8-26-2010 Virginia:
Last September, the probation officers of nine homeless men in Georgia ordered them to, in the words of the AP wire service, “live in the woods behind a suburban Atlanta office park.” When the state government discovered this, Georgia promptly ordered them out.
Why? No homeless shelter in Georgia could legally hold them, and the group had nowhere else to go. Those nine men were classified under Georgia law as “sex offenders,” and as such face strict restrictions for the rest of their lives on where they can travel, work, go to the bathroom, and, yes, where they can be homeless.
The Georgia example may be unusual, but it certainly isn’t unique. In 2007, Miami solved its homeless sex offender problem by housing five of them under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Not in a shed or a shelter or a van down by the river. Just under the bridge.
The post-incarceration punishment of “sex offenders” is ridiculous, unconstitutional, and won’t prevent the individuals in question from committing a crime again. Worse yet, they are not the fault of overzealous law enforcement agencies in Georgia or Florida just trying to do right by saving kids from rapists. No, the fault lies with politicians.
To be clear: Sexual abuse and violence is despicable, especially toward children. Concerns about what happens to those who commit these crimes after they get out of jail are understandable. However, “sex offenders” are not just these people.
The pretentious quotes are necessary, as the definition of the term changes state to state, and is determined simply by ending up in a vast database for one reason or another (and sometimes by mistake).
In California, an old man who got caught being gay when it was illegal is considered a “sex offender.” In most states, an 18-year-old who has consensual sex with a 17-year-old is a “sex offender” for life.
An 18-year-old boy in Iowa was asked by a 14-year-old female friend to, ahem, “sext” her. The two were not involved sexually. In fact, the prosecution agreed that the whole thing was a joke. Oh well. Jorge Canal is now a sex offender. To the bridge/woods with him!
To be a “sex offender” is to suffer extra-judicial persecution for the rest of your natural life, at the whim of politicians. Laws are passed every year restricting the freedom of those labeled “sex offenders,” with the maniacal specificity only government can create.
The 2009 edition of Virginia’s “Sex Offender Statutes and Proximity Statutes” (yes, they change annually), explains that “sex offenders” are “forever prohibited” from being within 100 feet of elementary, middle and high schools, daycares, or any “playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium.”
OK. Wait, “sex offenders” aren’t allowed within 100 feet of a gym, let alone inside one? Oh, well. As we all know those people are perverts. Like Jorge Canal. Virginia law also prohibits Jorge from living within 500 feet of a public park “regularly used for school activities.” You know, like most parks. But that’s the price to pay for being a “sex offender,” right?
And Jorge might have shit luck, but these laws are doing good work by keeping children safe from dangerous predators.
Except they don’t. “Residency restrictions for sex offenders popular, but ineffective,” read a 2008 headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying “studies conducted by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and Colorado Department of Public Safety have not shown any correlation between sex offender recidivism and living near schools or parks.”
The problem is the real dangerous people, sexual predators and their ilk, don’t need to live within 500 feet of a public park to do evil. They can always drive or walk. Want to restrict where a “sex offender” can travel?
That’s what prison is for. Want to keep “sex offenders” away from children? Then keep them in prison. Don’t pass a local ordinance telling Jorge Canal he has to live 500 feet away from anywhere children may gather.
In fact, residency restrictions serve only one purpose: getting politicians elected. No person running for office has ever run on a platform of making life easier for “sex offenders,” and no one ever will. So the laws will continue to be passed. And nine homeless men in Georgia will continue to shuffle in and out of the woods behind an office park, for perpetuity. Until somebody in power reads the Eighth Amendment. ..Source.. Perry Bentley Richmond College '11
August 26, 2010
Sex Offenders?
June 21, 2010
Ohio Court Rules on Sex Offender Classification
This appears to be a local cop trying to get noticed, not a decision on the pending question in the Ohio Supreme Court. Further, the Ohio Supreme court has not ordered anyone to do anything, they have merely invalidated two laws. Beyond that, nothing has been heard on anything further....6-21-2010 Ohio:
Ohio Supreme Court has ruled in a decision to require the Ohio Attorney General's Office to contact sex offenders and update them of their classification status.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office has begun to remove individuals from the sex offender registry who no longer have to register as sex offenders as directed by the Ohio Supreme Court.
According to a news release by the Gallia County Sheriff's Office, the Attorney General's Office is responsible for contacting the offenders as they are removed from the registry.
Over the next several weeks, the Attorney General's Office will then contact offenders who remain on the registry that will have new classifications as a result of the Supreme Court's decision.
It is the recommendation of the Gallia County Sheriff's Department that offenders continue reporting until their status has been finally determined. ..Source.. by WOWK Channel 13 News
June 8, 2010
House Judiciary Hearing Wednesday: Collateral Consequences
UPDATE: For those following this issue, here is the Witness List and links to their testimony. Of those who testified two made mention of sex offenders: Richard T. Cassidy6-8-2010 Washington DC:
and in a footnote Pamela K. Lattimore, Ph.D.
Dear Friends,
On June 9th, I will be testifying at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on "Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Barriers to Reentry for the Formerly Incarcerated." You can download an advance copy of my testimony here.
As the reentry movement has gained ground throughout the nation, there is increasing concern about the policies that create obstacles for people with criminal convictions and those transitioning back to the community from prison. These include barriers to employment, housing, education, public benefits, voting, and many other programs and services. Policymakers and citizen groups are now focusing on examining the impact of the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction and calling for a renewed discussion of their wisdom and impact.
My testimony will address the ways in which collateral consequences hinder prospects for successful reentry and will make recommendations for policy change to remove unnecessary barriers to reentry and full citizenship rights.
The agenda and witnesses for the hearing can be found at the Subcommittee's Web site. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 9th at 10 a.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
I hope you find this testimony useful in your work. We will keep you posted about policy developments in this area. You can also visit our Web site's Collateral Consequences page.
Regards, Marc Mauer
May 28, 2010
Sex offender fallout hitting unrelated laws
5-26-2010 National:
From our friends at: In The News by Karen Franklin
Flawed idea would penalize indigent mentally ill
The U.S. state of Delaware marks the letter "Y" on the driver's licenses of sex offenders. Louisiana emblazons the words "SEX OFFENDER." Here in California, a politician running for state attorney general is trying to bootstrap a victory in next week's primary election with a copycat proposal.
Imagine the shame and humiliation when the young store clerk asks for your ID to verify your credit card signature. It's just one more brick in the wall of internal banishment, which -- as law professor Corey Rayburn Yung has pointed out -- is drastically changing the face of American culture.
Of course, shaming and banishment are nothing compared with the murders driven by this hysterical and counterproductive scapegoating. Take the unfortunate Florida man who was beaten to death with a baseball bat in his own home by two men who thought he was a convicted sex offender. As it turns out, the elderly gentleman had no criminal record whatsoever; he just happened to share the same name as a sex offender.
Some may dismiss that murder as the rash act of a couple of drunken hooligans. But, as I blogged about back in 2007, such vigilanteism is not uncommon. It is fueled by the rhetoric of our presumably rational leaders -- politicians, policy makers, even mental health experts. In my primary election voter's guide, almost every candidate down to the dogcatcher is promising to make the world safer from sex criminals like Phillip Garrido.
For the remainder of this SUPER POST: by Karen Franklin
May 27, 2010
Crist signs tougher sex offender laws
A law looking for a problem. Claimed to be another law enforcement tool, right, another way to falsly accused registrants of something in Florida's effort to lock up everyone.5-27-2010 Florida:
New legislation pleases local law enforcement
MANATEE — Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill Wednesday that will make sex offender laws tougher, to the delight of local law enforcement who say it will give them more tools to keep the public safe.
Crist signed into law House Bill 119, which allows law enforcement to arrest any sex offender found to be loitering or prowling within 300 feet of any place where children were congregating.
The law also states law enforcement can arrest any sex offender who attempts to engage or communicate with a child in a sexual nature at a public park or playground. The bill prohibits sex offenders from going on the grounds of a child care or Pre-K facility without prior notification of staff, if the offender is not a parent or grandparent of a child who attends the school.
With the governor’s signature, the new laws took effect immediately, welcome news for one detective charged with monitoring the 315 sex offenders and predators registered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Manatee County.
“I think it’s great. It just gives us more tools to work with,” said Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Unit Detective Kim Zink.
Zink said she especially likes tighter restrictions on sex offenders visiting places where children congregate, such as pools and public parks. Sex offender laws did not cover those locations like they do public schools or churches.
“I have always hated telling the public that the laws don’t cover those things,” Zink said.
Zink said the new laws governing sex offenders at child care and Pre-K facilities will also benefit law enforcement. That’s because private child care and educational facilities also were not covered by state law, unlike public schools which have sophisticated computer screening processes for all visitors, she said. ..Source.. ROBERT NAPPER
May 26, 2010
Sexually violent predator petitions must be refiled
5-26-2010 Indiana:
The status as a sexually violent predator for two inmates stands for now, but the Indiana Court of Appeals directed the men to refile their motions to remove that status pursuant to the recently amended statute dealing with this issue.
In Stuart A. Clampitt v. State of Indiana , No. 49A04-0912-CR-686, and Spencer R. Wiggins v. State of Indiana , No. 45A03-0912-CR-613, the appellate judges were unable to address the inmates' claims because of a lack of an established record. Both Stewart Clampitt and Spencer Wiggins, inmates in the New Castle Correctional Facility, appealed the denial of their motions to remove their statuses as sexually violent predators.
Clampitt was convicted in 1996 of felony child molesting and sexual misconduct with a minor. Clampitt discovered he was listed as a sexually violent predator in Marion County and believed the application of the current SVP status is an ex post facto law.
Wiggins was convicted in 1996 of felony attempted murder, rape, criminal deviate conduct, robbery, and confinement. He argued the trial court failed to make the determination before consulting with a board of experts and that he is being punished retroactively.
In both opinions, the Court of Appeals outlined Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22, which was amended during the 2010 Indiana General Assembly and provides guidance on the proper procedures for challenging status as a sex offender. In both cases, the appellate court directed the men to refile their challenges in the proper county pursuant to Indiana Code. The men need to file their motions in the counties in which they reside instead of where the original action occurred. ..Source.. Jennifer Nelson
Law Adds Video Voyeurs to Sex Offender Registry
5-26-2010 Wisconsin:
A new state law now lets judges put video voyeurs on the sex offender registry.
Video voyeurism is classified as a felony. It's when someone records another person in the nude without their consent, makes copies of the recording, or distributes them.
The law says if a person is convicted of video voyeurism, a court can order them to register with the Department of Corrections as a sex offender.
Advocates of this new law say it'll serve as a deterrent and will protect potential victims.
They point to its relevance considering several video voyeurism cases from our area -- including Francis Lee of Green Bay, who allegedly placed hidden cameras in his tanning salon to watch people undress, and Cecil Lewis in Outagamie County, who's accused of secretly taping women and having dozens of tapes.
Representative Ted Zigmunt, who authored the original bill, says the law will protect people because no one wants to see their name on the sex offender registry.
"Hopefully for the persons with cell phones and all these things, persons thinking of taking an inappropriate picture and putting it on the Internet, that maybe they'll think twice," Zigmunt said.
The Francis Creek Democrat authored the original bill. He said offenders shouldn't be able to fly under the radar.
Brown County sheriff's captain Jeff Sanborn says offenses like this are all too common.
"We have two detectives now just dedicated to computer crimes, and a lot of that comes into play with video voyeurism," Captain Sanborn said.
Sanborn says if the law prevents even a small number of offenders from committing a crime, it's served its purpose.
"It might take a little time, but as soon as you start seeing persons' pictures out there on the sex offender registry it's going to hit home for a lot of people," Sanborn said.
Under this law, if a person under the age of 21 commits video voyeurism but serves their sentence, a judge can decide they don't have to register as a sex offender. ..Source..
May 19, 2010
Somer Foundation Pushes For New Bill
5-19-2010 Florida:
Law Would Require Sex Offenders To Live Outside 1-Mile Radius From School
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The Somer Thompson foundation is pushing for a new bill that could soon be in the hands of state lawmakers.
Somer's law, which is under final review by the foundation, would require sex offenders and predators to live outside Somer's safety zones -- or a one-mile radius from any school.
The petition also includes a change to the Amber Alert system, requiring an Amber Alert status be issued within 30 minutes of a possible kidnapping.
Jarred Harrell, the man accused of killing the 7-year-old Orange Park girl, is still in jail.
He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday on some of the 58 felony charges he is currently facing.
Investigators said Harrell kidnapped Somer on her way home from school in October. Her body was found days later in a Georgia landfill. ..Source.. News4Jax.com
April 20, 2010
Sex offender laws pass without Colburn's license provision
4-20-2010 Maryland:
Measure likened to a "scarlet letter"
ANNAPOLIS On the last day of the Maryland General Assembly's 2010 session, delegates passed a bill that would create stricter registration laws and establish a three-tier ranking system for sex offenders, but chose to omit an amendment to the bill that would add special coding to sex offenders' drivers licenses.
Maryland senators passed House Bill 936 Saturday by a vote of 44-1 with the driver's license amendment attached, prompting the bill to return to the House for approval.
With the session ending Monday at midnight, state Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Mid-Shore, the sponsor of the amendment, said he knew the bill's passage would come down to the wire, but had hoped his amendment would make it through as well.
"Important sex offender laws remained disturbingly unfinished," said Colburn. "If we're truly trying to address this issue with sex offenders, then we need to give this tool to police officers."
However, Colburn did concede that it was better to get some legislation passed than none at all.
The amendment would have required the marking to be done in a way that only law enforcement officials could understand, and would only have applied to more serious sex offenders.
While supporters of the amendment said the provision would instantly draw the attention of police officers to certain situations, opponents likened the markings to a "scarlet letter," saying it would make it tougher for those on parole to rejoin society and would drive more sex offenders underground.
In addition, critics said that sex offender's status is already available to police officers through database systems, making the marking unnecessary. However, Colburn has argued that the markings would be helpful in case those systems were unavailable or if the police officer did not have access to them.
Sex offender legislation stormed the General Assembly this session after Thomas Leggs Jr., a convicted sex offender in Maryland and Delaware, was charged with murdering 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell, the Salisbury girl whose body was found Christmas Day near Delmar.
Colburn said about 100 bills targeting sex offenders were introduced this session as a result of the Foxwell case, 10 times as many as would have been introduced any other year.
Although the driver's license provision was not passed, other sex offender laws that made it through the General Assembly on the final day of the session include:
• Reducing the number of dimunition or "good time" credits available to violent or repeat sex offenders. These credits allow inmates to be released before the end of their sentence for "good behavior."
• The state's publicly available sex offender registry will include more information.
• Minimum prison sentences for some child sex offenders have been tripled to 15 years.
• Requiring lifetime supervision of people convicted of the most severe sex crimes.
Despite all of the successes with sex offender legislation, Colburn said another issue elicited by the Foxwell case that went untouched this session was the state's de facto moratorium on the death penalty that stems from the fact that the method of execution has never been approved by the state.
"One of the best deterrents for a crime like this is the death penalty," said Colburn, of the Foxwell case.
With Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis seeking the death penalty in the Foxwell case, Colburn said it is time for Gov. Martin O'Malley to strongly urge the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review Committee to bring back the death penalty. ..Source.. CAROLYN SWIFT Staff Writer
April 13, 2010
Deal (Horse Trading) reached on sex offender legislation
Its a sad state of affairs when laws are made based on "Horse Trading," "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Whether or not the bills will help public safety or whether there is any evidence to support the contention of the bills, never entered into the discussion. Political agendas and constituents wishes controlled the minds of lawmakers. Sad sad sad. Maybe lawmakers will sleep well when the next child is murdered. eAdvocate.4-13-2010 Maryland:
The Senate and House of Delegates appear to be well on their way to resolving one of the last outstanding major issues of the session: sex offender reforms.
After a series of deals and legislative horse-trading, the chambers' negotiations team has agreed to combine both contentious bills into one big bill -- which happens to be backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Lawmakers added an expansion of Jessica's Law, lengthening the minimum prison sentence for certain sex offenders from five to 15 years, to O'Malleys sex offender registry bill.
For those keeping track, the House wins big on this one. The Senate backed down on both its request to lengthen sentences to 20 years and its quest to add other provisions (such as "marking sex offenders' driver's licenses and admitting evidence of prior bad acts) to the registry bill.
This one could lead to a major lawsuit costing the state millions!
By fusing the bills, the powers that be created a bill too sweeping for even the senators who had hoped for more to oppose.
It's widely expected to sail through when the chambers reconvene after their dinner break. ..Source.. The Baltimore Sun
April 5, 2010
Editorial: Colorado's work not done on sex-crime laws
4-5-2010 Colorado:
An East Coast appeals court decision last week points out unfinished business for Colorado state lawmakers in regards to sex offenders.
The three-judge panel ruled that a Maryland man convicted of trying to lure a cop posing as a 13-year-old girl into a sexual encounter should not have been forbidden from using a computer for 30 yeas after his release from prison.
The man, Mark Wayne Russell of Columbia, Md., had been convicted after a 2006 sex sting and was accused of trying to entice someone he found on the Internet whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
The sheer number of suspects these stings turn up is chilling. So, too, are the seemingly never-ending stories, even locally, of children who are abused or might have been had the “victims” not turned out to be police in reality.
It’s that frightening reality that led to long and harsh sentences being meted out to those who are now referred to as “sex offenders.” Town meetings are now regularly held in Aurora when these offenders moved back into local neighborhoods. Their addresses and rap sheets are easily discoverable on the World Wide Web.
Much of these changes are good, in that they really can serve to protect the public from sadistic criminals who are unable to keep from seeking out new victims.
The problem is that lawmakers, in their zeal to protect society from these offenders, are creating other problems.
Current law paints sex crimes with a brush too broad, grouping 17-year-old boys who have sexual encounters with their 15-year-old girlfriends in the same flock as pedophiles who repeatedly lure little girls on playgrounds into the back of vans for the sole purpose of a heinous rape. While cases where it’s blurry just where a real crime occurred are relatively rare, it’s clear that not all sex crimes are alike, and the courts need more flexibility in sentencing.
Criminal psychiatrists agree that not all sex offenders are incorrigible predators. But by branding these convicts for the rest of their lives, we make it almost impossible for them to find work and some semblance of life after prison, driving them to new lives of new crimes and back on the taxpayers’ dime.
As the Maryland appeals court pointed out, telling someone they can never use a computer for 30 years is more restricting than telling them they can’t use a phone or a car. They’ve become ubiquitous in modern life. You can’t even get a job at a McDonald’s without using a computer.
The government should ensure that those who are convicted of predatory sex crimes are closely watched after being released from prison or as part of their probation, but the government can’t make it so that these people are unable to rejoin society in some normal fashion without guaranteeing more and new crime victims in the future. ..Source.. THE VOICE OF AURORA, The Aurora Sentinel
March 30, 2010
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.
March 28, 2010
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.
March 20, 2010
Delegates' bill triples jail time for sex offenders
Laws crafter out of anger solve nothing, but may make lawmakers feel good. Excessive sentences will get shot down and solve nothing. Taking away good time from one class of inmate will end up in court and also get shot down. Anger generates no worthwhile law, and prevents no future crimes.3-20-2010 Maryland:
Other proposed laws would further restrict convicted child predators; urge others to report abuse
Convicted child predators would face at least 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole under a new measure advanced Friday by the Maryland House of Delegates.
The preliminary approval came as delegates gave their final OK to two other sex offender measures: eliminating good-time prison credits and requiring lifetime supervision for violent and repeat offenders.
Lawmakers have been reviewing sex offender laws this year in part as a response to the December killing of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell on the Eastern Shore. Thomas J. Leggs Jr., a registered sex offender, is charged with capital murder in the case.
On Friday, the Senate voted unanimously to require authorities to investigate an individual's suspicion that a parent or guardian is allowing his or her children to spend time with a sex offender. The bill, which aims to encourage neighbors and friends to report abuse cases, is a direct response to Sarah Foxwell's death. The girl's custodial aunt had been dating Leggs.
That measure must be approved by the House.
Under the legislation approved preliminarily by delegates Friday, anyone convicted of second-degree rape or a second-degree sex offense of a child younger than 13 would be subject to a mandatory prison term of 15 years without parole, more than a threefold increase from the current penalty of five years with the possibility of parole.
The extended sentence for child predators and a plan to provide more information on the state's publicly available sex offender registry will come to the House of Delegates for a final vote next week.
Several of the House bills could face a tough battle in the Senate, which must approve them before April 12 if they are to become law. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which heard testimony this week on sex offender reforms, frequently rejects mandatory prison sentences and restrictions of good-time credits. ..Source.. The Baltimore Sun
March 16, 2010
How do we stop predators?
3-16-2010 California:
California has been throwing new sex offender laws against the wall and hoping they will stick. It's time to assess which ones work and which ones don't.
Their first names have become synonymous with outrage and grief: Megan, Jessica, Samantha, Amber. Now, 17-year-old Chelsea King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois join the list of young lives likely cut short by sexual predators. And as in each of the previous cases, the heartbreaking discovery of the child's body is followed by a renewed determination to enact stricter laws, to toughen sentences and intensify monitoring -- to do something, anything, to keep children safe.
And we do try. These murders continue despite sex offender registries and Jessica's Law, which restricted where offenders can live and strapped global positioning systems on the ankles of about 6,700 perpetrators. They come after laws permitting chemical castration and the indefinite confinement of certain high-risk offenders to psychiatric facilities. And still, a registered sex offender, John Albert Gardner III, is suspected in both of the latest cases. What to do next?
Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego), whose district includes Poway, home to King, and Escondido, home to Dubois, was right on target when he called last week for a complete evaluation of the state's incoherent, patchwork approach to sex offenders. He was also right to hold off on the instantaneous creation of a "Chelsea's Law." For too long now, California has been throwing new sex offender laws against the wall and hoping they will stick. It's time for lawmakers to assess which ones work and which ones do not.
Fletcher could begin by delving into the recent report by the California Sex Offender Management Board. It is startling reading for revelations about what data the state does not have. Although California has the largest population of registered sex offenders in the nation (in part because it began registering them in 1947), it has done little to analyze the behavior of this population. For example, according to the report, the state has never determined an accurate recidivism rate for sex offenders. Nor has it taken stock of how supervision, treatment, GPS tracking and sentencing affect a sex offender's likelihood to re-offend. By now, for example, the state should know how many sex offenders enter treatment programs -- voluntarily or otherwise -- how many never do and the quality of those programs. But it doesn't.
We must also explore the limits of sex offender registries and residency restrictions. Knowing where an offender lives is not the same as knowing where he or she is every moment of the day. GPS tracking was expected to address that gap, but in some ways Jessica's Law has created new and unanticipated complications. The state now has a large population of sex offenders who, thanks to the law's housing restrictions, are homeless. In 2007, shortly after the law was passed, only 88 sex offender parolees were homeless; in the years since, that number has grown to 2,088; the total number of "transient" sex offenders is more than 5,000. More and more are now dropping off the radar completely, failing to update their registry information -- a development that does not improve public safety.
California spent $65 million last year to track more than 6,000 sex offender parolees, but it is unclear which agency is responsible for monitoring them for life once their parole ends; nor is it clear whether the entire parolee population warrants tracking. California's slender resources should target the offenders who pose the greatest threat. Is it reasonable that an 18-year-old boy who has consensual sex with a 13-year-old girl could land himself a lifetime spot on the sex offender registry with no chance of being removed? Fletcher has mentioned the importance of better prioritizing resources, and we hope he means it. What we have seen in the past after similar tragedies are measures hurried through the system to pacify a frightened, angry public, regardless of expense or efficacy.
It is also important to remember that the overwhelming majority of people who are sexually assaulted -- adults and children alike -- are preyed on by people with whom they are acquainted. Yet many of California's policies seem to be aimed more at deterring assaults by strangers, the small fraction of offenses that garner the most attention and public outrage.
There will be a Chelsea's Law when this inquiry phase is done, according to Fletcher. Well, maybe there should be and maybe there shouldn't be. No one knows yet whether the measures we already have on the books are working as well as they should. If there is to be a new law, let's be sure that it is bolstered by research and offers evidence that it will actually improve the public safety. The illusion of safety is not enough. ..Editorial.. LA Times
March 12, 2010
Case against convicted sex offender Matthew Freeman dismissed
3-12-2010 Michigan:
Washtenaw County prosecutors dropped a criminal charge today against a young Pittsfield Township sex offender who was accused of illegally living near a school.
Matthew Freeman, 23, was charged in August with a school safety zone residency violation, accused of living within 1,000 feet of Carpenter Elementary School.
Freeman must register as a sex offender because he was convicted in 2003 of having sex with his underage high school girlfriend. With few exceptions, sex offenders cannot live near schools.
Prosecutors decided not to pursue the latest case because a judge's ruling March 2 made Freeman exempt from school safety zone residency restrictions that apply to many sex offenders in the state.
Circuit Court Judge Donald Shelton granted a “motion to correct the record” filed by Freeman’s attorney, David Goldstein. In that motion, Goldstein pointed out errors were made during Freeman's 2003 conviction that made him subject to school safety zone residency requirements.
The record has been corrected to reflect that Freeman was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct (age of victim) - not fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving force or coercion.
During Freemans’ July 29, 2003, plea hearing, a prosecutor used an incorrect Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council code for the charge Freeman pleaded guilty to.
Freeman's mother, Yolanda, said she's relieved the case has been dismissed. He was facing up to a year in jail.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” she said. “At least he can stay where he wants to stay now. I wish he could get taken off the registry.”
She said she's glad she brought the case to the public’s attention.
“If I had never pushed the issue, Matthew would probably be sitting in jail right now,” she said.
Freeman was convicted of having sex with his high school girlfriend when he was 17 and she was 15. In Michigan, the legal age of consent is 16.
While the latest case was dismissed, Freeman must remain on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry until Aug. 17, 2028. His ex-girlfriend's mother wants him off the registry, but legal experts say there is no clear avenue Freeman can pursue to make that happen. ..Source.. Lee Higgins AnnArbor.com Staff
March 7, 2010
Sex offender registry changes proposed
We urge folks to support and lobby New Hampshire lawmakers on behalf of an 11th hour effort to take HB 1628 off the House consent calendar for the March 10 House floor session and retain it in the House for the rest of 2010. The innocuous sounding bill asks the Department of Safety to devise voluntary guidelines for community notification of neighbors when a sex offender moves in. Such notification frequently causes vigilantism. Instead of sending HB 1628 to the Senate, the House would ask the Criminal Justice Committee to deal with its subject matter as part of a comprehensive study of the sex offender internet registry, risk assessment, and community notice.3-7-2010 New Hampshire:
Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series about state legislation regarding sex offenders.
Several bills being proposed in the state House of Representatives would make adjustments to the state's sex offender registry.
The measures come after Gov. John Lynch signed a bill into law in 2008 that brought the state into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, which required the state to implement a tiered registry.
Since then, lawmakers have proposed bills that would add offenses to or otherwise adjust the registry. The latest round of bills range from requiring those who murder children to register for life to changes such as requiring the registration of sex offenders' watercraft.
The bill proposing the lifetime registration of child murderers, House Bill 1647, has received some heat for a provision that would restrict residency. The bill would require any person convicted of first- or second-degree murder against someone under 18 to register for life on the Department of Safety's list. It also would restrict paroled child murderers and certain sex offenders from living within 25 miles of the victim or victim's family.
Two Lakes Region lawmakers proposed the bill in response to convicted child killer Raymond Guay moving to New Hampton, where two aunts of his victim live about two miles from his residence.
State Rep. Fran Wendelboe, R-New Hampton, is the primary sponsor of the bill and said Guay's case is the perfect example of why such a law is needed. Guay killed a 12-year-old Nashua boy in 1973 and was sentenced to 18 to 25 years in a federal prison.
Probation officials notified New Hampton selectmen about Guay moving to the town, but the board's legal counsel told the board not to release the information because of liability.
Wendelboe said authorities have always believed Guay's intentions against the boy were sexual assault, but since he was never charged with sexual assault, he was never required to register on the list that would allow the public to track him.
"The community wasn't informed when he moved into the community, and there was a lot of outrage," she said.
During a January hearing in Concord, most were in favor of the provision of the bill that called for those convicted of murder against a child to register on the sex offender list.
However, the part calling for the residency restriction came under fire because of recent issues regarding such restrictions, including a District Court ruling that Dover's sex offender ordinance barring offenders from living 2,500 feet from a school or day care was unconstitutional.
Wendelboe said it was not the intent of her bill to include sex offenders as well as murderers in the 25-mile-radius, and she is considering rewording that portion of the bill or dropping it.
"There's not many people that murder, but it would be a nightmare if sex offenders were included," she said.
Wendelboe said once changes are made to that part of the bill, she is confident it will pass.
"We're not the first state to do this," she said. "Children are the most vulnerable of the population. Anyone who murders a child is in a different category."
The bill is due to reach the House floor on March 10.
Another piece of legislation, House Bill 1642, would bring the state into further compliance with the Adam Walsh Act. The bill has passed the House and now will come before the Senate.
Assistant Attorney General Ann Rice said there were some elements left out of the law, and this is a chance to correct that. The bill adds the language "accomplice to, or an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit" under sex offense crimes that would require a person to register as a sex offender.
The bill would also require an offender to provide the state with the make, model, color and license plate or registration of any vehicle, watercraft or aircraft owned and operated by the offender, as well as the location where such equipment is regularly kept. The current law only required this for vehicles such as cars.
Other bills have a longer road ahead of them. One, House Bill 111, asks not to include Tier 1 offenders on the public list of registered offenders, but rather on a private list, which the state used to have before its registry was modified to fit the Adam Walsh Act. Tier 1 includes offenses such as sexual touching and violation of privacy.
The bill was proposed in early 2009 by Rep. Jennifer Brown, D-Dover, and was placed in interim study, where it remains.
Brown said she has no problem with Tier 1 offenders registering with police but doesn't think they should be on the public list because it puts them under the same umbrella as other sex offenders.
"They just don't belong in the same place as the real bad guys because they get looked at that way by the public," she said.
Rep. Laura Pantelakos, D-Portsmouth, said House Bill 111 is one of multiple bills pertaining to sex offenders that has been placed in interim study. Pantelakos said these bills seek to making adjustments to the tiered system and the goal of putting them into study is to better organize them and bring them back as one bill.
Pantelakos is not a supporter of the Adam Walsh Act.
"I think each state should address things as they go along," she said.
She supports House Bill 111 because she thinks it separates those "who made a stupid mistake" from sexual predators.
Another bill being studied is House Bill 1601, which proposes that those convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault against adults, not just those who offend against children, be required to register on the Department of Safety's public list.
Other sex offender bills proposed in the House include:
House Bill 1508, which would prohibits those convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault or felonious sexual assault against children from initiating contact with the victim and includes all forms of communication. Anyone guilty of this would face a Class A misdemeanor. This bill passed the House on March 3 and now goes on to the Senate.
House Bill 1628, which would require the commissioner of the Department of Safety to develop guidelines to be used by local law enforcement agencies for providing neighborhood residents notification of the release of a sexual offender. This bill is recommended by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and has a March 10 floor date in the House. ..Source.. AARON SANBORN
March 4, 2010
Chelsea King Case: Outrage Over Sex Offender Monitoring Reaches White House
First, the Adam Walsh Act has been funded ten times over through other bills, funding it yet again is not going to solve anything, except make someone look good!3-4-2010 National:
Secondly, there is nothing whatsoever, within the Adam Walsh Act (or prior similar useless laws) that could have prevented this terrible crime, had it been in place before the crime. AWA is a rewrite of past failures of lawmakers to accomplish something which can never be accomplished with such laws.
Lawmakers need to get this: TRACKING is not PREVENTION! Further, lawmakers need to focus on public safety, not making themselves look good to their constitutents.
John Walsh Said President Obama Vowed to Fund Federal Sex Offender Law
He was in court for just minutes, but the mere sight of the convicted sex offender charged with raping and murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King set off a fresh round of outrage that reached as far as the White House.
John Albert Gardner III, 30, pleaded not guilty Wednesday, but the community obviously had a very different opinion.
In the hours before his court appearance in San Diego Wednesday, someone spray painted his mother's garage with the words, "Chelsea's blood is on you -- move out." And neighbors screamed at two men who tried to paint over it.
"You're protecting somebody who has killed an innocent girl," one yelled. "Get out of here."
John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," said he met with President Obama Wednesday to discuss child protection laws and funding for the Adam Walsh Act, signed three years ago by President Bush.
The law promised to create a national registry of sex offenders and keep closer track of the most violent of them, but it did not come with the funds needed to carry it out.
"President Obama said yesterday, 'As the father of two girls, John, I will get the Adam Walsh law funded,'" Walsh told "Good Morning America" today.
Walsh, whose 6-year-old son for whom the law is named and who was kidnapped and murdered in 1981, knows firsthand the grief King's parents are experiencing.
"They're in the worst place a parent could be," he said. "They look in that courtroom and see a guy who should have never been out on the streets."
King, a well-liked honors student, vanished after heading out for a jog in a semi-rural San Diego County park. Her body was found less than a week later, buried in a shallow grave near the shore of Lake Hodges, about a half-mile from her car.
But the outrage grew with the arrest of Gardner, a known violent sex offender who has since been charged with the December assault and attempted rape of 22-year-old Candice Moncayo in the same park where King's body was found.
"I think everyone asks the same question," Walsh said. "Why was this animal out on the streets?"
Do we still have a judicial system? At this point is this man guilty or innocent until proven guilty? John Walsh seems to have made up his mind. Yes, this is a terrible crime, but -foregone conclusions- AND -knee-jerk- reactions have no place in our democracy!
Residents Angry John Albert Gardner Was Allowed Out
"The law should be once you offend, you're done, you're toast, you're in the slammer or you are executed," one angry woman said as she stood among protestors outside the courthouse.
Former San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst was slightly more objective.
"I am of the view that people who do harm to teenage girls should go to Gitmo and stay there for the rest of their lives and be waterboarded," he said.
Authorities said Gardner may also be linked to the February 2009 disappearance of 14-year-old Amber DuBois, who vanished on her way to school, not far from where Gardner was living at the time.
"The girls are the exact similar build," Maurice DuBois said of his daughter and King. "Both white girls, both five-five, both 130 pounds."
Detectives across California are now looking into other unsolved cases involving young girls and considering whether there are any more possible links to Gardner.
Gardner pleaded guilty in 2000 to charges of committing lewd and lascivious acts on 13-year-old girl in his parents' home. He served five years of a six-year sentence and was on parole until 2008.
........................
If the district attorney does not seek the death penalty, the charges carry a penalty of 25 years to life.
Psychiatrist Said Gardner Posed 'Continued Danger to Underage Girls'
Gardner's previous record as a convicted sex offender, prosecutors said, would be presented at trial.
Dr. Matthew Carroll, a court psychiatrist, who evaluated Gardner before his release from prison on the 2000 conviction, had pushed for the maximum sentence, as many as 30 years, and said Gardner "would be a continued danger to underage girls in the community."
Dr. Alex Kalish, a colleague, said Carroll was angry that his recommendations were ignored a decade ago.
"Dr. Carroll told the court that [Gardner] showed no insight and expressed no responsibility and that he is a danger. You can't make a stronger statement than that," said Kalish. "The guy is violent and a predator who shows no remorse.
"There was no effort to consider his report. Apparently the DA did what was expedient to get a conviction. It is frustrating that no one considered the psychiatric input. Why ask for it, if you don't consider it," Kalish said. ..Source.. MIKE VON FREMD, RUSSELL GOLDMAN and SARAH NETTER
March 3, 2010
Sex offender laws go too far
3-3-2010 Maryland:
Thanks to Dan Rodricks for his recent column on the collateral damage done by the current legislative frenzy concerning sex offender laws ("Is state wise to treat all sex offenders the same?" Mar. 2). As the chairman of the Juvenile Treatment sub-committee of the Delaware Sex Offender Management Board, I have seen many cases involving adolescents and adults over the last 15 years. In the last few years, since the enactment of the Federal Adam Walsh Act, many more cases, such as the one Mr. Rodricks wrote about, have come to the fore.
Due to Walsh, states have the ability, and the funding, to go back to 1972, to find sex offenders, and to require them to register on public access websites. I have spoken to people here in Delaware who contend that such work is a waste of time, energy, resources and money. While we spend our time finding and tracking someone who made a stupid mistake 25 years ago, we allow pedophiles to molest and destroy children's lives.
Many of the laws we have to deal with are knee jerk reactions and election year pronouncements that show citizens that legislators are "tough on sex offenders." Yet, few policies are created in a thoughtful, well planned and proactive manner that would actually keep the public safe. While our efforts and tax dollars are spent watching a person who rehabilitated his life after making a foolish mistake years ago, serial, violent and manipulative pedophiles are free to groom victims and offend without restraint. ..Source.. Marc Felizzi, Wilmington, Del.
Dan Rodricks Radio Show on Maryland's Sex Offender Laws
3-3-2010 Maryland:
Midday is Maryland's WYPR's daily public affairs program airing from noon to 2 PM, Monday through Thursday. Hosted by longtime Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks, the program covers a wide range of topics selected to engage, inform, and entertain the listening audience.
A few days ago Dan Rodricks hosted a very special show about sex offender laws. He had as guests: "Larry," a former offender from fifteen years ago; Tracy Velazquez, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute; Kate Thomas, co-clinical director of the Hopkins Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit; Senator Norman Stone; and Delegate Michael Smigiel.
Our friends at SexOffenderIssues put together a wonderful audio of the entire one hour broadcast. This is worth the time to listen to. eAdvocate will be researching -and posting- the studies mentioned in the broadcast in a few days.Click on the picture to listen to the audio:
