1-30-2012 Kansas:
Sexually violent predators who are ordered to a state hospital for treatment after serving prison sentences are almost never released, and Kansas officials say they expect the overcrowded program to continue expanding.
The Sexual Predator Treatment Program, which began in 1994, gave prosecutors a place to indefinitely hold convicted sex offenders who are considered too dangerous to release from prison. Instead, prisoners are sent to Larned State Hospital for treatment with the goal of being released back into society.
But data from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services shows that only three have been released since 1994, The Lawrence Journal-World reported (http://bit.ly/wzHrHX ). In the same time period, 17 have died, according to the SRS.
"You don't get out of here," said Mark Brull, a convicted sex offender confined to the program.
Since 2009, about 16 offenders have been committed to the program each year. Current projections predict the program will grow to more than 370 residents by 2020, said SRS spokeswoman Angela de Rocha.
The program currently costs the state $13 million a year, and the social services department asked the Kansas Legislature in September for another $2 million for facility upgrades to accommodate the anticipated growth.
Treatment for Brull, who was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and indecent solicitation of a child in 1997, costs Kansas about $60,000 per year.
"It's a very expensive warehouse," Brull said.
Treating violent sexual predators can take a significant amount of time, said Larned State Hospital Superintendent Christopher Burke.
"By the nature of their designation, they tend to have more entrenched behaviors," Burke said.
Kansas' treatment program has seven phases, starting with orientation at Larned and ending with a court-approved release and transition back to society. Before being released, offenders progress to closely supervised reintegration at Osawatomie State Hospital and then to conditional release at a residential facility in Miami County, where there are currently seven offenders from the program, Burke said.
Kansas is one of 20 states with sexually violent predator laws, and the growth caused by few releases is "not unique to Kansas," said W.L. Fitch, who teaches mental health law at the University of Maryland.
States that have such laws are in a bind, he said, because the programs become overcrowded or those who are released possibly repeat the offense.
"Politically, it's a huge risk," Fitch said. "You have some folks no one is going to take a chance on."
Critics of involuntary commitment of sex offenders argue that such programs are actually designed to keep offenders locked away with little hope of treatment, Fitch said.
Brull agrees, saying he's "100 times worse" than he was when he entered the program.
"Any kind of carnal knowledge under the sun you're exposed to here," said Brull, who has reached phase three of the program but has given up on progressing.
"I'll either die here or die in prison," he said. ..Source.. by The Washington Examiner
January 31, 2012
Most Kansas sexual predators don't leave program
Colorado Animal Abuse Registry Would Require Convicted Abusers To Register In Database Similar To Sex Offenders
1-30-2012 Colorado:
Animal abusers over the age of 18 in Colorado may soon find themselves treated like sex offenders if a bill seeking to create an animal registry passes.
House Bill 1087, scheduled for a hearing in the Colorado House Committee today, calls for adults convicted of animal cruelty to register their address, name and photo for police and public records.
Sponsored by State Rep. Jeanne Labuda, (D-District-1), the bill would keep offenders in the database for five years. The Department of Public Safety would incur a one-time cost of $160,000 though it's expected to generate less than $5,000 per year.
According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the first such registry was created in Suffolk County, N.Y. just two years ago. Similar to websites for convicted sex offenders, the list of animal abusers would be open to the public. Supporters argue for publicity as animal abusers are at a higher risk of committing violence against people.
ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells explains:
"Animal abuse is not only a danger to our cats, dogs, horses, and other animals, but also to people ... Many animal abusers have a history of domestic violence or other criminal activity, and there is a disturbing trend of animal abuse among our country's most notorious serial killers."Other states that have considered an online animal abuse registry include Rhode Island, California, Tennessee, Arizona and Maryland.
Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, David Berkowtiz ("The Son of Sam"), Albert DeSalvo ("The Boston Strangler") and Dennis Rader (Kansas' "BTK killer") all abused animals before their other crimes, as did many of the teenagers who went on shooting rampages at their high schools: Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris (Columbine, CO), Luke Woodham (Pearl, MS) and Kip Kinkel (Springfield, OR).
"But it's not just about how animal abusers end up also hurting or killing humans," said Wells. "It should be motivation enough to protect our animals from repeat offenders--and any abuse of any kind."
In Maryland, the bill under discussion is called "Heidi's Law," after a seven-month-old Golden Retriever puppy who was shot four times while playing on her farm in Frederick County.
"I'm not trying to brand someone for life, just to put the warning flag up and keep pets away from them," said Maryland State Senator Ron Young of Heidi's Law. ..Source.. by HUFFPOST Denver
Juvenile penalties would go too far
1-30-2012 Virginia:
Inmates preparing to return to their communities have a better chance of getting help rather than going back to prison because of attention by Gov. Bob McDonnell. He has pushed for coordinated services and better access to programs. Now he wants to give some offenders a second chance if they violate probation.
Sadly, he's going the opposite direction with teenagers, supporting legislation that will make it harder for troubled youngsters to get past their records and have a chance to start over.
Two bills would allow prosecutors to bypass juvenile court judges and send more teens to adult court, where sanctions are more punitive, public and permanent. The House bill, which passed Monday in a subcommittee, expands the list of offenses for which prosecutors can send juveniles directly to Circuit Court. Among them: participating in or recruiting for a gang. The Senate version is scheduled for a committee hearing today.
Another bill, which passed a Senate committee, would require teens older than 13 to be listed on the sex offender registry if they've been found delinquent in juvenile court - not even adult court - for rape or two other sex offenses.
Already, if a juvenile court judge finds that a teen should be on the registry, he can require it. Between 2009 and 2011, according to the bill analysis, 98 juveniles 13 or older in Virginia were judged delinquent for a sexually violent offense, and judges required 12 of the those to register as a sex offender.
Now, because the federal government is threatening to yank $600,000 a year from the state if it doesn't require registration for juvenile sex offenders, lawmakers will comply.
Sens. Tommy Norment and Bill Stanley each sponsored a version that would place teens on the registry - a permanent list - without considering any circumstances. It would take away any discretion.
The Senate committee combined the two bills and made them less egregious, deleting one requirement that registration be retroactive to 2005 and allowing youths to be placed on the non-public registry available only to law enforcement agencies and other authorized officials. The House bill does not contain those provisions.
No one is arguing that kids who commit horrendous crimes should be coddled or go free. Virginia's laws already allow prosecutors to seek lengthy prison terms in many cases.
But many other teens are on the brink, capable of learning from mistakes with help, direction and supervision. Rather than searching for ways to look tough on crime - and cutting the very education and mental health services that could help troubled kids - Virginia's leaders should insist on coordinated services that can give children a second chance.
McDonnell has repeatedly pointed out that two-thirds of the inmates being released from prison are re-arrested within three years. It was his argument for establishing a prisoner re-entry strategy.
He needs an equally strong strategy for youngsters, one that will reduce, not increase, the likelihood that troubled children will become adult criminals. ..Source.. by The Virginian-Pilot
January 30, 2012
When a 6-Year-Old Is Accused of 'Sexual Assault'
1-31-2012 California:
A case in Hercules has ignited parents' outrage, but experts say it is not isolated
It started as schoolyard roughhousing during recess, with one boy’s hand allegedly touching the upper thigh, or perhaps the groin, of another. There were no reported witnesses, and it remains unclear if anyone complained, but the principal immediately suspended the student, placing the incident on the boy’s record as a case of “sexual assault.” The children involved were first graders — the purported assailant just 6.
“It’s really overzealous,” Levina Subrata, the accused boy’s mother (they do not share the same last name), said of the incident last month at Lupine Hills Elementary, a public school in Hercules. “They were playing tag. There’s no intent to do any sort of sexual assault.”
The school’s principal, Cynthia Taylor, did not respond to an interview request. Marin Trujillo, a spokesman for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, which includes Hercules, said officials were barred from speaking about student and personnel matters. However, he added, “We must take any allegation of assault involving a child very seriously.”
Subrata provided a copy of the suspension notice, which shows what appears to be the principal’s signature and the conclusion: “Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault or sexual battery.”
That such adult criminal intent was applied to a matter involving young children has caused a stir in this tidy East Bay suburb, a place so orderly that traffic signals halt every car at every light.
Subrata, fearful that being branded with a sex offense could ruin her son’s future, sought advice via the Berkeley Parents Network, a popular online forum for area families. An avalanche of vitriol followed.
“That principal and school is so insanely out of line,” said one comment. “This kind of thing makes me livid,” said another. Other parents said their children had faced similar trouble, including one suspended for “hugging.”
Experts said such incidents are not isolated, but rather part of an emerging national trend. A similar case caused a sensation in Boston in November when a 7-year-old faced sexual harassment charges for kicking another boy his age in the groin during a fight.
Due to heightened concerns over bullying in recent years — spurred by a public awareness campaign following several child suicides — school administrators now feel pressure to act boldly in cases where students might face harassment.
Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative policy institute, said the antibullying efforts are well intentioned, but, “the policies being adopted set forth pretty strong rules regarding categories of behavior,” he said. “This means there’s less room, and more risk, for principals who would make sensible accommodations based on student age and the circumstances in question.”
Indeed, calling a matter “sexual” when a first-grader is involved seems at odds with California statutes that indicate that such intent can only be applied to children who are in fourth grade or older.
Stuart Lustig, a board-certified child psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, said that in general it is quite common, normal even, for young children to touch each other’s genital areas. “It’s curiosity,” he said. “It’s not sexual in the adult sense.”
Lustig added that it would only become a concern if a young child does not stop when told the behavior is inappropriate. However, he said he had heard of cases where schools have acted immediately to discipline youngsters, even over a single schoolyard kiss. “Schools can sometimes respond very strongly because of the legal environment,” he said.
Hess predicted that questionable actions by schools in such cases would soon become a significant education concern. “We’re putting educators in an untenable position,” he said. “They’re being asked to squelch out every iota of bad behavior, but without overreacting or stomping on childhood.”
Subrata, the Hercules mother, hired a lawyer and threatened legal action against the school district, demanding that her son be moved to a different school, that his record be expunged and that the principal be disciplined.
The district would not say if any action had been taken, but Subrata said she has been assured that her son’s records have now been cleared of any wrongdoing. And he was recently transferred to a new elementary school where he’s adjusting to the change, although he is a bit confused by all the fuss.
“He doesn’t know what he did wrong,” Subrata said. “I mean, he had just received an award from the school for being a good citizen.” ..Source.. by Scott James is a columnist for The Bay Citizen and The New York Times. He has been telling the stories of San Francisco and the Bay Area for nearly 15 years.
January 28, 2012
Texas Court Voids Conviction in Child Death Case
Sifting through the 23 cases, at the link, a few are cases also involving sexual assault, and were ruled bad evidence too.1-28-2012 Texas:
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today set aside the conviction of Ernie Lopez, an Amarillo man found guilty in 2003 of sexually assaulting six-month-old Isis Vas. The baby died shortly after the purported attack.
Lopez has been serving a term of 60 years in Texas prison for the crime. But a joint reporting effort by ProPublica, NPR, and PBS "Frontline" last year explored the possibility that Lopez might be innocent.
In the years since Lopez's trial, a host of physicians have reviewed the medical evidence in the case, raising questions about the soundness of his conviction. Many of these specialists have come to believe that Vas actually died of natural causes, and that Lopez never assaulted the child at all.
During a tearful prison interview, the inmate insisted he wasn’t a sex offender and killer. "That's not my character," he said. "That's not who I am."
"We are very pleased with the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision to set aside Ernie’s conviction," said one of Lopez’s attorneys, Heather Kirkwood, in an email. "The Texas courts deserve ample recognition for the careful review of the record that led to today’s decision."
The Lopez case highlights the growing international controversy about the reliability of the science used to prosecute cases of fatal child abuse and sexual assault. In Canada and the U.S. at least 23 people have been wrongly accused of killing children based on questionable medical evidence, and California Gov. Jerry Brown is currently considering commuting the sentence of a grandmother convicted of fatally shaking her 7-week-old grandson.
The Texas court didn’t rule on Lopez’s culpability and did not set him free. Instead, the court concluded that Lopez received ineffective legal representation during his trial because his lawyers failed to challenge the prosecution’s medical evidence.
The ruling, which affirms the findings of a lower court, calls for Lopez to be returned to Amarillo, where local prosecutors will have the option to try him a second time or simply let him go.
In August 2010, Potter County Judge Dick Alcala recommended that Lopez's conviction be overturned, stating that Lopez's original attorneys had failed to "fully investigate the medical issues of whether a sexual assault had occurred" and "the cause of death of the child."
Kirkwood, who began representing Lopez after he’d been sent to prison, said she was hopeful that her client would be released on bond while District Attorney Randall Sims decides whether or not to retry Lopez.
During the appeals process, the prosecutor’s office tapped a number of medical experts who supported the conclusion that Vas had been sexually assaulted and abused.
A phone call to Sims was not immediately returned. ..Source.. by A.C. Thompson
ALERT: California RSOL on AB 625 - Amendment - A 4th Tier for State Registry
1-28-2012 California:
Dear Registrants, Family Members and Friends:
Today (Friday) the Assembly voted, 32 to 16, in support of an amendment to AB 625 that will create a fourth tier for the state's registry.
That tier would require registrants who do not fit into the original three tiers to register "only when that person changes his or her address".
Information regarding those in the fourth tier is to be maintained as a private registry for law enforcement officials only.
This amendment is expected to attract support from additional Assembly members in order to reach the necessary 41 votes for passage. AB 625 will be voted upon on Monday, January 30, in a session scheduled to begin at noon.
There is still time to contact your Assembly member to voice your support for this bill. Please take advantage of this opportunity!
Blessings to you all, Janice CA-RSOL
State to appeal ruling that allows sex offenders at shelters near schools
1-28-2012 Michigan:
GRAND RAPIDS – The state has filed notice it plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling that allows homeless sex offenders to stay at overnight shelters near schools.
Sex offenders are prohibited by state law from residing within 1,000 feet of a school. The city's homeless shelters are within that student-safety zone.
U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist ruled that homeless people do not “reside” in emergency shelters that are designed for overnight stays with no guarantee of a place to stay.
State Attorney General Bill Schuette's Office filed the notice to appeal. An attorney for Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth also intends to appeal.
Meanwhile, Miriam Aukerman, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, has filed a motion asking that the defendants pay $120,862 in attorney fees. She represented five sex offenders identified only by pseudonyms.
Mel Trotter Ministries and Degage Ministries also were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit followed the January 2009 freezing death of a Thomas Pauli, 51, who was denied admission to an overnight shelter.
He was convicted in 1991 of sexually assaulting a pre-teen girl. ..Source.. by John Agar | The Grand Rapids Press
DNA Database of Men Who Pay for Sex? The Strange Push to Make Cops Collect DNA from Suspected Johns
1-28-2012 National:
Law enforcement and conservative campaigners want to threaten men who buy sex with the possibility of being marked for life in a government database.
For the last six years, police across the United States have been empowered by federal and state law to collect DNA from the people they arrest in order to build a government DNA database. The database includes those who have yet to face trial as well as people who are later found innocent. Now a group of researchers, law enforcement and conservative campaigners want to exploit people's concerns about being included in such a database in order to scare people out of involvement in the sex trade. By threatening people with the possibility of being marked for life in a government database, these well-funded campaigners -- with allies in law enforcement, including the Department of Justice -- are using a questionably legal policing practice, a combination of "scared-straight" strategies that became a signature of the war on drugs and the extension of the surveillance state propelled by the war on terror.
DNA databases have the power to extend government surveillance to the cellular level. In 2005, a provision added to the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act permitted the collection and indefinite retention of DNA from, as the Center for Constitutional Rights understood at the time, "anyone arrested for any crime whether or not they are convicted, any non-U.S. citizen detained or stopped by federal authorities for any reason, and everyone in federal prison.”
In the intervening years, there have been several challenges to pre-conviction DNA collection and retention, with some courts divided as to whether or not DNA collection is a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Despite the questionable constitutionality of pre-conviction DNA collection, an organization called Demand Abolition has commissioned a study proposing that men who buy sex should be added to government DNA databases. Demand Abolition, which is engaged in a national campaign to increase arrests and criminal penalties for prostitution, claims these "crimes justify mandatory DNA testing," in order to serve as "a deterrent to buying sex, as most people who commit crimes do not want their DNA samples taken." Demand Abolition explicitly recognizes and exploits the consequences of being added to a government DNA database for people arrested merely under suspicion of committing misdemeanors, and who have not yet been tried or convicted.
In fact, many people arrested for buying sex never go to trial; instead, they are routed to a growing number of scared-straight programs, sometimes known as "John's schools," offered by law enforcement. People arrested for buying sex are also disproportionately drawn from low-income communities, communities of color and immigrant communities. In San Francisco, city public defender Jeff Adachi says that over 60 percent of people arrested for "loitering with intent to commit prostitution" are Latino. Some were arrested for not walking away from a decoy cop fast enough, which officers took to mean "intent" to buy sex.
Such street and Internet stings with decoy cops posing as sex workers have been on the rise in the United States with the spread of the scared-straight programs. The stings, like one staged in New York earlier this month, arrest people suspected of selling sex, as well. Despite concerns that the scared-straight programs are creating an incentive for cops to step up policing in struggling communities in order to collect fines from the people sent to the programs, they've become part of policing practice in dozens of cities. They are also part of a larger national strategy to seek greater punishment of people involved in the sex trade, advanced by organizations like the Hunt Alternatives Fund and its Demand Abolition program. When the Department of Justice claimed anti-prostitution scared-straight programs were effective, it cited a study conducted by the same researchers Demand Abolition has now commissioned to develop its national strategy. The DoJ also cited evidence from the anti-prostitution researchers Demand Abolition commissioned for a study promoting DNA collection as a next-level deterrent. ..Source..
January 27, 2012
Inmates get 15 years in jail-beating death
1-27-2012 California:
The decisions made by defendants on the day John Chamberlain was killed “simply defy reason,” the judge says.
SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge Friday sentenced two more of the five inmates convicted of beating another prisoner to death to 15 years to life in prison.
While family members and supporters of defendants Garret Eugene Aguilar, 29, of Anaheim and Jared Louis Petrovich, 28, of Tustin were present for the sentencing, no one from victim John Chamberlain's family was at the hearing.
Aguilar and Petrovich were among five inmates who were convicted last year in the Oct. 5, 2006, slaying of Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy Facility, a county jail.
Prosecutors said they and other inmates targeted Chamberlain because they believed he was a child molester. Chamberlain had been awaiting trial on a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography.
He was punched, kicked and stomped on and eventually lost consciousness. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The beating, which triggered several investigations, occurred about 68 feet from where one Orange County sheriff's deputy admitted he was watching "COPS" on television and was dogged by allegations – that were never proven – that deputies helped set up the attack.
"Whether a deputy sheriff was involved in instigating the incident or not, it is not an excuse for beating a guy to death," Superior Court Judge James Stotler said at the sentencing.
He called the defendants' actions "awful," asking Aguilar and Petrovich to reflect on the direction of their lives.
"There were decisions made on that day when Mr. Chamberlain was killed that simply defy reason," Stotler said.
Following the sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh said the defendants tried to shift the blame to jailhouse deputies.
"(Their attorneys were) anxious to talk about the deputies and how deputies had caused the death of Chamberlain, pointing the finger at everybody but their clients," he said. "Today the truth prevailed ... The ones that killed Chamberlain are the defendants we brought to court and the other inmates."
Last month, Miguel Guillen, 49, of Santa Ana was the first to be sentenced after an Orange County jury earlier in the year found him, Aguilar, Petrovich, Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 43, of Anaheim and Raul Villafana, 25, of Santa Ana guilty of the attack.
"Hopefully this will bring everybody closure," Petrovich's attorney Keith Davidson said after the Friday hearing.
Carlstrom and Villafana will be sentenced in February and April respectively; each faces 15 years to life in prison.
Three other inmates charged in the slaying have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a fourth is expected to do so.
Michael Stewart Garten, 26, of Santa Ana was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Christopher Teague, 35, of Long Beach and Jeremy Dezso Culmann, 28, of Corona were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Another co-defendant, Eric Charles Miller, 26, of Huntington Beach, is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Stotler, the judge, concluded the hearing by repeating to Aguilar the words he said he heard a preacher say in a movie: "'It is not what you've done in the past, it is what you are now.' End of story." ..Source.. by VIK JOLLY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Convicted killer accused of prison murder
1-27-2012 Massachusetts:
A career criminal serving life for the murder of one woman, and awaiting trial in another killing, was charged today with last month’s slaying of fellow MCI-Norfolk inmate Richard Silva, a convicted child molester.
Christopher Fletcher, 50, formerly of Leominster, was indicted by a Norfolk grand jury for beating Silva, 64, to death on Dec. 12, as Silva was nearing the end of his incarceration on sexual abuse charges, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said.
Fletcher’s attorney declined comment. Morrissey’s spokesman, David Traub, declined to comment on what evidence prosecutors hold, including whether it includes prison security video.
An arraignment date has not been set.
Fletcher, who the Department of Correction has moved to maximum security at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, rape and kidnapping earlier this month in Worcester Superior Court for the December 1986 slaying in Sterling of Peggy Sue Calvillo, 24, a factory worker and mother of two police believed Fletcher first ran down with a car.
Fletcher is already serving life without parole for the 1995 murder of Elizabeth Salsbury of Lunenberg. When he was arrested for Salsbury’s murder, he told police he had killed before and confessed to Calvillo’s murder, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.
Salsbury’s body was found behind a car dealership in Shirley. Police said she had been stabbed repeatedly in the throat.
“I commend the correction officers, administration and investigators at the Department of Correction for their constructive partnership and hard work in this investigation, and thank the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the homicide detectives attached to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office for their continued professionalism and hard work,” Morrissey said today.
Richard Silva , 64, was serving prison time for a 2003 Suffolk Superior Court sexual abuse conviction, according to Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin. The offenses occurred in May 1989, but they were only the latest in a string of sexual abuse convictions dating back to the 1970s, according to the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board.
Silva was scheduled to be released in March after serving a nine- to 10-year stretch for a 2003 sexual abuse conviction. He’d previously been convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in 1971, 1973 and 1974. In 1991, he was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14. ..Source.. by Laurel J. Sweet
January 26, 2012
Allen Park mother fights to protect children from sexual predators
A correction is warranted here, this lady IS NOT protecting children from SEXUAL PREDATORS with this legislation, if it becomes law. At best such a law would prevent formerly convicted sex offender parents from seeing their biological children (which I doubt a court would allow except in very special circumstances). The ONLY way to keep children safe from SEXUAL PREDATORS is to keep them close, and keep informed on newer technological devices. There are far more SEXUAL PREDATORS in society waiting to be caught. Michigan has no system -in place- to tell who is and who isn't a SEXUAL PREDATOR, wise up parents!1-26-2012 Michigan:
Amy Carns works to create Children's Protection Act in Michigan
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Amy Carns' ex-husband was arrested by undercover police officers for trying to meet an underage girl who he solicited sex from online.
Her daughter was just 15 months old at the time. Her ex-husband, a convicted sex offender, was still allowed visitation rights with his daughter.
That's when the Allen Park mother's legal battle began.
"I realized on that day that when (Child) Protective Services said my daughter would get reunited with this man, I realized that I was not just the mother to (my daughter), I was now the mother to thousands of children across the state," Carns said.
Since then, she has worked to draft new legislation she calls the Children's Protection Act. It would protect children of registered sex offenders by letting the child's non sex offender parent decide whether the other parent would be allowed visitation.
"It's not just about my little girl. It's about the thousands of other little children out there that need this law to get passed," Carns said.
Former Oakland County prosecutor Dave Gorcyca said there could be legal issues involved.
"No court anywhere, including the United States Supreme Court, will allow you to just unilaterally, because he is a sex offender, terminate a parental right," Gorcyca said. "There is going to have to be an opportunity to be heard and due process rights involved. So, I think that legislation could face some constitutional challenges."
Carns plans to introduce this legislation, along with several state lawmakers, on Feb. 7. She urges parents to contact their local lawmakers and vote yes on the Children's Protection Act. ..Source.. by ClickOnDetroit
Washington State to pay $2.35M in abuse case settlement
Again we see the failure of Parole Officers to act properly results in a new victim. Sounds like the Garrido case from California.1-26-2012 Washington:
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state will pay $2.35 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged that two state agencies failed to protect her from a sex offender who abused her when she was a child.
The Pierce County Superior Court lawsuit alleged that a paroled child rapist named Danny Dorosky Sr. was allowed to live with the victim's family, despite a Parole Board order that required intensive management and supervision because of the prior sex crime.
One of the woman's lawyers, Jason Amala, said Dorosky ingratiated himself into the victim's family and eventually moved into the home, where he abused the girl for almost three years. She was 10 when the abuse started, Amala said.
The woman also contended that the Department of Social and Health Services' Child Protective Services failed to protect her after school officials in Shelton reported the girl might be a sexual abuse victim.
Corrections spokeswoman Selena Davis confirmed the settlement and its amount late Wednesday. She said she could not immediately comment on case details.
DSHS spokesman Thomas Shapley referred inquiries to a lawyer with the state attorney general's office who did not immediately return a call.
The woman's lawyers say the abuse began in 1990. After the victim's father contacted law enforcement about the man in 1993, Mason County officials eventually arrested Dorosky. He was convicted of child molestation and rape. He died in 2004, Amala said.
In a phone interview Wednesday with The Olympian, the now 31-year-old woman said she had buried her awareness of what had happened until recently, when her own daughter turned 10.
She said she looked up Dorosky's court records and eventually hired a lawyer.
She said "it makes me sick" that state employees could have prevented what had happened to her and didn't.
The plaintiff, a state employee, added that she would appreciate an apology from the state. Beyond that, she said she hopes her lawsuit will lead to policy changes that will prevent supervision failures. ..Source.. by Seattle pi.com
Some sex offenders may get off registry
1-26-2012 Utah:
SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that could potentially help some sex offenders get off the state’s sex offender registry after five years received a favorable recommendation from the Utah House Judiciary Committee.
The measure will now move to the House.
Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, has sponsored the legislation, HB 13, which would allow sex offenders convicted of the least egregious offenses to petition the court for removal from the registry.
The measure cleared the committee by an 8-4 vote.
Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, was one of the negative votes on the measure.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, also serves on the committee but was absent for the vote. ..Source.. by Standard Examiner
January 25, 2012
Living areas may expand for sex offenders
1-25-2012 South Dakota:
A House committee has recommended passage for a bill that will allow sex offenders on probation to live in halfway houses within community safety zones.
The bill, which passed 9-3 on Monday, expands a 2010 law that allowed sex offenders on parole to live in supervised housing within 500 feet of a school, church or park – part of an overhaul of the sex offender rules that also allowed some people to have their names removed from the registry.
House Bill 1060, which was proposed by the Unified Judicial System, would allow probationers, who have not gone to prison for their crime, the same residency rights as parolees.
“Parolees and probationers often are referred to as the same, but legally, they’re not,” said Greg Sattizahn, the legal representative for the UJS.
In Sioux Falls, there are two halfway houses and one homeless shelter within community safety zones: The Arch halfway house, the Glory House and the Union Gospel Mission.
Until the law change in 2010, sex offenders who couldn’t find a job or a home could be charged with a felony for residing at the mission. Those who needed supervision after their prison stay couldn’t be placed at one of Sioux Falls’ halfway houses.
Now, parolees can be placed in those halfway houses, but probationers cannot.
Rep. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, was not part of the legislative debate that altered the rules for sex offenders in 2010. He voted against HB 1060, saying it puts children in danger.
“We’re talking about sex offenders here. They’ve been tried, they’ve been convicted. I don’t want to be a part of any process that puts them back in the presence of children,” Nelson said.
Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, said those who’ve been released from prison have been deemed safe enough to be out in the community and ought to be allowed to live in a supervised environment if no housing option exists outside of a safety zone.
The same should hold true for probationers, he said, who the courts have deemed less dangerous than those sentenced to prison.
“In most cases, they can be trusted more than a parolee,” Abdallah said. “To say that this is being soft on sex offenders … we have a court system, we have a probation system. If we can’t rely on our courts, I don’t know what the hell we’re doing here.”
Abdallah and Rep. Shawn Tornow, R-Sioux Falls, each voted for the bill. Tornow said his support isn’t guaranteed in the full House.
He wants to know whether there are options for sex offenders that aren’t within safe zones.
“I don’t believe it’s outside the realm of reasonableness to assign them to a halfway house that’s not within a community safety zone,” Tornow said.
Fran Stenberg, executive director of the Union Gospel Mission, expects that lifting the restriction will be helpful for some of the homeless sex offenders who turn to his shelter. Stenberg said sex offenders often volunteer that information.
“It’s a small problem, but it is a problem,” Stenberg said. “It’s not anything we have to worry about, but it’s a problem for them. It’s on their shoulders (to register their address).”
The bill now moves on to the full House. ..Source.. by John Hult
Ann Arbor doctor pleads no contest in peeping case
If the mother knew this was happening, why didn't she close the blinds or put drapes over the window. While the doctor was wrong this seems to say, there is a right to stand in front of an open window and show whatever and people outside should not watch? Something is wrong here...1-25-2012 Michigan:
An Ann Arbor pediatrician accused of watching his 12-year-old neighbor change clothes pleaded no contest to a felony charge Tuesday in a deal with prosecutors.
As part of the agreement filed Monday, prosecutors said they would not to bring additional charges against Dr. Howard Weinblatt based on information "known or available" as of Tuesday. No specifics were included.
Attorneys for Weinblatt declined comment after the court hearing in 14A District Court in Pittsfield Township.
Weinblatt, 65, pleaded to one count of surveilling an unclothed person after being accused of watching the child from a bathroom window inside his Ann Arbor home in October. He is out of jail on bond.
Weinblatt, who has had his medical license since 1977, worked for IHA Child Health-Ann Arbor. He has resigned from his job, company spokeswoman Amy Middleton said Tuesday.
"We are obviously deeply distressed by this situation and the impact it has had on so many members of our community, our patients and our staff," a statement released by IHA said.
Authorities have released few details in the case and have not made the police report available. But court documents obtained by the Free Press said the girl's mother caught Weinblatt looking at her daughter as the girl changed in her bedroom.
The girl was in a position where she had "a reasonable expectation of privacy," the documents said.
"I think the statute protects the person who is being surveilled and is not really dependent upon where the person doing the surveillance is standing," Washtenaw County deputy chief assistant Prosecutor Steven Hiller said.
The mother placed an iPad against a window in her daughter's room in October and used it to record Weinblatt -- the family's pediatrician for more than a decade -- watching the girl change, a search warrant affidavit said.
The two houses are about 11 feet apart, police said.
In November, police searched Weinblatt's house on Olivia Avenue and seized four computers, an external hard drive and thumb drive, court documents showed. Authorities would not say Tuesday whether anything was found on the computers.
Weinblatt faced six charges, including four counts of surveilling an unclothed person. Two of those counts and two counts of window peeping were dropped Tuesday before the plea agreement, Hiller said.
The agreement called for dismissing another charge of surveilling an unclothed person.
Weinblatt will be sentenced March 6 and faces a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
Michigan's Bureau of Health Professions will review the case and decide whether action will be taken that affects Weinblatt's medical license, director Rae Ramsdell said. ..Source.. by Elisha Anderson
January 24, 2012
Criminal Justice May Get New Legislation Against Convicted Sex Offenders
And the nonsense continues. If this is enacted for former sex offenders whether such equipment is related to a past crime or not, then we need laws to prevent people from becoming public servants because many public servants -in the past- have gone BAD, even committed sex crimes. Where does it end! Gov't, Police, Judges, etc.1-24-2012 Alaska:
Personal lawyers for sexual predators, be aware, protection from sexual assault and abuse are the focus of Anchorage Representative Pete Petersen as he introduced his Child Protection Legislation. It is House Bill 278, “An Act allowing as a condition of probation for a defendant convicted of certain sex offenses a prohibition against the defendant’s residing at a residence where outdoor recreational equipment suitable for use by children under 16 years of age is located on the property.” Tuesday, January 17, 2012, it was read and then was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
This legislation will mainly focus on prohibiting sex offenders, especially convicted sex offenders on parole, from committing another sexual assault by disallowing them to reside “at a residence where outdoor recreational equipment suitable for use by children under 16 years of age is located on the property”.
“We need to make sure judges have the tools they need to keep Alaskan children safe,” said Rep. Petersen. “If a person has done this type of thing before, or if the judge has reason to believe a potential repeat-offender might use these toys to lure children into harm, then we need to give our justice system the power to stop them.”
Included in the Alaska Law is the power to allow judges the discretion to require convicted sex offenders out on parole to refrain from committing the following: communicating with children less than 16 years of age, possessing or using a computer as well as using or creating an internet site, and residing within 500 feet away from a school.
One valuable tool for keeping your distance from sex offenders is the State of Alaska Sex Offender/Child Kidnapper Registration Central Registry . The State of Alaska has nearly three-thousand names listed in the Alaska Central Registry for sex offenders, seventy-four of those are non-compliant with the law that says that they must keep their addresses up to date on the registry. In the last couple of months, Alaska State Troopers have arrested non-compliant offenders for just this little detail that the sex offenders have not kept up with.
Ketchikan, Nenana, Noatak, Akiak, Alakanuk, and Chuathbaluk sex offenders all got knocks at their doors in the past couple months. Anthony Dick, age 28 of Ketchikan, and Jason Paul, 45, of Nenana both got arrested and are now compliant, according to the state’s database. So did Frank O. Booth, 54, Steven A. Kvamme, 42 and Joseph PENN, 31, all of Noatak.
Norman R. Lott, 56, and Steven A. Kvamme, 42 of Akiak, ditto. Norman R. Lott, 56, and Steven A. Kvamme, 42 of Akiak, also are now compliant. Alexie Phillips, 52, of Chuathbaluk, Alaska, was also arrested and is also now compliant with the law. That just leaves seventy-four more arrests to go, if those non-compliants choose to not identify their locations with the registry. ..Source.. by The Alaska News
ALERT: Vote on California AB 625 Delayed
1-24-2012 California:
From our friends at California RSOL:
Voting on Assembly Bill (AB) 625 (Click to learn more) was delayed due to the absence of several Lawmakers, according to staffers in the office of Assemblyman Ammiano. The bill is expected to be voted upon either Thursday, January 26, or Monday, January 30. The delay provides an opportunity to provide further input into the office of Assembly members. Please call the office of the Assembly person who represents you. A list of Assembly members, including phone numbers, can be found online at www.assembly.ca.gov.
REASONS TO SUPPORT AB 625:· In a time of declining budgets (state, county and city), a tiered registry would make available additional law enforcement and prison resources to protect the public from those who pose a significant threat to societyo The registry includes many individuals who pose little threat to society such as those convicted of the non-violent crimes of “sexting” on a cell phone, urinating in public, and engaging in consensual teen sex.o The registry also includes individuals who pose significant threat to society such as those convicted of multiple sexual assaults against children and adults.o Most registered citizens will not re-offend. The recidivism rate for registrants is extremely low, only 3.25 percent for those on parole and 5 percent for all others, according to the CA Department of Corrections.· Tiered registries exist in 46 of the nation’s 50 states and successfully protect the citizens of those stateso California is only 1 of 4 states with lifetime registries along with Alabama, South Carolina and Florida.o AB 625 is a moderate example of a tiered registry now existing in the 46 states.· A tiered registry would end a life-time sentence for registrants who pose little harm to societyo Registrants often lose their jobs solely because they are registrants and remain unemployed for the same reason.o Some registrants lose housing opportunities and become homeless solely because they are registered. For example, Section 8 housing is not available to individuals listed on a lifetime registry.o Some registrants are physically harmed, even murdered, by vigilantes.· All individuals required to register under Penal Code Section 290 would remain on the registry for at least 10 yearso Those convicted of lowest level of offenses could leave registry in 10 yearso Those convicted of moderate offenses could leave registry in 20 years· A tiered registry would continue life-time registration for those who pose a significant harm to society.
January 23, 2012
How many accounts does Facebook Have: Why People Have Fake Facebook Profiles
1-23-2012 Global:
Does this sound like a familiar scenario? It's late afternoon, and you're clicking around on Facebook. Then you stumble upon a person who appears to be Facebook friends with many of your mutual friends. This person is active on Facebook, posting links, videos, images and status updates. Still, something just seems off. A bit more digging reveals that this user isn't a real person. But Facebook hasn't noticed.
"Facebook has always been based on a real name culture," a Facebook spokesperson says to me via email. "We fundamentally believe this leads to greater accountability and a safer and more trusted environment for people who use the service." But what if you need to maintain a fake profile for personal, professional, security or creative reasons?
..For the remainder of this article: by Alicia Eler
January 22, 2012
Fayette sheriff investigating whether sex offenders were tipped to federal sweep
Surprise, surprise, but no surprise... So what, if the intent of checking is to make sure they are in compliance, and if they were tipped off, and if that caused them to be in compliance, whats the problem? Humm, it sounds like if they knew when you were coming, then compliance numbers would be better. Police do not seem to get the psychology behind compliance, its more important to scare the crap out of registrants, their families and neighbors.1-22-2012 Kentucky:
The Office of the Fayette County Sheriff said it is conducting an internal inquiry into reports that deputies gave several sex offenders advance warning about a federal sweep last month.
The sheriff's office acknowledged the inquiry last week after the Herald-Leader filed an open-records request for Lexington Division of Police memos that detailed the allegations.
Jennifer Miller, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said she couldn't provide specific details about the inquiry until it was complete. She said the department was hopeful that the inquiry wouldn't take long.
According to the police documents, at least five Lexington police detectives assisting the U.S. Marshals Service in the compliance checks heard convicted sex offenders say they had been tipped off that the checks would occur in the early part of the week of Dec. 5.
"One of the offenders who thought we would be coming on the previous day went as far as to leave a note on the door for the (Marshals) service advising them they had to go to the store for food and would return shortly," one of the reports said.
The two-day sweep in Fayette County, called "Operation Bluegrass Corral," occurred Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 and was organized by the U.S. Marshals Service. The operation — carried out by Lexington police, sheriff's deputies, state police, FBI agents and the state probation and parole office — was intended to make sure that 262 convicted sex offenders were complying with housing and federal and state guidelines.
Lexington police accumulated several pages of documents, but city spokeswoman Susan Straub said it was not a criminal investigation of the sheriff's office.
The reports were prepared at the request of city Public Safety Commissioner Clay Mason, a former FBI special agent, because the issue was brought to him by former colleagues from the FBI, the Office of the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Marshals Service.
"There was discussion about some type of inquiry from the U.S. Attorney's office," Mason said, adding that the police reports were prepared in case a federal inquiry was launched.
Alerting sex offenders to a routine check does not appear to be a criminal offense, but officials say it's a problem.
"Personally, yes, I am concerned," U.S. Marshal Loren "Squirrel" Carl said Thursday. "I think it would concern any law enforcement agencies, specifically if sex offenders were tipped off."
During sweeps such as Operation Bluegrass Corral, officers check the addresses of convicted sex offenders to make sure they are living at their listed residences. Offenders who are on probation or parole are subject to a more extensive search of their homes by probation and parole officers, Carl said.
Compliance checks routinely turn up evidence of crimes, he said. During Operation Bluegrass Corral, one offender was arrested for having child pornography on his computer. In two other cases, which were referred to investigators with social services, children were present in homes where a registered sex offender lived.
Giving sex offenders advance warning about an upcoming check could give them time to delete pornographic images or send a child to stay with a relative or friend, Carl said.
In addition, he said, in previous compliance checks, marshals had found evidence of other crimes, such as drugs and guns.
"If you tip somebody off to the check, they're going to get rid of that," Carl said.
The documents
Included in the documents released to the Herald-Leader by the city was a letter Sheriff Kathy Witt sent to Police Chief Ronnie Bastin in which Witt asked the chief not to release the records.
"These documents, in and of themselves, have caused our office to begin an internal inquiry," the letter said. "Since the inquiry is a direct and sole result of these documents, I would ask that no one from your staff release these documents to any outside parties."
The city released the records, but its law department redacted the identities of the sheriff's deputies and the names and addresses of registered sex offenders.
The documents included eight reports from detectives who participated in the sweep.
Three detectives gave specific instances of sex offenders who said they were told about the compliance checks by deputies. Three other detectives said they did not encounter any sex offenders who were tipped off to the compliance checks.
Reports from two other detectives, David Flannery and Aundria Burkhart, were more vague. Flannery said he overheard a sex offender who said he knew the compliance checks were coming, but the offender did not specify who told him, and Flannery assumed that it was an attorney or probation officer.
Burkhart said she recalled speaking with multiple sex offenders who said a sheriff's deputy had told them about the upcoming checks, but she could not remember which offenders.
Federal checks happen intermittently, but a dedicated sheriff's task force performs daily checks on sex offenders. According to the documents, sex offenders said they had been warned by deputies during compliance checks a few days to a week ahead of the federal sweep.
A report by Detective Trevor Welch said three of four offenders living on one street "knew we were coming because they were told by a sheriff's deputy a couple days prior to our assignment."
The element of surprise
Spokesmen from the FBI headquarters in Louisville and the U.S. Attorney's office in Lexington said internal policies prevented them from confirming or denying whether they were investigating the matter, or from clarifying laws as they relate to specific cases. Carl also said he could not comment on any potential investigation.
Carl and David Beyer, former legal counsel for the FBI in Louisville, said law enforcement agencies typically don't warn sex offenders or people involved in other types of investigations to pending arrests, checks or searches because it could give the offenders time to "hurriedly destroy evidence" and it could put officer safety at risk.
"Every time we go out, we're in harm's way. That's our job and we know that," Carl said. "But if someone tips a convicted felon off ... they're prepared where we're caught off guard."
At a news conference announcing the completion of the sweep on Dec. 20, Witt said that no sheriff's deputies had alerted offenders to the sweep. She said questions from a Herald-Leader reporter were the first she had heard of the allegations.
"They would never do that. They would absolutely never do that," she said at the time. "In fact, I am shocked, because I have never heard that."
Miller said Wednesday that the sheriff's office had "no knowledge, no hint" at the time that the allegations existed.
During last month's news conference, Witt and Carl agreed that the element of surprise was instrumental to making sure sex offenders were compliant.
"It should be a surprise. It needs to be a surprise," Carl said. "We don't want them to know we're coming." ..Source.. by Josh Kegley
January 20, 2012
Cost drives new plan on treating sex offenders
1-20-2012 Minnesota:
Citing the high cost of indefinite civil commitment for Minnesota sex offenders, two influential lawmakers will propose a shift to longer prison terms, coupled with intensive -- but cheaper -- treatment.
In addition, the legislators plan to propose a state mental health review court, a move aimed to standardize the civil commitment process for sex offenders and reduce political pressures on local prosecutors and judges, which can be intense in rural communities.
Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said Thursday that he and Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, are in the final stages of drafting the legislation. He said a team of legislators has spent the past four months reviewing the public safety and civil liberties issues surrounding the more than 600 patients being held indefinitely in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) at Moose Lake and St. Peter.
"The cost is just tremendous, more than $330 a day, as opposed to keeping these offenders in a corrections setting for about $70 a day," Limmer said. "We intend to stay focused on safety, on cost and on the constitutional issues, [but] holding these individuals longer in prison makes sense rather than paying the high cost of civil commitment.''
Limmer and Cornish, chairman of the public safety committees in the Senate and House, respectively, attended a packed forum at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and Eric Janus, dean and president at William Mitchell, hosted the symposium.
Last spring, Legislative Auditor James Nobles found that the cost of treating Minnesota's sex offenders could be drastically reduced by creating alternative, highly supervised programs similar to those adopted in New York, Texas and Wisconsin. Minnesota is one of 20 states with civil commitment programs, and in 2010 had the nation's highest number of committed sex offenders per capita. "Without releases, Minnesota is susceptible to lawsuits challenging the adequacy of the treatment program," Nobles found.
Jesson has found herself caught in a paradoxical, emotionally charged debate over how to protect public safety while honoring the rights of offenders who have completed treatment requirements.
In her opening remarks, Jesson said she was just days into her job last winter when a reporter called her to discuss sex offender policy. That she would talk openly about the issue left her communications staff "terrorized," she said. The time has come, she said, to give the issue open discussion.
In late 2010, a Human Services review panel recommended the supervised release of two offenders from the MSOP. But on Jesson's watch, the department has blocked the releases in court. One of the patients, convicted rapist John Rydberg, has admitted to more than 90 sexual offenses and is considered a high risk to reoffend.
At the same time, Janus has long warned lawmakers that courts are running out of patience over civil liberties issues and the political use of commitment as a way to extend punishment. "We are approaching a potential train wreck,'' Janus said. "Our commitment program is into its third decade. We must ask ourselves, what are the standards for commitment?"
In a sobering observation, William Donnay, of the Department of Corrections, told the audience he believes there are offenders who would not be in the MSOP but for misguided political pressures. "We are supporting a system where we know some offenders present no threat to us," he said. "How do we work our way out of that?" ..Source.. by PAUL McENROE , Star Tribune
The FSO Ecomonic Occupy Movement: For Former Sex Offenders and their Families
A new idea, something relevant to today's times, A Occupy Movement generally defined as "The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality."
Today, I cannot think of any other social group of folks more legislatively deprived than former sex offenders and their families. If I stand corrected, please provide links to what you think is a more deprived group than former sex offenders and their families.
With that said, what is this new idea? Well it is not my idea but I fully support it, we have Nebraska's FACTS "Families Affirming Community Safety" to thank for the idea. They have suggested and started -for their area- a Embargo Listing.
The essence of this list is, to list ALL Businesses or Services that somehow deny their services or products to former sex offenders or their families. In addition, if you were denied employment or fired, housing, or denied applying for a school or college, these can be listed as well. This list will allow other former sex offenders and their families to decide whether they think it prudent to do business with those listed. Always better to make informed decisions.
Now, if other Advocates start "Embargo Lists" for their areas, please let us know (Send a link to your Embargo List) so it can be added to the National FSO Economic Occupy Movement: Embargo List. Its that simple, The Community Room now has a home for links to these lists.
Should anyone have any thoughts on this idea, or how to improve on it, please contact us and we will consider them.
For now have a great day and a better tomorrow.
eAdvocate
January 19, 2012
Indiana Senate committee OKs illegal entry bill
1-19-2012 Indiana:
Sen. Mike Young removes line from amendment
INDIANAPOLIS — — After heated debate, an Indiana Senate committee approved a measure Tuesday that defines when residents can use force to prevent a police officer from entering their homes, but not before amending the bill.
The author of Senate Bill 1, Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, introduced the bill as a response to the Indiana Supreme Court's Barnes v. State decision, which said homeowners could not resist law enforcement officials' attempts to enter their homes.
Young presented an amendment that removed a line from the bill. The line said an officer may enter a home if there is "an investigation of suspected domestic or family violence."
"It appears that language could be so broad, that we allow police officers really any reason to come into our homes by having this suspicion of domestic violence," Young said.
Young said the line directly after it, "entry into a dwelling by a law enforcement officer who has a reasonable belief that a person inside the dwelling has been or is at risk of physical harm," is sufficient.
"The language was to try and draw a bright line," Young said. "So that whether you are a citizen or a law enforcement officer, we can tell what is a lawful entry and what is an unlawful entry."
The court case stemmed from a situation in Evansville, where police officers responded to a call involving a domestic disturbance.
Officers found Richard Barnes, 57, (not Richard Barnes Jr., 38, who was sentenced to prison in 2010 in an unrelated case, or the Rev. Richard Barnes of Evansville) arguing with his wife in the parking lot outside of their apartment. When Barnes walked back into his apartment, an officer tried to follow him inside.
Barnes resisted, officers arrested him, and Barnes filed suit.
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled against Barnes and said the General Assembly, not the courts, should decide what legal defenses should exist for violent acts against officers.
"Our concerns are that this bill as written, it will invite individuals to make split-second decisions on the legality of police action," said Lt. Mark Carnell of the Indiana State Police. "These are issues that are decided by judges, juries and attorneys."
Carnell said the state police do not want to see residents or officers being injured or killed because of heat-of-the-moment decisions.
"Whether we pass any law or not, at that 3 a.m. knockdown when a guy comes through your bedroom door, you're going to have to make a decision right then," said Chairman Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford. "That's human nature."
The bill and the amendment both passed, 8-0. ..Source.. by Shelby Salazar
Panel backs sex-offender registry bill
1-19-2012 Virginia:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Juveniles who commit a sex crime but aren't immediately put on the sex-offender registry could be added later under a bill endorsed by a legislative subcommittee.
Del. Ben Cline's proposal was sent to the full House Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday.
Currently, decisions on whether to put juveniles on the registry are made at sentencing. Cline said there's no way to put them on the registry later if they don't appear to be making progress in their rehabilitation. His bill seeks to remedy that.
Mary Devoy, executive director of Reform Sex Offender Laws in Virginia, opposed the bill. She said it would allow prosecutors to petition the court to put a person on the registry years after the offense, even if the person did not commit another sex crime. ..Source.. by WAVY.com
Thank You, Internet! And the Fight Continues
Today was a truly inspiring day in Internet history. Working together, we sent a powerful message to Big Media and the misguided proponents of the Internet blacklist legislation: we will not stand idly by and let you hamper innovation, kill jobs, wreak havoc on Internet security, and undermine free speech. Supporters of SOPA and PIPA say the Internet Blackout day was a "publicity stunt." We say it was a wake-up call.
The numbers are pretty amazing. More than 1 million messages (and counting!) were sent to Congress today via the EFF action center. More than 4.5 million people signed Google's petition registering their opposition to the bills. And that's just the beginning. Many lawmakers abandoned the legislation (at least 13 senators today alone!) and we expect to see more defections as a result of today's protests.
Also notable was the broad spectrum of opposition. We knew security engineers, human rights activists, technology investors, law professors and innovators large and small were against the bill, but today's action brought together everyone from independent artists to gaming companies to organizations that normally stay out of these kinds of battles, like Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Reddit. As they've explained, they stood with the Internet today because they recognize the danger these bills pose to free expression and access to information.
Aside from the sheer numbers, as we mentioned earlier, we were reminded of the extraordinary creativity of the many Internet communities that stand together against PIPA and SOPA.
So thank you, Internet. And Congress, heads up: We are watching. Time to kill these bills. ..Source.. by EFF
Citing miscalculation, patrol removes 59 from sex offender registry
1-19-2012 Nebraska:
In December, Keith Moore got a letter at his Lincoln apartment that he hopes will change his life.
Moore, 41, is no longer required to be listed on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry.
"The first thing that popped in my head was I can get a job now," said Moore, who was convicted of a sex offense in Minnesota in 1989.
Then he wondered why he got the letter, dated Dec. 23, from the Nebraska State Patrol. He called a phone number on it and spoke with a patrol attorney, who told him he should have been removed from the registry in January 2010, and that 58 other offenders recently had received similar news.
Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said she could not talk about Moore or any other specific individual, but confirmed 59 people were listed on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry longer than they should have been. Their mugshots, addresses and convictions have been removed.
"The patrol discovered we had misapplied a state law when it came to applying periods of time that registrants were non-compliant," Collins said. "Once we discovered it had been misapplied, we took steps to correct it, and we corrected it."
The Legislature passed the Nebraska Sex Offender Registration Act in 1996. It requires people convicted of various sex-related crimes to register their whereabouts with local law enforcement agencies after being released from prison. It also sets penalties for those sex offenders who do not comply with the notification requirement.
Under the original law, offenders had to register for 10 years or life. The law was amended in 2010 and now requires offenders to register for 15 years, 25 years or life.
State law says the patrol's sex offender registration and community notification division is required to recalculate the amount of time an offender must remain on the registry after the offender has failed to comply with registration requirements.
Collins said the patrol first looked into the matter after a registered sex offender requested an administrative hearing in January 2011 in an effort to be removed from the registry.
She said the patrol's legal division determined there had been a miscalculation, and the offender no longer belonged on the registry. A subsequent review of all 3,811 sex offenders on the registry at the time found 59 should be removed, Collins said.
"It's been so much of a part of my life," Moore said. "Everyone views me as a sex offender. Others view me as a child molester, because they don't know the difference."
In 1989, he said, he was 19 and living in an apartment in Minnesota with his cousin and another friend. One weekend, they met three girls who came to their place to party, he said.
"All three of them said they were 17," he said. "We believed them. They looked it."
Moore had sex that weekend and later learned the girls were underage runaways. He was arrested and convicted of criminal sexual misconduct and spent 180 days in jail and was placed on 15 years probation. He violated the probation in the mid-'90s and spent a year in a Minnesota prison, he said. He was released in 1995 and moved to Lincoln in 1997.
He has had run-ins with Lincoln police since moving here, but none due to alleged sex offenses.
In September, an officer who responded to an argument Moore was having with an ex-girlfriend asked him where he worked. The information he gave the officer was different than what was on file with the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry, and Moore was arrested on suspicion of failing to register as a sex offender, a felony.
He pleaded no contest in October to attempted failure to register as a sex offender, a misdemeanor, and was fined $500.
To prospective employers, Moore said, that still counts as a sex offense and has disqualified him from all but menial jobs.
Moore said he has hired an attorney and is trying to vacate that conviction, because he should not have had to register in September.
"I paid my debt to society," Moore said. "I did my time." ..Source.. by Cory Matteson
January 17, 2012
Google to Use Homepage to Protest SOPA on Wednesday
You won’t see a blank page at Google.com on Wednesday, but the company will use its homepage to register its opposition to SOPA.
A Google spokesperson told Mashable that its homepage will include a link where users can learn more about SOPA, confirming a Bloomberg report.
“Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet,” the spokesperson said in an e-mail statement. “So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page.”
As a protest move, Google’s falls far short of Reddit and Wikipedia — both of whom have pledged to go dark on Wednesday. However, Google’s opposition goes further than what Twitter, for one, is apparently planning. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo dismissed on Monday a call to go dark by tweeting, “closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish.”.
Twitter is among a handful of top tech firms, including Google, Facebook and Yahoo, that sent a joint letter to key members of the Senate last November to express their opposition to SOPA and PIPA.
The companies oppose both bills on the grounds that it amounts to Internet censorship. Proponents say that something needs to be done to counter Internet piracy and that Google, among others, should play a role in that enforcement.
What do you think? Are you satisfied with Google’s response or do you think the company should do something more dramatic? Sound off in the comments. ..Source.. by Mashable.com
