U.S. Marshals shoot fugitive, a known sex offender, on Detroit's west side

2-21-17 Michigan:

The search for a fugitive ends in gun fire on Detroit's west side.

U.S. Marshals were looking for Edward Burgett near the corner of Linwood and Tuxedo, when they say the fugitive used a stolen vehicle as a weapon.

Authorities say Burgett rammed into a marshal's vehicle and that's considered a form of deadly force.

Neighbor Averil Dixon woke up to a scary scene on the 2600 block of Tuxedo Street.

"I was actually in my home asleep around 9 something this morning when I heard about six gunshots," he said.

U.S. Marshals were tracking down Burgett.

Deputy Robert Watson of U.S. Marshal Service, Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team said, "He was wanted for parole violation, enticing a child for immoral purposes and a motor vehicle theft."

The Fugitive Apprehension Team found Edward Burgett backing out of driveway in the stolen black Dodge Charger.

When they surrounded the vehicle, they say he rammed into one of the Marshals unmarked cars.

That's when members of the task force shot at the man multiple times and taken the hopsital.

Action News showed you surveillance video of a man who stole a black Dodge Charger from the dealership Cars 4 U on Livernois Avenue last week.

We sent the manager of the dealership a photo of Burgett and the license plate of the car involved in the shooting.

She confirmed it is the same person seen in the video and that it is the stolen car.

After the shooting, police canvassed the area for hours.

Dixon added, "They were searching, talking to people. It was just crazy, but that's the city we live in."

The 31-year-old is a sex offender and has a long criminal history involving firearms, assault with a deadly weapon, motor vehicle theft and larceny.

One neighbor did not want to be identified but tells us any shooting, even police involved ones, put them at risk.

He explained, "Scary that it happens everyday around here, something you can't live with. It's very heartbreaking here."

Burgett was taken to the hospital and is listed in serious condition. ..Source.. by Syma Chowdhry

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

New sex offender rules stalled

12-8-16 Michigan:

LANSING – Passage seems increasingly unlikely for a bill that would limit the places registered sex offenders can work and was inspired by the discovery that sex offenders worked at a Lansing nonprofit that serves victims of sexual assault.

The bill from state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-Meridian Township, would make it illegal for sex offenders to work for organizations that serve victims of sexual assault or children. The bill was inspired by a State Journal report in June that three registered sex offenders were simultaneously volunteering at the Listening Ear, a Lansing nonprofit that runs a crisis hotline for victims of sexual assault and others.

The offenders had answered calls to the hotline and had volunteered alongside victims of sexual assault who didn't know the men were offenders.

But Hertel's bill has been waiting for a vote in the Senate since July, and there's no indication it's going to advance in the seven session days scheduled for the remainder of the year.

Even if the bill cleared the Senate, it still would have to pass the state House. Bills that don't pass both chambers by the end of the year have to be reintroduced in the new term that begins next month.

"The issue is still a priority for me, and we're working to get it done," Hertel said Wednesday. ..Continued.. by Justin A. Hinkley , Lansing State Journal

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Michigan Senate approves sex offender registry changes after ruling

See Also: Bill narrows sex offender exclusion zones after court ruling

12-10-15 Michigan:

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A bill advancing in the Legislature would update Michigan's sex offender registry and reporting requirements after a federal judge ruled that parts of the law are unconstitutional.

The Senate voted 37-1 Wednesday for legislation that revises the definitions of school property and student safety zones. The measure goes to the House.

In March, Judge Robert Cleland struck down several sex offender provisions as too vague, including a requirement that offenders not live, work or loiter within 1,000 feet of school property. The bill keeps intact the 1,000-foot limit but clarifies definitions.

The legislation also exempts sex offenders from a ban against loitering on school property if they a child in the school, and deletes mandates to report new email addresses, instant messaging addresses and vehicle purchases or sales in person. ..Source.. by 9and10news.com

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Bill Would Reinstate Michigan's Ban on Sex Offenders Near Schools

UPDATE: There are actually 3 Doe v Snyder decisions see HERE

10-26-15 Michigan:

(MPRN-Lansing) A state Senator wants to reinstate Michigan’s ban on sex offenders near schools.

In April, a federal judge struck down the law that said registered sex offenders must stay at least a thousand feet away from schools (Doe v Snyder see above). He said the rule was unconstitutionally vague because it’s too difficult for people to figure out where the zones begin and end.

Republican state Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) says he’ll introduce a bill on Monday to clarify those issues and put the law back in place. “It was an important law,” said Jones.

“I don’t care if it’s somebody that’s a flasher or somebody that’s a pedophile, I don’t want them in the school grounds.” “I want to make sure the sex offenders know schools are off-limits.”

The ACLU of Michigan argued against the original ban in court. It is concerned Jones’ bill still doesn’t do enough to clarify the issues identified in the judge’s opinion.

“It’s very very difficult for people to figure out where they can work, where they can live, and how they can follow the law if they can’t figure out where the zones are,”

said Mirium Aukerman, the ACLU attorney who argued the case.

“So I think this is an effort to address that problem, but it doesn’t really address the concerns that the court had.”

The legislation includes an exemption for parents of students who are attending school functions, transporting children to or from school, or meeting with teachers and staff about their children. ..Source.. by Jake Neher

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

List mania putting our privacy, security at risk

10-20-15 Michigan:

We are becoming a list-ridden society — lists we have, lists legislators want, and lists that are abused. People tend to think lists protect society, but they also invade privacy, put people who are on them at risk of harm, create problems with housing, cause undue emotional harm to families and children, and become abused by law enforcement. At the rate we are going, the new pickup line in the future may become “What list are you on?”

If you have committed a felony you are on a Department of Corrections listing that is available to the public. Then there is the list for registered sex offenders. In Michigan, there are over 40,000 on the list, but how useful is it? It contains people without convictions, juveniles who committed a sexual offense as a juvenile and have never had another sexual offense, and people who had consensual sex when teens and are now married to each other. Even though some laws have been passed that allow certain people to petition for removal, the list is still too inclusive to be useful.

Then there is the Michigan central registry of people believed to have abused or neglected children. Citizens may be on the list and not even be aware of it. You are placed on the list without due process, at the click of a button by the child protective services worker, and then must request a hearing to attempt to have your name removed. The problem is these are administrative hearings, conducted by people who are part of the Department of Human Services, and they do not follow the same degree of evidence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the regular judicial system does. If the worker has “concerns” that you may be a danger to children, you will most likely remain on the list.

Other lists have also been proposed. There was the suggestion of a public listing of those who own firearms. That would be great for burglars; they would know which homes have firepower and which do not, allowing them to select accordingly.

Then there is Logan’s Law, a registry of Michigan animal abusers that will soon become law. Licensed animal shelters would run a background check on those attempting to adopt a pet before releasing an animal to someone. While I do not condone animal abuse, I feel the time of legislators would be better spent on issues dealing with human needs, such as lack of housing for the homeless, hunger, education, employment, drug dealers, and drunk drivers. I think it is a tragedy that these are still issues, but steps regarding animal abusers has been dealt with.

California was recently proposing legislation to eliminate a “personal belief exemption” and/or eliminating privacy rights and create a public lists that includes a parent’s name, address, and what vaccines have been declined. The list would make the information regarding children public, including where they reside. This is extremely dangerous for the children, as anyone who targets children will have a public list to review and obtain information, including their residency. I guess the thought process is that it is more important to protect society against a child who was not vaccinated, than the child against a pedophile.

So, which lists are you on? Which could you potentially get on? No one is safe. The only solution to secure the privacy and safety of the American people is to eliminate the lists that exist and stop the creation of new lists. People need to go back to the old-fashioned method of getting to know people and passing judgment based on each person’s behavior, not what list some law enforcement agency has put them on. ..Source.. by Grace Grogan of St. Clair who is a Times Herald community columnist

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Error in sex offender registry cut short

Now, off the state registry, BUT, how does he get off all those illegal registries that are never updated?

10-14-15 Michigan:

HILLSDALE — Contrary to the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry’s listing and the word of its officials, Andrew Fether, the U.S. Army veteran erroneously placed on the list, was still registered — until very recently.

Renae Shircliff, Deputy Director of the Hillsdale County Veterans’ Affairs Office, said that Jon-Paul Rutan, a veteran who aided Fether through legal proceedings after he was put on the SOR in error, approached her with the fact during the Hillsdale County Fair.

Rutan expressed concern over the fact that Fether was still on the list despite a four-year battle to remove him; Fether’s placement was predicated on a baseless accusation a former platoon member leveled against him during his deployment with the American armed forces in the Middle East.

“Mr. Rutan talked to me,” Shircliff said. “I told him, ‘Let me talk to Mr. Brady and Rod [Hassinger, assistant prosecutor].’”

Shircliff made an appointment with Hassinger and explained the situation. Fether didn’t have the funds to hire an attorney to file a proper motion to remove him from the list altogether, leaving the officials in need of recourse.

“Rod said, ‘I’m tired of this always coming back at us,’” Shircliff said. “He decided to file a motion with [Hillsdale County District Court Judge Sara] Lisznyai himself.”

Hassinger created a motion and order to remove Fether from the list.

“Pursuant to an independent investigation conducted by the Veteran Affairs Office and the Hillsdale County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” reads the motion, “Defendant was incorrectly placed on the SORA list. Our office dismissed the criminal charges that occurred. We request that this Honorable Court grant the People’s motion and order Defendant removed from the SORA list.”

The discrepancy, then, came apparently through SORA administration; as of June, when last the Hillsdale Daily News updated the story, Fether’s name no longer appeared on the public SORA website, and a call placed to SORA administration confirmed that he was no longer considered a registered sex offender.

After Shircliff received Fether’s approval, Lisznyai signed the motion and Shircliff faxed it to SORA “right away,” she said

Shircliff said that Melissa Marinoff, a representative from SORA who had been involved in Fether’s case previously, promised to complete the order within 24 hours, despite email correspondence that said the motion would be prioritized and handled “immediately.” Marinoff said that a 24-hour investigation was necessary to approve the motion.

That was around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, Shircliff said.

The next day, however, Shircliff tried in vain to reach Marinoff to confirm the status of the investigation.

“They said, ‘Sorry, Melissa isn’t in today,’” Shircliff said.

Taking matters into her own hands, Shircliff called Marinoff’s supervisor in an attempt to expedite the process. During a number of hand-offs and waiting tones, Rutan then approached Shircliff again.

Shircliff said that she was on hold when Marinoff’s supervisor called Rutan to inform him that the order had been completed and Fether’s name had been removed.

“They said, ‘He’s off the list, now leave us alone,’” Shircliff said.

As of 3:25 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, Fether was no longer in the SORA database in any capacity.

The joint efforts of the Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office, Veterans’ Affairs Office and Lisznyai’s office made the final push in removing Fether from the SOR.

“Together, the agencies and Judge Lisznyai got him off the list,” Shircliff said.

“I did my homework with the military,” Shircliff said. “I did my homework with [Fether’s] platoon sergeant, who was there at the time this happened.”

Hassinger stressed the importance of cooperation between his office and Shircliff’s, with the VA taking point on the issue.

"Not only did I do it,” he said, “Renae did 100 times more than what I did. She talked to people who were there when [Fether] was there.”

The story doesn’t end there, though: Hassinger said that a lien with the FBI could still flag Fether’s name during any criminal investigation and trigger the entire series of events again. But Shircliff said that her office is pursuing the case all the way to the top.

“Believe me, I’m following up,” Shircliff said. “We’re trying to see what we can do to work it out with the Secretary of State, because he shouldn’t have been on the SORA list in the first place.” ..Source.. by Jason Dafnis

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Legislation introduced to create registry of child abusers

Michigan already has a "Central Registry" for child abusers, but it is NonPublic. This legislation would now create a Public version. The NonPublic one has many names on it that do not belong, often added are simply folks involved in a investigation who are not abusers. See link above. However, one must know their name is on it first, since they are not told when names go on it; hence MI created a procedure to remove names (see link). This could turn into a big mess if enacted. Many folks needlessly harmed, due to sloppy work by state employees.

10-10-15 Michigan:

LANSING, MI (WNEM) - Legislation that would create a registry of child abusers has been introduced.

Three State Representatives including Vanessa Guerra (D-Saginaw), Derek Miller (D-Warren) and Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores) are behind “Wyatt’s Law”.

The legislation was prompted by Erica Hammel, a St. Clair Shores resident whose son suffered brain injuries in 2013 after she claims he was shaken by his father’s girlfriend.

Hammel says his abuser, Rachel Edwards, was previously convicted on child abuse charges before her then one-year-old son was assaulted. Hammel says she did not know about Edwards previous convictions.

The proposed registry is designed to give parents the ability to determine if someone could be a danger to their child, similar to the sex offender registry. The registry would be maintained by the Michigan State Police and, like the sex offender registry, would require abusers to update statuses if they move. ..Source.. by Carrie Widenmier

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Another Elkhart family copes with having son's name on sex offender registry

9-13-15 Indiana, Michigan:

BRISTOL - Elkhart convicted sex offender Zach Anderson is one step closer to returning to a normal life.

On Friday, a new judge agreed to remove him from Michigan's sex offender list until his re-sentencing.

Anderson's case gained national attention, after a judge handed the then 19 year-old a maximum punishment for having sex with a 14-year-old girl who he said lied about her age.

Like Zach Anderson, Darian Yoder was 19-years-old when he found a girl on a dating app called Hot Or Not.

Yoder said she told him she was 17 and then they had sex the first time they met. Just like Anderson, Darian was convicted and registered as a sex offender.

"It's basically just work and occasionally I'll go to the gym, but I really have nothing else I can really do," said Yoder.

In both cases, the girls were from Niles and they even had the same judge, Dennis Wiley.

"With these guidelines, it's basically taken my life away," said Yoder.

Feeling alone and embarrassed the last time Fox 28 spoke to him, Yoder asked us not to show his face.

"I started to get a little bit more positive," said Yoder.

It was after reading about Anderson's case that Yoder and his family started to see a brighter side.

"If I didn't have support, I probably would have given up," her said.

Like Anderson's family, the Yoder's too, are working towards getting Darian's name removed from the sex offender registry.

"[It's] like a death in the family," said Vanissa Messick, Darian Yoders' mom.

She said she can't remember the last time she's seen her son smile.

"It's like you make a mistake in life, this is too much of a punishment for that person at that age even, you're going to make mistakes," she said.

A mistake that many like Anderson and Yoder have made and are trying to fix. Messick told Fox 28, the Anderson's are helping them try to appeal Yoder's conviction and get his name taken off the sex offender registry, but it will be a little harder because they are past the six month appeal threshold. ..Source.. by Shellye Leggett

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Judge orders jail to deliver mail to inmates after complaint from ACLU

8-11-15 Michigan:

A U.S. District Court judge ordered the Livingston County Jail to deliver American Civil Liberties Union letters sent to inmates in February.

Judge Denise Page Hood’s ruling on Friday came at the request of the ACLU who alleged jail administrators violated inmates’ First and 14th amendments rights by blocking and reading mail sent to inmates.

“Correspondence from an attorney is the very essence of legal mail,” Hood wrote in her court opinion, adding the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals “has noted that mail from the ACLU is confidential legal mail.”

Livonia attorney T. Joseph Seward, who represents the county, countered: “What (the ACLU) calls legal mail is not, in our opinion, legal mail. It’s another form of advertising.”

The court also set a hearing May 12 to hear the ACLU’s request for an injunction.

The ACLU said the jail’s “postcard only” policy severely restricts the inmates’ communication with the outside world. The jail policy exempts legal mail, but the ACLU alleged the jail did not deliver 25 letters to inmates that were written by an ACLU attorney in February.

The ACLU said the letters were clearly marked “legal mail” and included the attorney’s name, State Bar of Michigan member number and ACLU logo and address.

Instead, the ACLU alleges, jail administrators opened, read and shared the legal mail sent by the ACLU attorney.

Sheriff Bob Bezotte said the ACLU “inappropriately marked” the mail as legal mail to inmates the organization does not represent in current or past cases.
'Being sneaky'

“They’re trying to play they’re the victims, and they aren’t,” the sheriff said. “They’re being sneaky. ... We respect the client-attorney privilege.”

Seward said the ACLU’s mail stemmed from a lawsuit initially filed by Prison Legal News in which the county sought sanctions against the ACLU.

Prison Legal News filed suit in August 2011 alleging Bezotte’s department has “adopted and implemented written-mail policies and practices that unconstitutionally” restrict correspondence with prisoners to postcards only, which would ban delivery of the journal.

The ACLU also argues the jail’s “postcard only” policy is severe.

The county argued Prison Legal News does not have a First Amendment right to force it to distribute sample copies of the magazine because the Supreme Court has not declared that publishers have a “freestanding right to unsolicited communication with inmates,” and that the courts have upheld “outright prohibitions against bulk mail and free advertising,” according to court documents.

The ACLU, Seward said, filed a brief in the Prison Legal News case to help the court decide the issue between the two parties, but when the county successfully got the court to rule Prison Legal News’ correspondence was not “legal mail,” the ACLU changed from a friend of the court to litigator and advocate by sending a “whole host of materials to the jail” in an effort to further Prison Legal News’ fight.

As a result, the county sought sanctions against the ACLU because “it was going around the back door of the court’s earlier ruling,” Seward said.

Prison Legal News was “using the ACLU to do stuff they couldn’t do,” the county’s attorney argued.

Seward and Bezotte said the ACLU material was not confidential, privileged correspondence between an attorney and a client, but rather the ACLU’s attempt to solicit potential clients for a potential lawsuit.

“The ACLU does not have a First Amendment right to force the government, county, to spend its limited resources helping the ACLU try to solicit support for its causes,” Seward said Tuesday.

Hood, who made her decision without having a response from the county, ruled the courts have long held that the loss of First Amendment freedoms “constitutes irreparable injury” and the jail’s actions caused irreparable harm.

“There is no penological interest or security concern that justifies opening such legal mail outside the prisoner’s presence,” the judge ruled. ..Source.. by Lisa Roose-Church

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Tea Partier who invented gay scandal about himself also smeared self as a child molester in flyer: blogger

8-9-15 Michigan:

A Michigan blogger — who first blew the whistle on a Republican state representative who planned to smear himself with a gay hook-up rumor to hide an extramarital affair — claims this is not the first fraud the Tea Partier has pulled on the public.

Brandon Hall — who blogs at West Michigan Politics — claims that state Rep. Todd Courser (R) created a flyer during a tight primary race last year anonymously accusing himself of being a child molester in order to gain sympathy by inferring his opponent’s supporters were playing dirty tricks on him.

Courser has been asked by state lawmakers to step down and faces an investigation after a former aide turned over audiotapes of the lawmaker plotting to smear himself with an email saying he had a gay hook-up behind a bar. The Tea Party Republican hoped to soften the blow with a “controlled burn” before word got out that he was having an affair with fellow social conservative state Representative Cindy Gamra (R).

According to Hall who broke the story on the cheating lawmakers in July after receiving forwarded emails from two inside sources — only to be accused of making it up — one of the same tipsters says that Courser was behind the anonymous flyer.

According to Hall, Courser created the flyer and then turned to his Facebook page and posted a picture of it that read: “Do you think Todd Courser is a child molester?”

On the Facebook post Courser wrote, “The pictured flyer (which implies that I am some sort of sexual offender) was found behind the Lapeer County GOP headquarters, Rogers Pharmacy, and a few streets throughout downtown Lapeer. I was made aware of this and the person that notified my[sic] filed a police report on the matter. This is really regretful that this campaign has descended into clear character assassination. I, sincerely would hope and pray that none of my opponents or any of their supporters where behind this despicable activity. It just does not fit into civil society.”

According to Hall, Lapeer law enforcement authorities say they have no record of any police report being filed over the flyers. A commenter on Courser’s Facebook page also noted that the font used was identical to one used in “warnings” Courser gave to his opponent, Jan Peabody, about the legality of their own campaign yard signs.

In the recorded conversation Courser had with his aide, the disgraced lawmaker referenced the flyers, saying the gay hook-up email should read that he is a “gun-toting, bible-thumping, c*ck-sucking freak. …. [who] was accused of child molestation.”

Courser added that, when challenged on the ludicrous story, “I need it to be over-the-top.”

Courser beat his opponent Jan Peabody by approximately 300 votes: 3,477 to 3,126. ..Source.. by Tom Boggioni

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Zachary Anderson: Online Hook-Up Lands Him On Sex Offender List — Victim And Her Parents Plead For His Charges To Be Dropped

7-27-15 Michigan, Indiana:

Zachary Anderson is a 19-year-old computer science major from Elkhart, Indiana. Anderson met a girl from nearby Niles, Michigan, on the Hot or Not app. The two met up for an evening of consensual sex in December 2014. Six months later, Anderson finds himself serving a 90-day jail sentence, five years of probation, and he will be a registered sex offender until he turns 44.

The girl that Anderson hooked up with told him she was 17-years-old at the time. The girl is, in fact, 14-years-old. She has epilepsy, and on the night in question, she left home and failed to tell her mother where she was going. Her mom was worried that she had forgotten to take her medicine, so she called the local police.

According to the Daily Mail, law enforcement was waiting at the girl’s house when she arrived back from her night out with Anderson. Anderson drove back home and promptly went on vacation to Florida with his parents. It was on vacation that he received a text from the girl stating they were “in trouble.” At the time, Anderson still didn’t know the girls age.

At Zachary Anderson’s trial, the girl stated she didn’t want anything to happen to him. Her mother also spoke to the court.

“I don’t want him to be a sex offender because he really is not and I know that there’s an age difference and I realize that (name deleted) was inappropriate that night, we didn’t know. I’m very sorry and I hope you’ll really consider the fact of just dropping the case. I can’t say anything more than that. I hope you really will for all of our families.”

Michigan has a program for first-time sex offender who have yet to reach the age of 21. Judge Dennis Wiley decided not to use it. He gave his reason.

“You went online, to use a fisherman’s expression, trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now: meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara. Totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this, whatsoever.”

Zachary Anderson’s parents have taken to Change.org (Now over 100,000 signatures) hoping people will help. Anderson is not allowed to live in a house with an internet connection. He cannot talk to anyone who is under 17-years-old.

What do you feel should be the punishment for Zachary Anderson? Should the feelings of the girl and her mother have any influence on the incident in question? ..Source.. by Inquisitr

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

The Cruel, Petty Sentencing Practices of Judge Dennis Wiley

7-25-15 Michigan:

The guidelines were always too lenient.

Dennis Wiley is a district judge in Berrien County, Michigan. As you may have seen here, here, and even here, Wiley recently sentenced 19-year-old Zach Anderson to 90 days in jail and 25 years on the Sex Offender Registry. Anderson, a computer science student, was also banned from internet and smartphone. Wiley imposed this punishment even after Anderson’s victim—a 14-year-old who claimed to be 17 during a sexual encounter—and her mother asked the prosecutor’s office to drop the charges entirely.

During Anderson’s sentencing hearing, Wiley told him: “You went online…trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now: meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara. Totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this, whatsoever.”

The Anderson case was not Wiley’s first foray into scolding online daters. Wiley recently put another Indiana 19-year-old, Darian Yoder, on the sex offender registry for having consensual sex with a 13-year-old who also claimed to be of age. They met via the same “Hot or Not” app that Anderson used.

Yes, these teenagers went online to meet women. People do that in 2015. Wiley chose to make an example out of Anderson and Yoder because of his own moral qualms with modernity.

es, these teenagers went online to meet women. People do that in 2015. Wiley chose to make an example out of Anderson and Yoder because of his own moral qualms with modernity.

Unfortunately, these are just the most recent examples in a long line of cases where Wiley exercised his discretion in a manner that was especially harsh toward low-level offenders.

In April 2014, Wiley was censured for misconduct after he had LaRue Ford charged with contempt. Ford spent 10 nights in jail—including Christmas—after not paying $5,000 in bond. Her crime? Muttering “fuck this shit” while in the courthouse dealing with a traffic ticket. The courthouse staff that overheard Ford mentioned it to Wiley, who then took matters into his own hands.

Curtis Pedzinski, a 21-year-old native of St. Joseph, Michiga, was sentenced by Wiley to between 14 months and 2 years in prison for “unlawful use of a motor vehicle,” or joyriding. Years earlier, Pedzinski had been convicted of breaking and entering. Wiley’s sentence was significantly more severe than what state guidelines called; Wiley justified it by claiming that proper weight had not been given to Pedzinski’s past.

There was also the case of Reverend Edward Pinkney, a high-profile black leader from Benton Harbor. Benton Harbor, along with St. Joseph, are Berrien County's twin cities. Benton Harbor is about 90 percent black, while St. Joseph, the county seat, is about 85 percent white. The area has experienced a lot of racial tension over a long period of time, and Pinkney has been deeply involved for years, rubbing a lot of powerful people the wrong way. Alfred Butzbaugh, a Berrien County judge who had presided over an election fraud case involving Pinkney was the target of Pinkney’s fondness for bombastic language in an article written for a Chicago paper. In addition to calling Butzbaugh “corrupt,” “dumb,” and a racist, Pinkney wrote:

“Judge Butzbaugh, it shall come to pass…..that all these Curses shall come upon you and your family, curses shalt be in the City of St. Joseph and Cursed shalt thou be in the field, cursed shall come upon you and your family and overtake thee…..The Lord shall smite thee with consumption and with a fever and with an inflammation and with extreme burning. They the demons shall Pursue thee until thou persist.”

This threat, according to Wiley, was a violation of Pinkney’s probation, saying that Pinkney’s title of Reverend gave him a “direct line to the Lord” and that a reasonable person would find this to be a serious threat. Wiley sentenced him to 3-10 years in prison because of the threat’s supposed severity. Pinkney went to prison in June 2008 and remained there until his sentence was thrown out on appeal

Another defendant, Arthur Grice, was also a victim of Wiley’s overboard sentencing practices. In 2010, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that the sentencing guideline variables were wrongly scored by Wiley in Grice’s trial for resisting arrest. The Court of Appeals found that every variable in the case against Grice was scored significantly higher than it should have been, leading to a more harsh sentence of between 46 months and 15 years in prison.

While sentencing guidelines aren’t set in stone, Michigan law says that departures are allowed “if the court has a substantial and compelling reason for that departure and states on the record the reasons for departure.” Judges can’t go outside the guidelines based on race, gender, nationality, appearance, etc.

But it seems like Wiley thinks he knows better than the sentencing guidelines—which he believes are almost always too lenient, no matter the severity of the crime. ..Source.. by Andy Welch is a Mattern Intern at Reason

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Cadillac man faces life in prison for failure to comply charge, habitual offender 4th

6-16-15 Michigan:

A 25-year-old Cadillac man could be sentenced to life in prison after he allegedly failed to comply with the sex offender registry act.

Randy Paul Morris Jr. was charged recently with failure to comply with the sex offender registry act, second offense, in Wexford County’s 84th District Court.

A habitual offender, fourth offense notice was added, which carries a possible life sentence. ..Source.. by Rick Charmoli

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Male Teen Has Consensual Sex with Female Teen. He Gets 25 Years as Sex Offender, Banned from Internet.

6-16-15 Michigan:

Girl admits he did nothing wrong, has asked prosecutor to drop the case.

Computer science student Zach Anderson, 19, met a girl, 17, on the "Hot or Not?" app. He was from Elkhart, Indiana. She was 20 minutes over the border in Niles, Michigan. They hooked up. Once.

But it turned out the girl was really 14. She'd lied to Anderson and also in her profile. Now Zach sits in a Michigan jail, serving 90 days. When he gets out he will be on the Sex Offender Registry for 25 years.

Does anyone thinking treating him this way is necessary to keep kids safe? Anderson and his family certainly don’t.

Neither does his supposed underage victim. The girl readily admitted that she lied about her age, and in this WSBT-TV interview her mother admitted that Anderson “didn't do anything my daughter didn’t do.” Everyone agrees the encounter was completely consensual. The only reason the police became involved at all is because the girl suffers from epilepsy, and when she didn't come home as quickly as expected her mom worried and called the cops for help.

In this excellent South Bend Tribune article, the mom told a reporter that she didn’t just ask the judge for leniency, "we asked him to drop the case."

But court records show that Berrien County District Court Judge Dennis Wiley (who once jailed a woman for 10 days over Christmas because she cursed while paying a traffic ticket in the county clerk’s office) paid none of the participants any mind. At sentencing he told Anderson, "You went online, to use a fisherman's expression, trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now: meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara. Totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this whatsoever."

Now, in addition to registering as a sex offender, Anderson will spend five years on probation, during which time he will not be allowed to live in a home where there is internet access or a smart phone. He will obviously have to change his major. And he is forbidden to talk to anyone under age 17, except his brothers.

I spoke to Anderson's dad, Les Anderson, yesterday. He said the family is about to try to withdraw the original plea deal Zach agreed to, because, he says, "The prosecutor violated the plea."

You see, in Michigan there is a leniency provision for first-time offenders under age 21. It keeps them off the registry. As part of the plea deal, the prosecutor had agreed not to take a position pro or con on whether to apply the provision to Zach. But when it came time for sentencing, the prosecutor reminded the judge that he had denied leniency in similar cases twice before.

That struck defense lawyer Scott Grabel as not exactly neutral. "He did us a favor," says Grabel, "because now we have a basis to withdraw the plea."

I chatted with Grabel yesterday, too. He says that if the case is tried anew, he would like to hold off for another six-to-nine months, because by then it's possible that the Michigan Supreme Court will have decided to allow defendants to use she lied about her age as a component of their defense.

Right now, 20 states allow this. But in the other 30, you can turn to your would-be hook-up and say, "'Look I want to see a passport or driver's license,' and I'd say that's pretty diligent of you," says Grabel. But if the I.D. is fake and she is actually underage, you can still be convicted of statutory rape.

Let's hope Michigan makes that change. In the meantime, Judge Wiley should realize that just because you met someone online does not mean you are a depraved fiend who deserves 25 years on the Sex Offender Registry. ..Source.. by Lenore Skenazy

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Sex offender registry does more harm than good

5-25-15 Michigan:

Michigan's law — and some others across the nation — have come under fire as overly broad, vague and potentially unconstitutional, a Free Press article last Sunday explained. Research also suggests registries do little to protect communities and often create ongoing misery for some who served their sentences and are unlikely to re-offend. Readers mostly agreed:

The Michigan sex offender registry clearly does little to protect the public. People listed on the registry, who are often a low risk for re-offending, are frequently subjected to prejudice and discrimination that makes it impossible for them to become productive members of the community. The registry continues a cycle of punishment for them and their families far beyond the prison sentences they have already served. Many people on the registry not only are unable to obtain housing and employment, but are also subjected to rejection, harassment and even violence.

Enlightened public officials would be well advised to reform the registry so that it lists only truly high-risk persons and only law enforcement can access it. Then, thousands of ex-offenders would be free from the oppression that now defines their lives and have a chance to become productive citizens.

Julian Gordon

Waterford

How come there is no registry for offenders who kill people, batter their partners, inflict serious bodily harm on others or commit crimes with firearms?

Violent offenders tend to be repeat offenders. Where are our virtuous legislators on this issue? They kill and injure many more people than sex offenders, but there is no violent offender registry.

Mark Dobias

Via Freep.com

The problems addressed in the article and responses to those problems by our leaders serve as a microcosm to the problems and issues affecting Michigan and the U.S. in general. No longer is there room for open, honest conversation on issues, whether it's a sex offender registry, global warming, health care, racism, violence, transportation, road repair, auto insurance and myriad other issues facing this nation.

Facts, studies and science are largely ignored in favor of touting the long-held beliefs of a party, leadership and personal convictions in spite of contradictory facts or science. This demagoguery on issues has not served the public. It's time for a change in leadership, problem-solving and politics.

Susan Peters

St. Clair Shores

It keeps the paranoid people safe. The rest of us really don't care. Teach your kids how to be safe and to never talk to strangers. Choose to live in safe areas with good schools. Don't be paranoid. It's a sad way to live.

Buddy Osborne

Via Freep.com

Does Michigan's sex offender registry keep us safer? Absolutely not. It and others of this ilk are simply "feel-good" laws that have been totally abused. They are rushed into existence in an emotional and very political maneuver and are meant to extract revenge on a particular class of criminal.

The broad net that is cast, however, together with today's "zero tolerance" mentality, have meant that they are implemented in unfair and blatantly idiotic ways. They are a maintenance nightmare and virtually impossible to be complied with, even if a person wishes to.

Related: Does Michigan's sex offender registry keep us safer?

Above all that, they are totally ineffective. It gives a very false sense of security. Most everyone knows this, but these are primarily revenge laws, so they remain.

Lyle Bialk

Via Freep.com

If these people are so dangerous they must be on a list to warn citizens of their existence, why aren't they locked up? If they're safe enough to be in society, why do we need a list at all?

Andrew Leonard

Via Freep.com

The law, at the very least, alerts us to the presence of sexual offenders in our neighborhoods. If I had to complain about the law, it's the standards as to why a person has to register for indecent exposure, such as peeing outdoors, that can get you on the registry.

Chris Thomas

Via Freep.com

The real issue here is a lack of forgiveness. People who have appointed themselves as arbiters of "justice," and then get zero-tolerance laws passed that are unjust. The cases shown in this article show why this is a bad law, a law that is cruel punishment and is not about justice, but about revenge. We have too many laws on the books today that are intent on destroying people and are in no way shape or form about seeking justice for actual victims of actual crimes.

Dennis Neylon

Via Freep.com

Nobody deserves to be punished for their entire life for something that happened when they were a stupid teenager.

Heidi Meyers

Via Freep.com

I keep hoping our legislators will do something to improve the unacceptable rules that now control the sex offender registry. There is so much injustice as it now stands. Lives have, and will continue to be, ruined unless deep changes are made. Hope isn't going to do it. Courageous action will.

Are our legislators afraid to tackle this important problem? Will making an attempt jeopardize their staying in office or getting re-elected? I surely hope not, but that is how it appears. Please, don't be afraid. Step up and be counted. Let principle win out, not staying in office.

Margaret Betts

Birmingham ..Source.. by Detroit Free Press readers

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

No discretion for indiscretions

The registry, a political lie! To the public and those required to register thereunder. Changes over time are proof that lawmakers hold nothing sacrosanct, they make changes without regard for who they hurt. Will this unconstitutional ruling result in less harm? History tells us. NO...

5-24-15 Michigan:

Federal judge slams Michigan registry

As Zachery Anderson's case shows, sexual predators aren't the only people found on Michigan's Sex Offender Registry.

But that could change after a recent federal court ruling calling parts of the Michigan law unconstitutional.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Miriam Aukerman argued the case for a Grand Rapids man on the sex offender registry, though he ended up marrying the underage girl he had sex with. The couple have two children, and being a sex offender has kept him from attending his own children's school events.

Aukerman said the federal judge ruled that the sex offender registry effectively functions as a trap with complex rules that are hard to comply with.

"He said that the exclusion zones (around parks and schools) are unconstitutional and too expansive," she said. "In Grand Rapids, almost 50 percent of the city is off limits in that sex offenders can't work, live or loiter there."

Her view is that the Michigan sex offender registry is too stringent and counterproductive.

"It doesn't distinguish between who's a danger and who's not," she said. " ... If you want law enforcement to monitor those who are at highest risk, you should do risk assessments like other states do. Their registries are smaller and more focused to concentrate on those at highest risk."

She called teen situations such as the one involving Zachery Anderson out of proportion to the offense.

"We're demonizing those who shouldn't be," she said. "When it involves adolescent sexual behavior, people grow up and age out of the behavior. It's time for the Legislature to adopt a common sense approach that targets public safety and focuses on facts and not fear. ...

"One of the problems is that the law doesn't give judges discretion to decide if putting someone on the registry is appropriate."

She said Michigan has the fourth highest number of people per capita on the sex offender registry in the country. She said 80 percent of registrants are on it for life.

ACLU legislative director Shelli Weisberg said Legislative change might not come right away, but she expects major changes to in the next four to eight years.

"There have been some good discussions," she said. "Eight to 12 years ago, no one wanted to talk about it, but there have been some good questions the last five years about whether it's an effective use of taxpayer money and whether it serves public safety." ..Source.. by DEBRA HAIGHT

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

College discredit: Acquitted of rape, still shamed

5-22-15 Michigan:

In the eyes of the law, Matt Rolph, 22, is innocent of the sex crimes he was charged with following a rape accusation in 2014. But in the eyes of the college Rolph attended at the time of this accusation, he's still seen as a rapist.

A 13WHAM News Investigation into Rolph's story raises new questions about campus policies as well as state and federal laws in place to deal with sexual assault accusations. This report is the result of many on and off the record conversations with many people and institutions involved in Rolph's case. It should be noted that one conversation that is lacking is that of Rolph's accuser, whose identity remains confidential.

The Accusation and Campus Investigation

The Rolph Family home sits just blocks north of the Hobart and William Smith College Campus. A campus that Matt's father Peter roamed as a student and many times since while attending events as an alumnus. Peter met his wife Annie on campus and the couple raised two children, Matt and younger sister Carly, who seemed destined to attend HWS.

"I've kind of known I would go to school at Hobart since middle school," Rolph said. "I got a great education there, I learned so much and I made so many friends."

In February 2014, Matt Rolph was a senior at Hobart and his sister was a junior at William Smith. He was carrying extra credits and on course to graduate in May. That's when he had a sexual encounter with a senior student at William Smith College. The two had been intimate numerous times in the past, but this encounter eventually led to her accusing Rolph of rape.

While she shared accounts of this encounter with friends, almost immediately a formal accusation wasn't made to anyone of authority for nearly six days. That claim started a campus investigation and review. A hearing was held in April.


Rolph's father was a member of the HWS community, but he was not allowed to attend the hearing with his son because he's also a lawyer. So Rolph's sister attended instead.

"I thought that when they would ask me about things they would follow up on them, that they would try to figure out what happened," Rolph recalled of the process. "I'd been told just go in there and tell the truth, it would be enough, but it wasn't."

The family felt comfortable and confident following his appearance at the hearing, but the very next day the school informed Matt Rolph he was being expelled. He appealed, but that was denied weeks later.

I'll remember the day I got expelled until the day I die as probably one of the worst days of my life," Rolph said in a tearful interview with 13WHAM News. "I've been permanently separated from the HWS community, which means I'm no longer allowed on their property even though it's three blocks away from my house."

The ruling remains true today. On May 17, 2015 Matt's sister graduated from HWS. The entire Rolph Family was in attendance with one exception, Matt.

"I'm so proud of Carly, she's going to graduate with a great Chemistry degree, she's going to go on to have a bright future and I can't be there to watch her finish up her schooling...I'm so proud of her and I can't be there to see her get her diploma," Rolph said through more tears.

Annie Rolph personally appealed to Hobart and William Smith College's President, Mark Gearan, for a one-day exception to her son's campus expulsion. ..Continued.. by 13WHAM News

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Ex-Kent commissioner to pay $32,495 for investigation

5-18-15 Michigan:

He's been out of jail two months, but former Kent County Commissioner Gary Rolls could find himself back behind bars for an unpaid bill topping $32,000.

That's what he's been ordered to pay Michigan State Police for a criminal investigation that resulted in his conviction on a sexual assault charge involving a girl who lived in his Rockford neighborhood.

Kent County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Leiber ordered Rolls to pay $32,494 in restitution as a condition of probation. As of Friday, the bill remained unpaid.

"It's not uncommon when there's a lot of time and work involved in an investigation,'' said state police Lt. Chris McIntire, who submitted the invoice. "In this case, there was a lot of man hours and resources used.''

The tab covers 500 hours logged by 10 detectives in the CSC and evidence tampering case filed in November, 2013. Rolls was initially charged with six felonies, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He pleaded guilty last May to tampering with evidence, using a computer to commit a crime and an amended charge of criminal sexual conduct, fourth degree. He was sentenced in June to a year in jail.

The Lion's share of the bill - nearly $27,900 - covers more than 396 hours logged by state police Detective Sgt. Denis Bentley, the lead investigator. If restitution is not paid by June 19, Rolls will have to appear in Kent County Circuit Court to explain why he should not be held in contempt.

"Multiple search warrants were drafted and issued throughout the course of the investigation that covered criminal sexual conduct and tampering with evidence as well as using a computer to commit a crime,'' Ionia County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lori Kirkhoff wrote in a letter to the court.

A search of Rolls' computer indicated he tampered with evidence and the subsequent investigation resulted in many hours being logged by experts in computer forensics, Kirkhoff wrote.

The criminal investigation began in October, 2012 when the victim contacted police and said Rolls was harassing her. Over the course of the next year, investigators pieced together a disturbing pattern of sexual abuse that began when she was in grade school. The victim has since moved to Muskegon County.

Rolls was released from Montcalm County Jail in March and moved to Lapeer County on the east side of the state. He was jailed outside of Kent County because of his position as a county commissioner. According to the Michigan Sex Offender Registry, Rolls is living in the community of Attica, located west of Imlay City. His wife filed for divorce last year.

Rolls, a republican, served on the Kent County Board of Commissioners from 2002 up until his resignation in December, 2013. ..Source.. by John Hogan

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Registered sex offender questions state's registry

Its about time a judge has declared something unconstitutional, now for the rest of this damaging registry; no one is protected by knowing where someone sleeps for a few hours of the night! Its a political ruse being played on the public.

5-18-15 Michigan:

A man's life turned upside down after he was convicted of a misdemeanor sexual assault more than a decade ago.

He denies the charge, but that has not stopped the state from putting him on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry for the next 16 years.

Nearly 10 years ago, Shaun Webb was married, had a young daughter and a job at a church in Oakland County.

He said his life completely changed in 2005 when he was accused of touching a 15-year-old girl inappropriately.

"I linked it to someone who causes an accident and doesn't look back," Webb said.

Webb said he did nothing wrong, but he was convicted of groping the teen. He was sentenced to nine months in jail and his name listed on Michigan's Sex Offender Registry for 25 years.

"When people hear the word sex offender it scares the devil out of people," he said.

Concerned neighbors, parents, even employers check Michigan's online sex offender registry on a regular basis. They said it's an easy way to keep track of people who could pose a serious threat to them and children nearby.

Webb said some people use the registry to keep him from moving on or even having a decent job.

"People put my picture up at jobs I did have," he said.

He's one of about 43,000 convicted sex offenders in the state whose names, pictures and addresses are made public for the world to see. Some argue the database is too broad.

"I'm lumped in with real child rapists," Webb said.

Last month a Michigan judge ruled that the state's sex offender law is unconstitutional, sighting its vagueness.

Webb hopes that means some changes will be made.

"They need to pair this thing down, if not totally abolish it," Webb said. ..Source.. by Brianna Owczarzak

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

A gross miscarriage of justice

The author of this article is correct, in that, listing someone without a conviction is a miscarriage of justice. With that said the author clearly has no concept of former sex offenders listed and what is correct or incorrect for them, years past their convictions. The registry is a miscarriage of justice for all folks who do not belong there, and those who are forced to be listed many years past their convictions and the collateral consequences thereof none of which are part of the original sentence!

5-16-15 Michigan:

This week, I got to write what I consider one of the most important pieces I’ve ever written: One about a man wrongly placed on the sex offender registry, one of the most punishing labels a person can bear.

His placement on the sex offender registry may well have been an accident — without comment from the authorities that put him there, much of the untold story is conjecture. Based conjecture, but conjecture all the same.

What is known is that a man who served his country’s military and was discharged without incident was later given a permanent, deplorable name tag without reason or grounding.

I’m in the same boat as many who will probably read this column: It’s my belief that sexual offenders should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of our imperfect legal system. People who have the ability — and desire — to ... well, frankly, to do things like that are in need of serious corrections.

The sex offender registry is just one of the ways the law protects members of society from potential predators, but it can also be damnation if imposed on a person undeserving.

Damnation for the undeserving? Implys what? Those who are correctly included are deserving of the consequences of the registry? Damnation?

The man I wrote about has no conviction record of any sexually-offensive crime. Had he one, he would have deserved placement on the sex offender registry and all of the various and sundry extensions of that branding.

The worst part of the story around the piece I wrote was that the man in question had little to no recourse. Most American courts rightly treat sexual offenses with swift, often serious sentences.

But for all the opinion and precedent behind those judgments, there’s a surprising lack of traction in the other direction: The man I wrote about was put on the sex offender registry without a conviction — or even proof that he had committed a crime.

There was no precedent for his case. The sex offender registry itself wouldn’t remove his name without an original conviction, which didn’t exist. The Romeo & Juliet law, as it’s commonly known, protects young adults grandfathered into the age that would make them sexual offenders — a law that doesn’t apply to the man in my story.

Even with U.S. Army documents that supported his opposition, it took him months of court dates and thousands of dollars in attorney fees to make his case before a judge. More taxing was the stigma it placed on him to be on the sex offender registry for four years: It cost him jobs, friends, family and the respect of his community.

The series of events that transpired buried him deeper than he was able to dig his way out of for almost five years. Only now is he finally clawing his way back into normal society, armed with a court order that should remove him from the list that’s haunted a sixth of his life.

No part of the judicial system is perfect. But cases like this — where guns were jumped, reasons went unrecorded and a life was ruined — tells me that we need to provide recourse for even the most gravely-perceived offenses.

A man was judged guilty and legally sentenced with no factual basis whatsoever. Recorded offenders don’t deserve an easy way out — but people like that man are owed recourse. ..Source.. by Jason Dafnis is a staff writer for the Hillsdale Daily News. He can be reached at jdafnis@hillsdale.net or by calling (517) 437-7351.

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...