lindsay’s statement reads. “The proposal will be laid on the table at the April 27 meeting of the County Legislature.”

Until a suitable solution can be found, the voucher system will go forward, Mr. Blass said. He added that he is optimistic that the issue will eventually be resolved.

"As long as there are homeless, and as long as there are registered sex offenders that are homeless, this will be a controversial issue, almost impossible to resolve,” he said. “But somehow we are going to do it, we are determined to.” ..Source.. Hallie D. Martin

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Law passed to remove some sex offenders from South Dakota registry

As good as this seems, there still are some kinks: Since AWA has forced states to include folks retroactively it seems logical that, the term of registration should also be retroactive, in that, term should begin when the person was first placed in the community, not when this law was enacted.

3-30-2010 South Dakota:

VERMILLION, SD (KTIV) - Sex offender laws are to help crack down on those who commit a crime. But if you are an 18-year-old dating a 17-year-old you could find your name on the sex offender registry for life.

That's why one Siouxland state wants to take some names off the list.

Sheriff Andy Howe has his very own link to local sex offenders in Clay County, South Dakota. But, even he thinks the list is just a little too long.

"There are people on the registry who are married because things change," says Howe.

Clay County and every other county in South Dakota will soon need to change their sex offender policies. The state recently signed a bill that will place sex offenders on a three tiered registry, eventually allowing some names to come off the list.

"Previously people were on for life once they came on they stayed on and that didn't differentiate," Howe says.

The new system will allow names in tier one to come off the list in 10 years, for crimes like statutory rape in which both persons are of similar age. Tier two names will come off in twenty five years for crimes such as incest, and tier three names will never come off the list because of their likelihood to commit again or because of the severity of the crime.

And county officials like Sheriff Howe believe this is a good thing for some of those convicted.

"What we have is the ability to take out from those who really aren't likely to offend and concentrate on those that are," says Howe.

County officials say the new law will take effect on July 1st of this year, making the list's like Sheriff Howe's just a little bit shorter.

As of May 2009, there were 15 registered sex offenders in Clay County, South Dakota. ..Source.. Forrest Saunders

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Connecticut's effort to comply with the Adam Walsh Act ?

3-30-2010 Connecticut:

Connecticut is making every effort to comply with the Adam Walsh Act? Really?

Below is -one section- of what is being proposed to be effective 10-1-2010. In essence, the state wants to know about ANY former sex offender (BUT not persons who will commit a sex offense! OK, I'm a smart alec) who may CROSS their state lines, BEFOREHAND!

It is getting so that, in order for a RSO to travel they will need a bank of lawyers before moving one inch anywhere. Laws such as these -if ever passed- cannot pass constitutional muster, these are not laws that any reasonable man, much less someone with any kind of learning disability, could understand BEFOREHAND! i.e, before breaking the law.

Is there anyone in this legislature who has any logic?

Oh yes, one more thing, notice what is highlighted in RED, well, if someone does come to Connecticut and register as required by law, then leave Connecticut, they must come back to Connecticut for every change in law whereever they live. Study the red section, after leaving if any of those change, come back and tell Connecticut IN PERSON!

PS: This law would put Connecticut in conflict with the Adam Walsh Act which speaks in terms of 3 days! But, as they say, AWA is a floor not a ceiling....

Sec. 5. Section 54-253 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) Any person who has been convicted or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect or adjudicated a delinquent child, who is subject to the provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, P.L. 109-248 in any other state, in a federal, military or Indian tribal court or in any foreign country of any crime (1) the essential elements of which are substantially the same as any of the crimes specified in subdivisions (10), (11) and (12) of section 54-250, as amended by this act, or (2) which requires registration as a sexual offender in such other state, in the federal, military or Indian tribal system or in such foreign country, and who resides in this state on and after October 1, 2010, shall provide to the Commissioner of Public Safety, in writing, not less than forty-eight hours prior to entering the state, such person's name, date of birth and residence address, the state, the federal, military or Indian tribal system or the foreign country where such person is required to register as a sexual offender and the locations where such person is employed or is enrolled as a student, and shall, within three business days of residing in this state, register with the Commissioner of Public Safety in accordance with section 7 of this act in the same manner as if such person had been convicted or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of such crime in this state, except that the commissioner shall maintain such registration until such person is released from the registration requirement in such other state, federal, military or Indian tribal system or foreign country or, if such person is required to register under subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall maintain such registration in the same manner as if such person had been convicted or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of such crime in this state, except for purposes of determining the period of registration under section 2 or 3 of this act, such person shall be deemed to have initially registered on the date of such person's release into the community in such other state, federal, military or tribal system or foreign country.

(b) Any person not a resident of this state who is registered or is required to register as a sexual offender under the laws of any other state, the federal, military or Indian tribal system or a foreign country and who is employed in this state, carries on a vocation in this state or is a student in this state, shall provide to the Commissioner of Public Safety, in writing, not less than forty-eight hours prior to entering the state, such person's name, date of birth and residence address, the state, the federal, military or Indian tribal system or the foreign country where such person is required to register as a sexual offender and the locations where such person is employed, carries on a vocation or is enrolled as a student, and shall, not later than three business days after the commencement of such employment, vocation or education in this state, appear in person at the Department of Public Safety or a location designated by the department and register with the Commissioner of Public Safety in accordance with section 7 of this act and shall maintain such registration until such employment, vocation or education terminates or until such person is released from registration as a sexual offender in such other state, federal, military or Indian tribal system or foreign country. If such person terminates such person's employment, vocation or education in this state such person shall, not later than three business days after such termination, appear in person at the Department of Public Safety or at a location designated by the department and notify the Commissioner of Public Safety in writing of such termination.

(c) Any person not a resident of this state who is registered or is required to be registered as a sexual offender under the laws of any other state, the federal, military or Indian tribal system or a foreign country and who will be entering and remaining in this state for a period of less than five days shall notify the Commissioner of Public Safety in writing not less than forty-eight hours prior to entering the state of such person's name, date of birth and temporary residence address in this state, the state, the federal, military or Indian tribal system or the foreign country where such person is required to register as a sexual offender, the nature of such person's stay in this state, the locations where such person will be while in this state, a telephone number at which such person may be contacted and the dates such person will be in this state and the date such person will be leaving. Any person not a resident of this state who enters this state under the provisions of this subsection and who remains in this state for five or more days shall register with the Commissioner of Public Safety in the same manner as provided in subsection (a) of this section and shall do so not later than three business days after the fifth day such person has remained in this state after entry.

(d) Any person who is a registered sexual offender under the laws of any other state who enters this state and fails to notify the Commissioner of Public Safety in writing not less than forty-eight hours prior to entering the state of the information required under this section or falsely reports such information shall be guilty of a class D felony.

(e) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony.

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"100,000 Missing Sex Offenders" has been the call to arms for years now.

3-29-2010 National:

That call to arms has permitted lawmakers to enact law after law, including the Adam Walsh Act; all harming folks more and more.

For some odd years now "100,000 sex offenders missing, whereabouts unknown" has been touted by John Walsh (the whereabouts of about 100,000 are currently unknown ), Parents for Megan's Laws (that over 100,000 sex offenders were “missing” from registries across the country.) and many others make the same claim.

Recently, in the wake of new crimes against children, John Walsh met with President Obama and asked that he get the funding bills passed; he agreed. The two bills in Congress are HR 1149 and HR 1422, purpose is to fund the Adam Walsh Act, but Congress has not made them law.

However, there is a very good reason why those bills were not made law, AWA has been funded many times over: see "The Money Tree is Picked Again, this time, 1.1 Trillion Green." Apparently, this way no one receives credit and that seems to be a problem for someone who wants to be able to claim "I got the law funded."

Today on the "Today Show" John Walsh appeared to comment on the recent murders of children in Florida and California, and I have NO PROBLEMS with his comments referencing those horrendous crimes, however, nearing the end of his comments came a push to fund the Adam Walsh Act, even though nothing in that act would have prevented the recent murders. Walsh commented:

"The Justice Dep't says, there are 100,000 Level III, thats the worst of the worst, convicted rapists and sex offenders, at large right now, whereabout unknown, ID known, guys who have cut off ankle braclets, violated parole or probation ...."

Just a minute, what happened to the old call to arms "100,00 missing sex offenders," now it appears we have a new more onerous, more hysterical, call to arms. Is this just to get the funding passed? Listen to his comments:



Apparently, this is now the new call to arms. So, if folks wnat to know the truth about "how the 100,000 number came into being" read the original story: The Saga of 100,000 Missing Sex Offenders: Now the truth

Have a great day & a better tomorrow.
eAdvocate (H/T: SexOffenderIssues for the video)

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Man On Personal Mission Launches Sex Offender Magazine

Only state registries have been authorized to disseminate registry information, not secondary publications. Further, federal law prohibits dissemination without a method of correcting any possible erroneous information. Such correction would be impossible on paper copies previously disseminated.

Accordingly, each registrant -to be printed in a paper copy- would have to receive FREE a copy of what is to be printed BEFORE printing it, and approve it. Adam Walsh Act, SORNA Sec. 118(e). Further, SORNA also mandates that public warnings accompany each registrant's information, to prevent harassment or vigilantism. SORNA Sec. 118(f).

Further, under the Federal Privacy Act (5 USC Sec. 552(a)) the state is permitted to use registrant information for its purposes (i.e., a Public Registry), however, their right of use does not translate to private party use of that information. Private use (secondary dissemination) of registry information requires the specific approval of each registrant. Folks should check with local lawyers who can review circumstances of each specific case.

3-29-2010 Indiana:

Mag Features Central Indiana Offenders

INDIANAPOLIS -- A monthly magazine that features Indiana sex offenders is part of a personal mission for a man who was a victim of abuse.

The magazine, now offered in 55 Speedway stores in the Indianapolis area, is already getting mostly positive feedback, its publisher says.

The publisher, who only wants to be identified as Ryan, designed the magazine and pays for all the printing costs, Tanya Spencer reported.

"I don't think the registry (online) is in your face enough," said Ryan, who runs Critical Review Publications. "A lot of people want to turn a blind eye to this."

The magazine has pictures of convicted sex offenders and outlines the charges against them. With more than 2,000 sexual predators in Indianapolis and new offenders being released from jail frequently, the featured pictures will change each month.

The magazine also offers general safety tips, victims' stories and resources.

"I'd be interested to see who's on the list," said one resident. "Hopefully, they're not living upstairs or down the street."

The magazine costs $1.25 an issue, covering publishing costs. Ryan hopes to eventually get enough advertisers on board to make the cost to consumers free.

If the magazine makes a profit, a portion of the proceeds will go to Stop Child Abuse and Neglect, or SCAN, which provides counseling to victims.

Ryan insisted that publishing the information is fair game because it's already online and public domain anyway. He argued that the high recidivism rate of sexual abuse warrants the scrutiny and that his endeavor will be a success if it prevents one child from going through what he did.

"I have post-traumatic stress disorder because of it," Ryan said. "It was very difficult for me to get to a point where I wasn't blaming myself and had all those guilty feelings."

The magazine is currently only offered in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, but Ryan hopes to expand to other cities. ..Source.. Tanya Spencer

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Web site plotting sex offender locations not always accurate

3-29-2010 Ohio:

Despite what a state Web site says, Collins Christian Children's Center does not have registered sex offenders living a football field's distance away on both sides.

Nor does a man who molested his 7-year-old daughter live within 1,000 feet of Firelands Presbyterian Day Care in Port Clinton.

In Norwalk, however, a man who performed oral sex on his 11-year-old nephew lives closer to a day-care provider than the Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification system, known as eSORN, would make it seem.

Register searches on the eSORN site, which allows the public to keep tabs on sex offenders in their neighborhoods, turned up at least 25 instances in which the system plotted the addresses of schools, day-care providers and sex offenders incorrectly.

In the case of Collins Christian Children's Center, the map placement is wrong for the church where it is housed and both offenders who supposedly live within the restricted radius. Instead, the nearest offender lives a quarter-mile away. A registered sex offender does live within 1,000 feet of Just Like Home Day Care and Learning Center in Huron Township, but both are more than a mile west of where eSORN says they are, on Cleveland Road West near Rye Beach Road.

Steeplechase Drive, a street where a sex offender recently lived near Shumaker Elementary in Bellevue, doesn't even appear on the eSORN map.

Law enforcement officials who deal with sex offender registrations say they're well aware of eSORN's accuracy issues, which seem especially prevalent in Norwalk and Clyde.

"There are some discrepancies in their pages," said Sandusky County Sheriff's Major Tom Fligor. "From what I hear, they're trying to update all those." ..Source.. SUSAN MCMILLAN

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Harrell arrested in Somer Thompson murder

Harrell Arrest Docket

3-26-2010 Florida:

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Action News has confirmed Jarred Harrell has been arrested in Somer Thompson's murder.

A source confirms with Action News Jarred Harrell will be charged in Somer's murder. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office will not confirm the arrest but it says it will make a major announcement in the investigation into Somer Thompson’s murder today at noon. The seven-year-old disappeared in October, while walking home from school.

....

On February 11th, Jared Harrell was named as a person of interest in the Somer Thompson murder investigation. The Clay County Sheriff's Office says it executed a search warrant at Harrell’s former residence at 1152 Gano Avenue, near Somer’s home. Investigators from the Clay County Sheriff's Office, FBI, and FDLE searched the home for evidence throughout the night. Harrell was arrested in Meridian, Mississippi for 29 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

...

On February 24th, Jarred Harrell was extradited to Clay County and booked into the jail. Later that day, Harrell was charged with 29 counts of Child Pornography. Detectives say they found pornographic images of a young girl on a computer owned by Jarred Harrell. Investigators also say they found pornographic video and pictures of a young girl at the Callahan home of Harrell's mother. According to the warrant, Harrell is seen in the video posing a child.

On February 25th, Jarred Harrell was charged with 12 more counts of Production of Child Porn and Molestation of that child. Harrell appeared in court for an arraignment on 55 charges of child porn and molestation of a child on March 3rd. Harrell’s attorney entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf for all the charges.

Today, Jarred Harrell was arrested and charged with the murder of Somer Thompson. In a news conference today, Sheriff Rick Beseler announced Harrell's arrest, "158 days ago our community was rocked by the brutal murder of a 7 year old girl," he said, " As we all wrapped our arms around the family of Somer Thompson and each other to grieve, the out pouring of support and generosity to bring Somer’s killer to justice was the light in the search for justice in this community."

Sheriff Beseler described four key points that lead Team Somer to arrest Jarred Harrell, “We have evidence that will show that Harrell assaulted Somer, killed her and dumped her body in a dumpster that eventually ended up in a Folkston, Georgia landfill.” Beseler said, investigators relied on statements from witnesses, admissions from the suspect (Harrell), evidence collected from the Gano Avenue home and DNA evidence linking Harrell to the crime.

Sheriff Beseler told the media today, Somer Thompson died of asphyxiation, “I can’t comment on the condition of the body or the evidence found around the body, it would be inappropriate at this time.”

State Attorney, Angela Corey spoke briefly saying, “I concur with the Sheriff that this type of crime, absolutely qualifies for the death penalty.” Harrell is charged with premeditated murder, meaning Harrell, planned, plotted or deliberated before committing murder. Premeditation is an element in first degree murder that shows intent to commit that crime. ..Source.. Fox30Jax.com

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Slain Girl's Mom: Suspect a "Monster"

3-28-2010 Florida:

Somer Thompson's Mother Calls on Communities Nationwide to Be More Vigilant, Saying, "This Isn't Mayberry Anymore"

(CBS/ AP) An unemployed restaurant worker was charged Friday with sexually assaulting and killing 7-year-old Somer Thompson, whose body was discovered in a Georgia landfill two days after she vanished walking home from school in north Florida.

Jarred Mitchell Harrell, 24, faces charges of premeditated murder, lewd and lascivious battery and sexual battery. Somer was lured into Harrells' parents' home and later asphyxiated and tossed into a trash bin, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said, but he did not want to give too many details about her death.

"I've waited 158 days to find out who did this to my child," said Somer's mom, Diena Thompson. "Who could do this?"

She didn't hold back, adding, "A monster. That's all this person is, a monster."

And she had a message for Harrell: "I would like to take this opportunity to say … we got you, and you ain't getting away."

Harrell was already being investigated for child porn on his computer when the second-grader went missing Oct. 19, but initially he wasn't a prime suspect in her disappearance. Instead, authorities interviewed convicted sex offenders within a 5-mile radius of Somer's suburban north Florida home.

On Feb. 11, Clay County authorities filed the child porn charges and Harrell was arrested in Mississippi. He was called a person of interest in Somer's case and has been in jail ever since.

When his name surfaced, it was one of more than 4,000 leads in the case, reports CBS News Correspondent Kelly Wallace.

Somer's case - an innocent little girl vanishing from a quiet suburban street - resonated with many.

"It could have been any one of our children," the sheriff said.

The discovery of her body touched off fear and an outpouring of grief in northeast Florida and southern Georgia for the Thompson family -- as well as support: Days of vigils and fundraisers were held so Somer's mom would have enough money to stay home with her other children. A mountain of stuffed animals, balloons and notes to the family sprung up near a tree across from the little girl's home.

"Somer was such a bright star that never got her chance to shine," her mother said.

She's calling on communities nationwide to unite and take action, stressing, "This isn't Mayberry anymore. We, as parents, as community leaders, as citizens, we need to get together and figure out what it is that we're not doing right."

"The pulse of our country is looking at cases like this with just an eagle eye," attorney and In Session correspondent Jean Casarez remarked to "Early Show Saturday Edition" substitute co-anchor Kelly Cobiella," which will, Casarez says, add to what already will be a "very difficult, very difficult" case for the defense.

Still, Casarez pointed out that police dogs were in Harell's parent's house's backyard and didn't flag any scents. She noted a defense lawyer could say, "'He didn't do it. The dogs didn't even see it." They might also try an insanity defense, but that, too, is "very difficult," Casarez said.

During a press conference at the same church where Somer's memorial service was held, Beseler said detectives used DNA evidence, witnesses and statements from Harrell to solve the case.

"Our collective resolve to bring Somer's killer to justice is the only light in the darkness caused by this tragedy," Beseler said as about 50 members of "Team Somer" - the sheriff's office investigators and staff who worked the case - stood by.

"This is someone with no criminal record," Casarez observed. "This is someone that they couldn't have their DNA in a database."

Harrell's relatives have said they don't believe he is capable of violence. Messages left at the public defender's office were not immediately returned.

Prosecutors can seek the death penalty in this case, but they have not said whether they will do so.

Somer's mother said she would support prosecutors' efforts if they decide to seek capital punishment.

Clay County detectives said at the time of Somer's disappearance, Harrell was living at his parents' suburban Jacksonville home, near her home and school.

On a hunch, they tailed nine garbage trucks from her neighborhood to the landfill and picked through the trash as each rig spilled its load. They sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage before they spotted her legs sticking out of the trash.

Harrell had come to the attention of law enforcement in August, two months before Somer disappeared. His roommates said they kicked him out for stealing and they discovered child pornography. It was soon turned over to investigators.

The parents of one the roommates drove by Harrell's parents' home a few days after Somer disappeared and noticed how close they lived to the girl's house. When they saw Harrell's car in his parents' driveway, they told detectives.

He was arrested on the child pornography charges at an aunt's home in Meridian, Miss., where he had moved a few weeks earlier.

The sheriff's office has said Harrell wasn't arrested earlier because detectives had to prove Harrell downloaded the child porn.

Harrell has also been charged with 29 counts of possessing child pornography in Florida, as well as a dozen additional counts of child porn and child molestation.

Beseler said Somer was not in Harrell's parents' home for long. "I believe it was something that went rather quickly," he said.

When Somer's mother mentioned the asphyxiation at her own news conference, her older sister fainted.

Thompson's voice, however, was unwavering.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say to Jarred Harrell that we got you and you ain't getting away," she said. "He had an impulse and he took something away from me. Why would you take away your own life for my seven-year-old daughter, my baby?" ..Source.. CBS News

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Hearings on New Hampshire crime bills in the next two weeks

3-28-2010 New Hampshire:

NH Statehouse Update Number Six From Chris Dornin

Advocates for Smarter Criminal Laws can testify between now and April 6 on half a dozen bills, including SB 500 next Thursday, addressed in my previous legislative alert today. That’s the most important bill hearing by far in the next two weeks. It’s nothing less than a favorable revolution in prison and parole practices. Here are the other bills and why they matter.

Tuesday March 30 in House Criminal Justice Committee
Room 204 of Legislative Office Building

11:00 a.m. SB 471 makes it a felony to use one’s authority to induce someone to touch themselves in a sexual way in the perpetrator’s presence. Supporters of the bill never said how often this type of exploitation happens, but it should never happen. The bill deserves support.

Tuesday, March 30, in Senate Judiciary Committee
Room 103 of the Statehouse

2:00 p.m. HB 1472 lets a witness testify by teleconference in minor motor vehicle cases. Bill would cost the courts $576,000 in start-up investments for hardware, plus $107,000 per year for Internet fees, but police departments would probably save even more. Citizens could save as well by testifying from work or home. Both sides win, and this is a good bill.

2:15 p.m. HB 1634 makes grabbing someone around the throat in anger a Class B felony instead of a misdemeanor. Each year the laws against crime get incrementally tougher by virtue of bills like this. Is it needed? I take no strong position one way or the other, but I wish lawmakers would make tweaks in the other direction more often. Fortunately, SB 500 makes up for years of such one-way changes to the criminal code.

2:45 p.m. HB 1508 as first introduced barred sex offenders on the public registry from contacting their victim by any means, even by causing someone else to talk to them. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor. A House amendment improved the bill a bit, but not enough. It added wording to allow a perpetrator who abused a family member to make contact under certain narrow and unavoidable circumstances.

Comment: Restraining orders and individualized parole or probation plans already ban unwelcome and unhealthy contacts between offenders and victims on a case by case basis. This bill ignores the reality that some incest offenders have wives who want them back. HB 1508 would make it almost impossible for such a marriage to resume. Without a life partner, the sex offender might be likely to recidivate. Even if the offending parent lives elsewhere, the legislation would seem to preclude any visits to the home if the victim also lives there. The mother could not serve as the go-between.

The intent of this bill is worthy, to prevent a victim from further suffering at the hands of someone who hurt them badly. But the legislation is almost identical to a Florida law pushed through almost single-handedly several years ago by high-powered lobbyist Ron Book. He was furious that his daughter had been viciously abused and raped by their live-in nanny for years. When the nanny wrote to his daughter from prison, Book got Florida lawmakers to bar all 50,000 convicted sex offenders from ever contacting their victims. That blanket order was unjust to many of them. It portrayed them all as incorrigible sadists like the nanny. They are not all like that.

The New Hampshire bill takes a similar overly broad view of a diverse group of ex-felons, some, if not many, of whom might deserve to reconcile with their victims and vice versa. Credible research suggests that many sex offenders, possibly as many as half, were teenagers or younger when they committed their crimes. Some were Romeos who still love their girlfriends, and that love is returned.

Similar research shows that roughly half the people on the registry are close relatives of their victims. The bill needs to clarify and broaden the rights of both groups of offenders to rebuild any relationships worth rebuilding. Those offenders should be able to approach their victim through a responsible lawyer, minister or social worker under much wider circumstances than HB 1508 allows.

Tuesday, April 6, in Senate Judiciary Committee
Room 103 of the Statehouse

2:00 p.m. HB 523 calls for DNA testing of all persons convicted of a felony. How could NH lawmakers leave $3 million in federal funds on the table in 2007 by refusing to participate in the Real ID program as a violation of privacy rights, but pass legislation like HB 523? This bill would collect DNA from a burglar or bank robber without a shred of probable cause to solve a rape case ten years from now or ten years ago, maybe in Alaska .

Article 19 of the New Hampshire constitution is a full and adequate rebuke to that idea. It was intended to prevent a police state: Let prosecutors and police obtain search warrants from judges on a case by case basis to obtain that DNA. The thought behind HB 523 is that all sex offenders are serial, predatory, stranger-oriented rapists, and that all felons are really sex offenders at heart. Those myths are well debunked in the academic literature.

What happens in the year 2010 when DNA researchers have the technology to predict which genes or clusters of DNA correlate with which criminal behaviors? Do we civilly commit the folks most likely to offend before they do it? The possibility is hardly remote. In a dubious practice, the state already keeps certain sex offenders in prison after they max out to prevent them from doing another sex crime. They get punished for something they haven’t done yet and might never do.

Here’s Article 19.

Every subject hath a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions. Therefore, all warrants to search suspected places, or arrest a person for examination or trial in prosecutions for criminal matters, are contrary to this right, if the cause or foundation of them be not previously supported by oath or affirmation; and if the order, in a warrant to a civil officer, to make search in suspected places, or to arrest one or more suspected persons or to seize their property, be not accompanied with a special designation of the persons or objects of search, arrest, or seizure; and no warrant ought to be issued; but in cases and with the formalities, prescribed by law.

2:30 p.m. HB 1653 makes it legal to possess one quarter of an ounce or less of marijuana, basically a joint. The war on drugs has failed as badly as prohibition did, and this bill is a small rational step to end that war.

3:00 p.m. HB 1655 shortens the wait for a competency evaluation for someone behind bars in lieu of bail who might be unfit to stand trial. The bill also reduces the maximum time somebody found incompetent can remain in a jail or prison, and it streamlines the involuntary admission of persons found incompetent to stand trial. This legislation makes good sense.

3:30 p.m. HB 1667 would relax the red tape in labeling and dispensing containers of prescribed controlled drugs. The result would be fewer drug prosecutions against people who otherwise obtain their prescribed drugs lawfully. We should support this one.

Here is a link to the legislative website where you can find contact information on your senator and state reps. Please phone or email them on any bills you care about if you can't attend the hearing. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx ..Source e-mail.. from Chris Dornin who is a prison volunteer, a former prison counselor, and a retired NH Statehouse reporter. He can be reached at 603-228-9610 or cldornin@aol.com.

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Your New Facebook Friend May Be a Federal Agent

3-27-2010 National:

WASHINGTON (March 26) -- A Justice Department document asks the simple question: Why Go Undercover on Facebook, MySpace, etc.?

Then it goes on to explain: "Communicate with suspects/targets" ... "gain access to non-public info" ... "map social relationships/networks."

The document, part of a Justice Department PowerPoint presentation, demonstrates how some federal and local law enforcement agents are quietly creating fictitious accounts on social networks like Facebook and MySpace to get dirt on suspected criminals. The presentation recently surfaced in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court.

"This is just the way people meet these days -- electronically," James Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told AOL News. "It wouldn't be any different than calling someone on the phone, say, in an undercover capacity. If we can meet them on Facebook by creating a fictitious account, that's great. "

Even so, the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco filed the lawsuit in December against about a half a dozen federal agencies to create a public dialogue on the matter and make sure agencies have guidelines for agents, according to Marcia Hofmann, a senior staff attorney for the foundation. The Justice Department, Homeland Security, Treasury, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are included in the suit.

Some agencies don't readily appear to have guidelines and some have offered to produce them in coming months to satisfy the demands in the lawsuit, according to Hofmann.

"This on one hand is a very clever use of these tools, but it makes you wonder when enterprising agents come up with these ideas, what is appropriate and what is not," she said. "I don't want to speculate as to what they do and they don't do. I do think there should be a public debate whether it's ethically sound or not. There should be some transparency."

Initially, social networks like MySpace, which first surfaced in 2003, and Facebook, which launched in 2004, and Twitter which arrived in 2006, were simply for hip high school and college-aged kids. As social media's popularity soared, law enforcement began to realize that there was more to these networks than idle gossip and photos of cats, dogs, proms and beer parties.

Now, some federal agents privately talk, almost in amazement, about how much information is available on social networks and how careless criminals are. They say some information can be obtained without even going undercover.

In fact, they say some criminals -- and noncriminals as well -- fail to select the right security settings to block non-friends from seeing photos and other personal information on sites like Facebook. And besides, anyone can see a person's friend list without "friending" the person.

"It's not like we have to dig very deep," said one federal agent who has not created fictitious accounts but knows of others who have. "Facebook is the best. They videotape themselves. They have pictures with guns, posing with gang members. There's addresses of homes. We tend to go after what's there."

Another federal agent says he's amazed how freely some criminals post information on social networks.

"I'm surprised by the recklessness of it," the agent said. "I would think they would be smarter. That's why we only catch the stupid ones. "

Still, even before the recent documents surfaced publicly about fictitious accounts, some federal law enforcement agencies readily admitted to being aware of criminals using the social networks.

On Jan. 27, for example, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles issued a press release about the indictment of 20 suspected members of the Riverside Street Gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia. The release noted that the members use "MySpace.com to communicate about gang business, and they use rap music videos and recordings to deliver a message of violence and intimidation."

DEA Agent Sarah Pullen of the Los Angeles office said of the probe, "Any time you have visual evidence that is available, it is extremely helpful in conducting an investigation. It would be the same as a piece of mail or a photo; anything that shows evidence of a crime."

In Washington, federal law enforcement agencies have responded to the issue of agents creating fictitious undercover accounts with carefully worded responses.

"The Department of Justice and our agents follow applicable laws, regulations and internal guidelines for investigations, regardless of whether those investigations occur online or on the street," Laura Sweeney, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said in a statement to AOL News.

"Just as we've done successfully in identifying and prosecuting child predators online, we will continue to use publicly available information individuals post online about their illegal activities, or false statements to law enforcement officials, in our investigations. To do otherwise would be negligence on our part," Sweeney said.

Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman, noted, "Simply said, law enforcement needs to be able to constantly adapt to the changing world around them while maintaining its ability to use all lawful and available tools at its disposal to gather potential leads to solve crimes."

Interestingly, the Internal Revenue Service provided a document in the San Francisco lawsuit that states employee guidelines for the Internet. "You cannot obtain information from websites by registering ... fictitious identities," the document said.

"I think it's interesting the IRS has drawn the line, and the Justice Department has not," the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Hofmann said.

There has been limited public outcry about the prospects of agents creating undercover accounts since the Justice Department document surfaced.

But Hofmann mentioned the La Crosse, Wis., police department, which reportedly created a fake Facebook page using an attractive, blond-haired woman to lure students and find out about underage drinking. The department did not return a call for comment.

The La Crosse Tribune reported in November that Adam Bauer, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse sophomore, had nearly 400 friends on Facebook and added the attractive woman. Shortly after, police had Facebook photos of him drinking, and he was fined $227.

After his court appearance in November, Bauer told the paper, "I just can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie, like they are always watching. When does it end?" ..Source..

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REGION: Sex offenders share lack of empathy

3-27-2010 California:

Experts say refusal to acknowledge crime increases chance of new offense

Some are young, some are old, some are middle-aged.

They can be poor, wealthy or middle-class. Some are smart, some not so smart.

While researchers say sex offenders fit no typical profile, they share the characteristics of deviant sexual arousal, interests or preferences, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Center for Sex Offender Management.

Those include sexual contact with young children or adolescents; sexual contact with others against their will; inflicting pain or humiliation on others; taking part in or watching violent acts; exposing themselves in public; and secretly watching others undress or engage in sexual contact.

When they commit their crimes, nearly all sex offenders are aware that what they are doing is illegal and harmful to their victim, the center says.

"Yet they engage in the behavior anyway," the center says. "What happens is that sex offenders may tell themselves that the behavior is not harmful, or that it is less serious, or claim that the victim enjoyed the behavior."

Sex offenders such as John Albert Gardner III, who refuse to take responsibility for their crimes, are more likely to commit another sex offense, according to a San Diego State University sociologist.

"With adolescents, the earlier you identify them, the more successful treatment is," said Dr. Thom Reilly, director of the university's School of Social Work. "The older someone gets, and if they are unwilling to admit their offense, the chances of treatment being successful are a lot less."

Gardner's records show he repeatedly denied committing the lewd and lascivious acts with a 13-year-old girl that resulted in a six-year prison term in 2000.

It was the girl's mother, not he, who was responsible for beating her, the then-20-year-old Gardner told authorities.

"The defendant made no mention whatsoever of feeling contrition or remorse," according to a pre-sentence report.

Denying culpability signals a likelihood to reoffend, Reilly said during an interview last week.

"With someone who refuses to acknowledge their crime or who blame others, there's a lot less chance that the behaviors will be changed," he said.

Four years after he was paroled in 2006, Gardner, 30, is charged with the Feb. 25 slaying and sexual assault of Chelsea King, 17, of Poway.

Gardner is also charged with the Dec. 27 assault on a jogger at Rancho Bernardo Community Park, the same park near where Chelsea was slain.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he remains the only named suspect in the February 2009 disappearance and murder of 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido.

Lack of empathy

San Diego clinical psychologist Dr. Michael Mantell has worked with sex offenders for decades and says most share a characteristic: "These are people with tremendous deficits of empathy."

Sex offenders are almost always victims of some type of abuse when they were young.

Gardner, for example, told authorities after his arrest in 2000 that he often was beaten by his father, whom he described as an alcoholic.

"The psychology of the offender almost always includes having been offended themselves," Mantell said. "Somewhere in their life, the person has been preyed upon and hurt emotionally. I haven't seen any (sex offender) who wasn't her- or himself hurt in a physical, emotional or sexual way."

Researchers say it's those who are never treated for such abuse that pose a higher risk of becoming sex offenders later in life.

Mantell said his experience in working with sex offenders convinces him they are driven by impulse to commit their crimes.

"These people are obsessed," he said. "It's always on their minds."

From everything he has learned about Gardner, including the conclusion of the psychologist who interviewed Gardner in 2000 and determined he was a predator who represented a continuing danger, Mantell said he believes the murder suspect "has all the signs and symptoms of a multiple sex offender."

"When a psychologist says 'he cannot be rehabilitated,' you need remarkably compelling evidence to the contrary to believe the behavior will ever change," Mantell said. "These are people who, in their core belief system, think that having sex with kids is OK. It's only the ones who show genuine remorse and are really working at it who are good candidates for rehabilitation."

Someone who kills in the commission of a rape or an attempted rape, as Gardner is accused of doing, is considered a "lust murderer."

"They enjoy watching their victim suffer," Mantell said.

No simple cures

A report issued by the California Sex Offender Management Board in January cautions that there is no magic formula for identifying, treating or monitoring sex offenders.

"No two sex offenders pose the same level of risk, nor can they be managed or supervised in identical ways," the report concluded. "Similarly, policymakers and the public should be suspicious of any one technology or strategy which promises to solve the problem of sex offenders."

At any given time, California has about 10,000 sex offenders under county probation officer supervision and an additional 6,800 on parole from prison and under the watch of state parole officers.

Treatment services for those individuals are often nonexistent, according to the management board report.

There is no formal sex offender treatment program in the prisons, and the report urges Sacramento lawmakers to fund one, as well as post-prison counseling.

Gardner violated his parole on at least seven occasions.

But those violations ---- speeding, driving without a license, marijuana possession ---- were considered minor and not enough to revoke his parole or have him committed to a mental hospital for evaluation.

That's one of the areas that state lawmakers and the parents of Chelsea King now say needs a comprehensive review.

The Sex Offender Management Board issued that same message in January, saying the state needs a more efficient screening process to determine which parole violations indicate a stronger chance of the person reoffending.

Politics and recidivism

Calls for mandatory "one-strike" laws that would lock up a sex offender for life after a single conviction came shortly after Gardner was arrested.

In fact, numerous studies of convicted sex offenders show that the majority are never arrested for a second sex offense.

Their recidivism rate is far lower in California and nationwide than for most other types of crimes.

A 2008 report to the state Legislature that studied more than 4,000 sex offenders after their release from prison found only 3.5 percent committed a new sex offense within three years.

Thirty-five percent, however, were returned to prison because of a parole violation, according to the study.

The relatively low likelihood of a second sex offense, but required lifetime registration requirement under Megan's Law, creates questions of appropriateness, according to Jody Armour, a University of Southern California law professor.

"Unlike murderers, arsonists and other people convicted of committing serious bodily injury, it's only sex offenders who have continuing lifetime reporting obligations," he said. "How do we square that with how we treat the others?"

Armour said he recognizes the calls for tougher punishment and even more monitoring of sex offenders.

"But we need to make sure we temper our judgment with a sense of proportionality," he said.

*California sex offender recidivism breakdown:

Returned to prison because of new sex offense within three years: 3.5 percent

Returned to prison because of a new nonsex offense within three years: 4.5 percent

Returned to prison for parole violation: 35.5 percent

*Source: California Sex Offender Management Board January 2008 Report to the Legislature. Study followed 4,287 sex offenders released from state prisons in 2003.

*General recidivism rates among 2005 California parolees returned to prison within two years:

Vehicle theft: 67 percent

Possession of a controlled substance: 62 percent

Robbery: 52 percent

Burglary: 52 percent to 59 percent depending on classification of crime

Forgery: 48 percent

Arson: 46 percent

Sexual penetration with an object: 34 percent

Lewd act with a child: 32 percent. This is the charge for which Chelsea King homicide suspect John Albert Gardner was convicted of in 2000.

Rape: 28 percent

Murder: 3.3 percent

*Source: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The individuals in the study were returned to prison because of new offenses or violation of their parole conditions. ..Source.. MARK WALKER - mlwalker@nctimes.com

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Sex offender law tossed out

3-27-2010 New York:

SCHENECTADY -- The sex offender residency law in Schenectady County became the latest to be thrown out by the courts Friday.

State Supreme Court Justice Barry Kramer ruled that it was superseded by state law, said attorney Terence Kindlon of Kindlon Shanks and Associates in Albany.

The state law deals with convicted sex offenders on parole or probation, while the Schenectady County law covered all convicted sex offenders. The county law forbade sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a place commonly used by children.

"These laws may become so onerous that they eventually drive sex offenders underground,'' Kindlon said regarding the county laws. "There's no more dangerous situation than that."

This was the fourth successful pro bono case brought by Kindlon's firm on behalf of a sex offender. Kindlon's associate, Kathy Manley, handled the Schenectady case.

County laws were also invalidated by the courts in Albany, Rensselaer and Washington counties. ..Source.. Kenneth C. Crowe II

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As "Megan's Law" turns 15, are we any safer?

3-26-2010 New Jersey:

New Jersey is currently out of compliance with its own land mark sex offender law, named after slain Hamilton girl, Megan Kanka. Why did this happen?

WHAT HAPPENED TO MEGAN?

It was a warm afternoon in late July, 1994, when a seven-year-old girl named Megan Kanka was beckoned across the street by her neighbor, a 33-year-old man named Jesse Timmendequas. He asked her if she wanted to see his new puppy. Once she was inside his house, he raped her then slammed her head into a dresser, strangled her to death with a belt, then put two plastic bags over her head to prevent blood from getting on the carpet and raped her again. Finally he shoved her body into a toy box and dumped it next to a portable toilet in Mercer County Park.

The murder-rape of Megan Kanka inspired local and national outrage that ultimately lead to the creation of "Megan's Law." The law requires that a database of registered sex offenders be maintained and that when a dangerous sex offender moves into a community, its residents be informed. In 1996, then President Bill Clinton passed a federal law that required every state to follow New Jersey's lead.

Fifteen years later, New Jersey, like many states, is out of compliance with its own law. The problems are many: maintaining the sex offender registry and notification system is expensive, trying to find locations for sex offenders to live is increasingly difficult, many psychologists who specialize in sexual behavior believe that many sexual offenders are not able to change, and the premise of the law -that informing people of danger will help them keep safe- has been criticized by legal experts and law enforcement officials alike.

HOW DOES THE LAW WORK?

"Megan's Law" sorts sex offenders into three different tiers. After psychological evaluation, a judge assigns offenders into a tier. Tier one determines that the sex offender is at low risk to re-offend, tier two determines that they are at moderate risk to society and tier three include those individuals who are assessed as being a high risk to society.

The information available on the registry website .... includes a photo, the name of the sex offender, any aliases the offender has used, descriptions of marks such as tattoos and scars, description of the vehicle used by the offender and its license plate number, the offender's current address and the nature of offense including victim's age at time of offense.

Maureen Kanka, Megan's mother, in a recent interview with the VOICE stated that the picture is a great element of the registry. "Parents can sit down with their children and show them the picture of who the offender is, to better help protect their children," Kanka says.

On the New Jersey registry website, however, some images are out of date by as much as two years. This can be aproblem as sex offenders can lose or gain weight, change their hair style, or otherwise modify their appearance.

The registry lists offenders who have committed a sex related crime against an adult, molested a child or been found not guilty for reason of insanity. However, the registry does not list every person who has ever committed a sexual crime, including some juvenile offenders.

Once individuals are classified, the prosecutor's office starts the notification process based on the risk assessment. In the case of moderate to high-risk offenders, the prosecutor's office notifies the public by posting information on the state's Internet registry. In addition, law enforcement officials go door to door and post flyers to let people know that a sex offender is moving into their area.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS?

Beyond questions of whether "Megan's Law" protects citizens or not, there is no doubt that it is expensive to carry out. Furthermore, the costs of compliance far outweigh the penalties for being out of compliance.

According to JusticePolicy.org and a recent press release by David T. Schlendorf Law offices, "New Jersey's first-year outlay of $14,088,206 would vastly exceed the $516,071 it stands to lose [in federal funds] if it fails to implement" current sex offender registry and notification laws.

A 2008 study conducted by Rutgers University and The New Jersey Department of Corrections, through a grant from the National Institute of Justice, found that "The cost for Megan's Law implementation during calendar year 2006 was estimated to be $1,557,978 [per county], whereas implementation costs during calendar year 2007 totaled $3,973,932 for responding counties. This change represents a 155 percent increase in ongoing expenses from calendar year 2006 to calendar year 2007." The report concluded that the sudden increase was likely linked to the new use of Global Positioning Satellites for the most dangerous offenders and the increased costs of surveillance.

Currently New Jersey is facing an $11 billion deficit on a $33 billion budget and Governor Christie is making up the difference without increasing taxes, a position he campaigned on. The result has been a long list of budget cuts. College tuition assistance has been slashed, while prescription drug fees for seniors has been doubled. In such an economic climate, it is perhaps not surprising that the state would choose to remain out of compliance with costly sex offender laws.

CAN THE LAW BE ENFORCED

Even if Governor Christie was able to find the funds to bring New Jersey back into compliance with "Megan's Law," a growing body of evidence suggests it is difficult for the police to ensure total enforcement of the law.

The logistical complications of enacting sex offender notification and registry laws have been highlighted in recent weeks through a series of incidents in California which operates under a variation of "Megan's Law" known as "Jessica's Law." The law is named after a nine-year-old girl from Florida who was raped and then buried alive by her 47-year-old neighbor, John Couey, in 2005.

According to an article by Gerry Shih in the New York Times on March 6, 2010, a California sex offender named James F. Donnelly moved into a house directly across the street from Wildwood Elementary School in Piedmont, directly violating the terms of "Jessica's Law." Parents complained to local law enforcement, but the Police Chief, John Hunt, was informed by the Alameda County district attorney and the California attorney general that there were no provisions in "Jessica's Law" for removing or punishing Donnelly.

Shih's article notes that, "For Mr. Donnelly's housing decision to be considered a violation of state law, 'there has to be a punishment attached,'" according to Nancy O'Malley, the Alameda County district attorney. She went on to say that "Jessica's Law never assigned a punishment."

Shih quotes Police Chief Hunt as saying: "I was amazed. You have this law that was overwhelmingly voted in and determined to be constitutional, and then you find out there's no bite to it. It's all bark and no bite."

In some situations, Donnelly's actions could amount to a parole violation and land him back in jail, but as the Rutgers University 2008 study points out, "Only 32 percent of [sex] offenders were paroled whereas 68 percent maxed out, leaving the prison with no post-incarceration supervision requirements other than those imposed by Megan's Law." When offenders are not on parole they must register and keep their address information up to date, but in many states there is no punishment for offenders who simply move into restricted areas. "Megan's Law" is primarily concerned with providing information, not punishment.

A recent report conducted by Administrative Offices of the Court shows that as of June 2009 in the state of New Jersey, 5,102 individuals failed to register with local police.

Maureen Kanka says she thinks there needs to be better education of judges and better enforcement of the law. "Too many times I hear that an offender will fail to register, and once they catch him they will slap him on the hand," Kanka says.

IS KNOWING ENOUGH?

"The premise of passing 'Megan's Law' was to bring awareness to families about potential danger living in their community," said Megan's mother, Maureen Kanka, in a recent interview with The College VOICE. Mrs. Kanka, still a Hamilton resident, maintains that if she had known that Timmendequas and two other convicted sex offenders were living right across the street, she would have been able to warn her daughter and protect her from harm. But is knowing enough?

In an article entitled "Would 'Megan's Law' Have Saved Megan?" published in the New Jersey Law Journal on July 8, 1996, senior reporter Tim O'Brien writes that "In fact, interviews and a police report make clear that neighbors living within at least eight houses of the Cifelli house [where Timmendequas lived] were aware that [Joseph Cefelli] was a convicted sex offender. Those interviewed also all knew specifics of the charges against him."

O'Brien goes on to suggest that even the Kankas may have known about Cifelli, if not about Cefelli's housemate, Timmendequas. O'Brien writes, "four neighbors say they believe that the Kankas --of 32 Barbara Lee Drive [in Hamilton, N.J.]-- also knew that Cifelli, who lived diagonally across the street from them, was a convicted sex offender."

Obrien quotes David Rocha, who was an American Civil Liberties Union -NJ staff attorney at that time, saying that "the disclosure that neighbors had some knowledge underscores the 'fallacy of the law, which seems to be premised on two choices, either you drive the offenders out, or you hide your children as prisoners in their own home.'" Rocha goes on to say that "In reality, after a time people will go about living their lives, and will behave or respond in a variety of ways. But laws should be structured to set a social policy or solve a societal problem. Laws can't solve individual problems, and policies shouldn't be based on anecdote."

Maureen Kanka insists that O'Brien got it wrong and she is certain that "Megan's Law" has saved lives. She says, "I have received e-mails over the years from people whose children have been affiliated with sex offenders and before the legislation was passed they had no idea there was a problem with them."

Mrs. Kanka's view that having access to information may change the way citizens behave is supported by substantial evidence. Victoria Beck, Ph.D. led a group of researchers who published a series of articles in The Journal of Psychiatry & Law that showed when a community is notified of a sexual offender's presence in their neighborhood, their fear of victimization increases as does their likelihood of taking some self-protective measures, such as buying a dog or firearm or installing alarm system. But the same research indicates these behaviors have no impact on whether or not offenders reoffend.

A research study in Washington state that examined the behavior of sexual offenders released prior to the enactment of registry and notification laws, and those released after the laws went into effect also showed no difference in recidivism rates, but did find that new offenses were detected more quickly once they had been committed.

Sgt. William P. Bastedo who is currently in charge of the "Megan's Law" unit of the West Windsor Township police, says that the law is valuable to law enforcers, because "We know who the offenders are and where they are located." Knowing who to talk to when a child goes missing or is found dead, however, does not appear to be the original intent of "Megan's Law" and may not be what community members expect it to offer.

WILL SEX OFFENDERS DO IT AGAIN?

The Rutgers University and New Jersey Department of Corrections study published in 2008 revealed that "Megan's Law" did nothing to reduce rates of recidivism among sex offenders, but the report notes that "New Jersey, as a whole, has experienced a consistent downward trend of sexual offense rates."

The average sentence served by sex offenders is five years. Forty-six percent of those released are re-arrested (9 percent are re-arrested for a sex crime) and the average length of time to re-arrest is two years.

Louis B. Schlesinger, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, told The College Voice in a recent phone interview that, "Treatment will not change an offender's sexual arousal pattern," but that it may help some offenders "gain control" over their behavior.
In his 2003 book "Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicides" Schlesinger seeks to differentiate the various types of sexual murders, pointing out that not all murders that appear sexually motivated are and vice versa.

A survey of Mercer students shows that while few are aware of "Megan's Law," 40 percent believe that treatment is ineffective for sexual offenders. Research suggests this may be true for sociopathic offenders and killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, but is not necessarily the case for all sexual offenders, including the 54 percent who do not re-offend as described in the Rutgers report.

Of those sexual offenders who do recidivate, however, data suggests that sexual registry and notification laws may make them even more likely to seek contact with children simply as a result of being ostracized by the adult community.

According to Richard Tewskbury in his 2005 article "Collateral Consequences of Sex Offender Registration" from the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, a significant minority of registered sexual offenders, no matter what their likelihood for recidivism, suffer from social stigmatization, loss of relationships, and verbal and physical assaults.

Tewskbury also found that a majority of sex offenders reported negative consequences, such as exclusion from residences, threats and harassment, emotional harm to their family members, social exclusion by neighbors, and loss of employment.

"The less stable someone is, it is more likely that they will commit an offense and not qualify to come off of Megan's list" says local public defense attorney Christopher Duffy.

CAN THEY GET OFF THE LIST?

The fact that "Megan's Law" turns 15 this year is particularly significant because one of the provisions of the law allows offenders to petition to have their name removed after 15 years on the list.

Local Public Defense Attorney Michael Buncher said in an interview with The College Voice that so far he has worked with ten registered sex offenders who have sought to have their names removed from the registry. Three of his clients have been denied, but six have been successful. One of Buncher's cases is still pending.

Only certain people qualify to have their names removed from the registry. "Convictions such as sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and offense to more than one victim or more than one offense, automatically qualifies an offender for being on the list for a lifetime, regardless of the tier they were placed on," says Buncher.

Public defense attorney Duffy states that the group most successful in having their names removed are those who committed their offense as juveniles. Yet even for low risk offenders, he adds, "It is possible that someone on tier one may not qualify for name removal."

Human Rights Watch released a statement saying that "Megan's Law" is too broad and that the duration of time spent on the registry is too long. They note that juveniles who are registered under "Megan's Law" may pose little or no risk of recidivism and the scrutiny of the law may leave them less stable and less able to function within the community. ..Source.. Daniela Rocha

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Suspect charged in Somer Thompson murder case

In all the news reports involving "Jarred Harrell" there is no mention that he has ANY criminal history.

3-26-2010 Florida:

CLAY COUNTY, FL -- Clay County authorities have charged a man currently in custody with the October 2009 murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson.

The girl was abducted on her way home from school last October. She was murdered and her body dumped in a Georgia landfill.

Jarred Harrell, 24, has been charged with the crime.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Clay County Sheriff Sheriff Rick Beseler cited DNA, admissions and other evidence obtained during the investigation. He did not elaborate on any specifics.

"We feel confident that Jarred Harrell committed this crime," Sheriff Beseler said. "We have evidence that will show he murdered Somer."

Harrell was arrested last month in Mississippi on charges of child molestation and child pornography and was transferred to Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Authorities say Harrell was living alone in his mother's Clay County home when Somer vanished. The home is close to Somer's route home from school.

In addition to First Degree Murder, Harrell is charged with sexual battery and other offenses. He will be arraigned on the new charges Saturday morning.

Sheriff Beseler said any future statements regarding the case will come the Clay County State Attorney's Office. ..Source.. Cary Williams

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Understanding the Adam Walsh Act Titles: Facts, Myths, Misconceptions and Misconstructions

3-24-2010 National:

UPDATES: As changes are made, they will be followed by ADDED: MM-DD

A little background on the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) may help those who are making claims about it, many of which are simply incorrect. Far to many folks -including professionals and lawyers- have not taken the time to study the act and that has resulted in many misunderstandings and misconstructions of the act.

The following review of AWA is based on the verbatim wording of AWA (As passed by Congress in 2006: HR-4472), and not on how any state may have enacted it, later in time states could be reviewed, but states are constantly changing laws, so any effort would be a fruitless effort, so for today:

The Act (AWA) is made up of 7 titles:

TITLE I--SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT

TITLE II--FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAW ENHANCEMENTS NEEDED TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL ATTACKS AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES

TITLE III--CIVIL COMMITMENT OF DANGEROUS SEX OFFENDERS

TITLE IV--IMMIGRATION LAW REFORMS TO PREVENT SEX OFFENDERS FROM ABUSING CHILDREN

TITLE V--CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PREVENTION

TITLE VI--GRANTS, STUDIES, AND PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SAFETY

TITLE VII--INTERNET SAFETY ACT

Each title addresses different topics.

Title I: Better known by its acronym SORNA. This subtitle sets forth parameters for state legislatures which they are to use to conform state laws to the will of Congress. The intent of Congress is that all states should have the same sex offender registration laws, or as close as possible without violating a state's constitution or other state laws.

Title II: The enhanced punishment section, and makes changes to existing FEDERAL laws. Many federal punishment laws are lengthened and mandatory minimums established. This section also establishes the death penalty for murdering a victim.

Title III: Tries to establish a FEDERAL civil commitment center similar to what 20 states currently have. This also makes grants available for states to do the same, establish civil commitment centers.

Title IV: Handles FEDERAL immigration laws and issues related to sex offenders and sex offenses.

Title V: Establishes new FEDERAL laws prohibiting child pornography and provides penalties for child pornography.

Title VI: Establishes grants to support studies and various parts of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA).

Title VII A separate title addressing sex offenders and sex offenses related to the Internet. And, specific idiosyncrasies of the Internet which may mislead minors. Also established FEDERAL punishments, and enhanced existing FEDERAL punishments, for Internet violations. This title also provides for additional FEDERAL personnel to monitor and prosecute Internet offenses.

Facts, Myths, Misconceptions and Misconstructions about the Adam Walsh Act:

-- Some folks claim: That AWA is a Ex Post Facto law, or, that AWA is a retroactive law. This generally stems from a misunderstanding of the Titles of AWA and failing to distinguish between AWA and SORNA.

-- AWA is not SORNA, SORNA is one title within AWA. Further, the United States Attorney General (USAG) did make a rule to apply SORNA retroactively to all former sex offenders, but the rule did not extend to other titles within AWA.

-- A law (referencing SORNA here) applied retroactively is not necessarily an ex post facto law, it could be to some, and not to others. One must review the facts of each case individually to determine if ex post facto issues are present.

-- Some Internet folks claim AWA is an ex post facto law, that is an erroneous belief, because AWA (the full law, all 7 titles) was not made retroactive, only one title within it (SORNA) was made retroactive.

-- Many folks believe SORNA is a FEDERAL law that DIRECTLY controls ALL sex offenders (i.e., law they must follow). Such is incorrect, SORNA is a set of parameters for state legislatures to use to conform their laws to, not a law which state registrants must follow. However, with that said, once state legislatures conform their state laws to SORNA parameters, it is those state laws which operates DIRECTLY on sex offenders and mandates their compliance. (Note: My construction here will appear to conflict with current court constructions, but soon, in another commentary, my belief will be explained in detail with proof found directly in SORNA)

Most egregious findings within AWA and SORNA:

-- TERM of REGISTRATION (TOR): For a minute ignore that the term is being set and adjusted by the built in classification system. First, earlier state sex offender laws established the TOR. SORNA comes along and changes the TOR -and- there is no built in assurance that, in the future, the TOR will not be changed again by some future law. Second, given that SORNA has been made retroactive, many folks have already gone past the TOR set for them by SORNA. Problem, SORNA starts the TOR all over ignoring past time spent on a state registry. For most TOR will be for a lifetime because of the failure to cap TOR in some way. ADDED: 3-27.

-- Hidden within SORNA (subtitle-B [Sec. 141]) is, a FEDERAL law which prohibits sex offenders from crossing state lines without re-registering. What makes this so egregious, is that, NO registrant of any state registry is told about this HIDDEN FEDERAL law. This clearly affects registrants constitutional right to travel. Further, clearly entrapment of registrants was the reasoning behind hiding it and not NOTIFYING registrants of it!

-- The above hidden FEDERAL law is used as a -jurisdictional hook- to get offenders into FEDERAL courts for prosecution. Once in federal court, and if convicted, offenders will serve their time in the FEDERAL Bureau of Prisons. All sex offenders (and possibly other offenders) nearing the end of their FEDERAL sentence will be reviewed for a possible civil commitment hearing, and that could result in them being held indefinitely in a civil commitment center (a lifetime commitment for treatment which is a ruse to hold them forever).

-- That SORNA was made retroactive to the beginning of time. This includes SORNA (subtitle-A) and SORNA (subtitle-B re: crossing of state lines). Further, allowing the USAG (an administrative employee) to make the rule retroactive, effectively overturns U.S. Supreme court rulings on many issues, for instance:

CALDER v. BULL 8-1-1798 Question:
This is the source of all ex post facto cases: The court holding a law is a ex post facto violation if any of the following have occurred:

1st. Every law that makes an action , done before the passing of the law, and which was innocent when done, criminal; and punishes such action.

2nd. Every law that aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, when committed.

3rd. Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed.

4th. Every law that alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less, or different, testimony, than the law required at the time of the commission of the offence, in order to convict the offender.

-- The failure of SORNA to recognize state judicial decisions and state laws affecting registrants and their duty, to register or not register, -AND- SORNA only recognizing state supreme court decision on those issues. This clearly will raise new ex post facto claims, and so it should!

Some related court constructions:

-- Smith -v- Doe Held: Because the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act is nonpunitive, its retroactive application does not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause. Pp. 4—18. Hence, such laws are civil and regulatory.

SNIP FROM DECISION: "The Court of Appeals reasoned that the requirement of periodic updates imposed an affirmative disability. In reaching this conclusion, the Court of Appeals was under a misapprehension, albeit one created by the State itself during the argument below, that the offender had to update the registry in person. Id., at 984, n. 4. The State’s representation was erroneous. The Alaska statute, on its face, does not require these updates to be made in person. And, as respondents conceded at the oral argument before us, the record contains no indication that an in-person appearance requirement has been imposed on any sex offender subject to the Act. Tr. of Oral Arg. 26—28."

The Court of Appeals held that the registration system is parallel to probation or supervised release in terms of the restraint imposed. 259 F.3d, at 987. This argument has some force, but, after due consideration, we reject it. Probation and supervised release entail a series of mandatory conditions and allow the supervising officer to seek the revocation of probation or release in case of infraction. See generally Johnson v. United States, 529 U.S. 694 (2000); Griffin v. Wisconsin, 483 U.S. 868 (1987). By contrast, offenders subject to the Alaska statute are free to move where they wish and to live and work as other citizens, with no supervision. Although registrants must inform the authorities after they change their facial features (such as growing a beard), borrow a car, or seek psychiatric treatment, they are not required to seek permission to do so. A sex offender who fails to comply with the reporting requirement may be subjected to a criminal prosecution for that failure, but any prosecution is a proceeding separate from the individual’s original offense. Whether other constitutional objections can be raised to a mandatory reporting requirement, and how those questions might be resolved, are concerns beyond the scope of this opinion. It suffices to say the registration requirements make a valid regulatory program effective and do not impose punitive restraints in violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause.

-- Connecticut Dep't of Public Safety -v- Doe Held: Connecticut has decided that the registry requirement shall be based on the fact of previous conviction, not the fact of current dangerousness. Indeed, the public registry explicitly states that officials have not determined that any registrant is currently dangerous. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals because due process does not require the opportunity to prove a fact that is not material to the State’s statutory scheme.

-- A review of the only two sex offender registration cases to reach the U.S. Supreme court in 2003 will show that, the laws then and the laws today are worlds apart, with today (AWA/SORNA) being far more insidious with unending collateral attachments, clearly making the laws further punishment. However, until a proper case can reach the court all registrants are being held captive by lawmakers and their political -sounds good- laws which erode the lives of registrants and their families.

-- As to court holding that registration laws are civil and regulatory, so far, only state registration laws have been so tested in courts. SORNA has not yet, been tested and declared civil and regulatory because only Ohio has PARTIALLY enacted SORNA. Remember, the SMART Office has only held that, Ohio is in substantial compliance. Substantial is not verbatim! Proof that Ohio has not enacted SORNA verbatim? Has anyone found the following in Ohio's enactment:

SORNA: SEC. 118. PUBLIC ACCESS TO SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION THROUGH THE INTERNET.
(a) In General- Except as provided in this section, each jurisdiction shall make available on the Internet, in a manner that is readily accessible to all jurisdictions and to the public, all information about each sex offender in the registry. .....

(e) Correction of Errors- The site shall include instructions on how to seek correction of information that an individual contends is erroneous.

(f) Warning- The site shall include a warning that information on the site should not be used to unlawfully injure, harass, or commit a crime against any individual named in the registry or residing or working at any reported address. The warning shall note that any such action could result in civil or criminal penalties.

Note: This will be updated as new things are reported, uncovered, or new constructions revealed. Further, nothing omitted here should be construed to mean either: A) I believe it is true, or; B) That I believe it is untrue, it should only be construed that, I have not mentioned it or it hasn't been reported or thought of yet.

Finally, nothing here should be considered to be legal advice, only a lawyer can provide that, so see a local lawyer with your thoughts. Then pass on anything helpful to other folks and we will post it. The intent here is that this is a thought provoking educational piece of observations of many folks.


See Related:

Is the Adam Walsh Act entrapping registrants of state registries?

Part-2: Did Congress Intend to Entrap Registrants?

Have a great day & a better tomorrow,
eAdvocate

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