From the ACLU: Tell Congress that Covid-19 relief must include incarcerated people

from-the-aclu:-tell-congress-that-covid-19-relief-must-include-incarcerated-people

As your constituent, I am urging you to support the Emergency Community Supervision Act (S. 3579 / H.R. 6400) in the next COVID-19 relief package.

This bill will mandate the release of the populations that public health experts argue should have their sentences commuted by the president in response to COVID-19 – including those who are pregnant, those with underlying health issues, and those who are age 50 or older. Had this bill been enacted, it could have prevented the death of Andrea Circle Bear, the first federally incarcerated woman to die from COVID-19, who had just given birth on a ventilator a few weeks before her death.

Additionally, the Emergency Community Supervision Act will limit the use of pretrial detention and in-person supervised release, and prohibit the use of incarceration for technical violations of supervised release.

Access the full form here.

Source: https://narsol.org/2020/05/from-the-aclu-tell-congress-that-covid-19-relief-must-include-incarcerated-people/

PARSOL responds to Comm. v. Butler decision

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By PARSOL . . . Although we at PARSOL are disappointed in the results of the PA Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Butler, which was a 7-0 unanimous decision to separate SVP’s from non-SVPs regarding registry requirements and asserting that Pennsylvania’s SORNA statute is not punishment because of the Commonwealth’s interest in protecting the public from persons with a “certain mental condition or behavior disorder” outweighs the current restrictions regarding SVP status, we do not feel completely defeated.

The basis of the PA Supreme Court’s decision was due to the fact that the appellee used the decision in Muniz, which ruled that the registry provisions after December 2012 were ex post facto and violated the U.S. and PA’s ex post facto clauses in the U.S. Constitution and PA Constitution. TheMunizdecision said nothing about the status of SVP’s.

It appears that other avenues other than the decision in Muniz could be used in the future. As we all know, the SVP statute itself is flawed due to the way persons are arbitrarily labelled as SVPs.  We at PARSOL have not ended our fight against the SVP provisions; we have only just begun to fight!  The decision in Butler is only a temporary setback for now! The entire concept of a how person is labeled an SVP, which is arbitrary and highly subjective, is still open for meeting constitutional requirements.

PARSOL is NARSOL’s affiliate organization in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Assc. for Rational Sexual Offense Laws.

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Source: https://narsol.org/2020/04/parsol-responds-to-comm-v-butler-decision/

Wisconsin sheriff stresses facts about sexual offending and registry

wisconsin-sheriff-stresses-facts-about-sexual-offending-and-registry

DISPELLING SEX OFFENDER MYTHS

By Tim Kowols . . . Kewaunee County is no different than other communities when it comes to welcoming back sex offenders. According to state statute, any person convicted of sexual assault or another related crime must register as a sex offender. Since 1997, law enforcement professionals have been required to alert the community when they are released, especially since also according to state statute, sex offenders have to return to their county of conviction. The “Why Here?” is where Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski says many people get confused.

Joski says the community and law enforcement can work together to prevent further offenses. He adds that sex offenders have a recidivism rate of less than nine percent, and between 86 and 94 percent of the crimes were committed by either family members or close acquaintances of the victims.  . . . .

FROM SHERIFF MATT JOSKI . . . .

By state statute definition, a person who must register is any individual who has been convicted of a charge as defined in Wisconsin State Statute 301.45. These crimes involve sexual assault and include a variety of specific offenses. While these types of offenses have been committed throughout history, it was in 1997 that the Sex Offender Registry and the Community Notification Law went into effect, thus providing a means by which law enforcement and the community can work together to better inform and ultimately prevent further offenses from occurring. While no issue has the potential to create more anxiety, it is important to note that the recidivism rate among these offenders is only 8.8% and that in a majority of the cases (86%- 94%) were committed by either family members or close acquaintances.  . . . .

What is important in this entire process is that we share information, and then just as importantly use that information responsibly to bring awareness to the community while not infringing upon the basic rights of the individual who is the subject of the notification. We must also understand that the knowledge of past offenders and their whereabouts is just part of the prevention in these types of crimes. We must be vigilant in regards to those who have contact with our children throughout the year. As stated earlier, most sex offenses involve victims who are known to their offenders, and thus prevention must include careful screening of all those entrusted with the care of our kids. Many organizations have implemented child protection protocols which may involve courses which have to be completed prior to any work involving children.  . . . .

Read the full piece here at Door County Daily News.com

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Source: https://narsol.org/2020/03/wisconsin-sheriff-stresses-facts-about-sexual-offending-and-registry/

NARSOL in Action 3/2/2020: National Litigation Update

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We partnered with the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) for a three-hour conference call on March 2nd, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern time. Janice Bellucci will be with us for portions of the call. We will be updating you on what’s likely to happen next in three important cases pending in Michigan, Georgia, and New Mexico. Hour 1: Paul Reingold, an attorney with the University of Michigan School of Law will be our special guest to discuss the recent decision in Michigan. This case has the potential to bar that state from enforcing their registration requirements on those whose conduct occurred before 2011. In addition, the court’s final order will severely limit enforcement of various provisions of SORA on the remaining registrants. Hour 2: Attorneys Mark Yurachek and Mark Begnaud will be with us to discuss the Butts County Sheriff’s appeal of the favorable ruling we won last October regarding the placement of signs at Halloween. As Sheriff Long had vowed, he did appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. NARSOL and the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) have joined forces in support of Judge Treadwell’s decision. See press release. Hour 3: Attorney Ashley Cloud, staff attorney from New Mexico’s Liberty & Justice Coalition will be discussing LJC’s pending lawsuit for those with out of state convictions and other challenges which will be initiated in 2020.

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Source: https://narsol.org/2020/03/narsol-in-action-3-2-2020-national-litigation-update/

NARSOL’s Weekly Newsletter 2-29-2020

narsol’s-weekly-newsletter-2-29-2020
REMINDER: The next NARSOL in Action conference call is Monday, March 2nd, from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M. EST. If you haven’t already, we ask that you signup here so that we know how many people will be listening in. We will be discussing what’s likely to happen next in three important cases pending in Michigan, Georgia and New Mexico.

Read more about Monday’s NARSOL in Action conference call.


Latest Posts on NARSOL.ORG

New research study seeks participants

NARSOL was honored to have Dr. Christopher Dum as a presenter at our 2019 conference in Houston. Dr. Dum is now engaged in an important research project for Kent State University. The study participants are persons who are thinking about moving, or who have already moved, in order to be closer to an incarcerated loved one. Participation will include a… Continue reading

NARSOL Affiliates Join in Amicus Brief

Several NARSOL Affiliates, including: FAIR (Families Advocating Intelligent Registries), FAC (Florida Action Committee), Illinois Voices, Oklahoma Voices and PARSOL (Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws), have joined with W.A.R. (Women Against the Registry) and ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offender Laws) in an amicus brief to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Willman v. United… Continue reading

A family-centered option for dealing with intra-family sexual abuse

Reprinted in full with permission. By John Ulrich . . . Kristen Burgess took a courageous step forward (Record-Eagle, Jan. 5) to shed light on the community’s response to intrafamilial sexual abuse. When I started my career in 1987, there were “family-centered” programs for parents who decided not to divorce after intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Families were ordered into long-term… Continue reading

Utah Stepmom Pleads Guilty To Avoid Registry

By Zuri Davis Faced with the possibility of being placed on a sex offender registry for 10 years, Utah’s Tilli Buchanan has instead pleaded guilty to lesser charges after being prosecuted for appearing topless in front of her stepchildren. Prosecutors claimed in court that Buchanan purposefully stripped in front of the children while under the influence of alcohol and told… Continue reading

Update on legislation in Tennessee that would force families to separate

By Sandy . . . We first reported on this in June of last year. The Tennessee legislature had just passed a bill, due to take effect July 1, 2019, with a single provision added to an already existing statute: It would disallow the right of parents to be alone with or live in the same home with their own… Continue Reading

Kansas Legislature considers registry changes

The Hutchinson News The state’s offender registry began with efforts to track sex offenders. Over the past two decades, the registry has expanded to a wide range of crimes, including violent crimes and drug offenses. Kansas now adds more than 1,000 offenders a year to registries after they have completed other sentencing, all of which will likely remain on the… Continue reading

Sexual offense registries: “Somewhere along the line, we lost our way.”

By Diane Diamond . . . Those who fight for a more equitable way to keep track of sexual predators won a big victory in Michigan last week. That is a state with some 44,000 names on its sexual offenders registry. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland put his foot down and gave the Michigan legislature 60 days to rewrite… Continue reading


New on Tales From the Registry

I am not my crime

By the Outspoken Offender… First and foremost, I’m not my crime. I believe this is one of the most powerful and important statements that people should hear. And not just for me, but for the countless others that have been convicted of a crime, including people living on the registry… Continue reading

Punished for a hospital stay

By Rebecca… My son is on the sex offender’s registry. He has always reported and paid on time. He committed his crime 15 years ago and was adjudicated as a minor for that offense. He has not committed any crimes since. Last December, he was diagnosed with a severe diabetic complication… Continue reading


Tickets are now on sale for NARSOL’s 2020 conference that will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina. Visit conference.narsol.org for more information and click here to signup to attend.

  

Do you want to support NARSOL’s advocacy every time you make a purchase on Amazon? Please consider using Amazon Smile for your Amazon transactions and every time you make a purchase a percentage of the proceeds will go directly to Vivante Espero, NARSOL’s foundation. This will not add a cent to the cost of your purchase, but it will make you feel great about supporting NARSOL’s work your passive financial support of our foundation, Vivante Espero. So please, get signed up with your Amazon account today!

Source: https://narsol.org/2020/02/narsols-weekly-newsletter-2-29-2020/

Why NARSOL chose Halloween litigation

why-narsol-chose-halloween-litigation

By Larry . . . In the last few days NARSOL has received comments regarding our decision to litigate the Halloween signs required by some sheriffs in the state of Georgia. The writer raised some legitimate questions even though he could have conveyed them with a bit more tact and politeness.

NARSOL chose to litigate the Halloween signs for a number of reasons. First, compelled placement of the signs threatens the safety of all occupants in the residence because of the potential for violence. Second, the constitution of the United States prohibits compelled speech by the government. Third, there is no statutory authority to support the actions of the sheriffs in Butts and Spalding Counties. Fourth, for NARSOL to stand idly by while law enforcement invents requirements jeopardizes everyone because there is no end of creativity in the law enforcement community. What will they invent next, and should we just stand down and hope for the best while they do so?

The writer bitterly complained: (1) that the Georgia General Assembly will soon vote on HB 720. This legislation will permit Halloween signs to be posted in the front yard of all registrants; and (2) the vast majority of registrants in the state of Georgia were not subjected to Halloween signs. He concluded by saying, “Thanks to NARSOL, the rest of us are facing the same humiliation . . . ” The Georgia House of Representatives did vote to pass HB 720, and it is now in the Senate awaiting consideration. No hearing has been scheduled due to the suspension of the legislative session due to the pandemic and health concerns.

He even opined that the action by the state was easy to forecast. He is correct. NARSOL did anticipate that such a proposal would be introduced and likely enacted into law by the Georgia General Assembly. The problem with ignoring the renegade sheriffs in Georgia was that the cancer would have spread throughout the state had NARSOL not intervened. In fact, the action was recommended by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, and other counties had announced similar intentions regarding mandatory placement of Halloween signs. Actually, the sheriff of Ben Hill County announced he would erect the signs this past Halloween, and NARSOL immediately sent a cease-and desist-letter. Beyond that, simply ignoring constitutional violations because it does not impact everyone is a misguided strategy. In fact, that is part of the reason we have marked passports. Several states chose to require that driver’s licenses actually bear the words “sexual offender”; if there had been even one successful challenge against this, case law would be in existence to aid in fighting marked passports. NARSOL felt that the Halloween sign requirement was likely to spread to all 159 counties in the state of Georgia.

NARSOL does anticipate that HB 720 has a good chance of passage once the session reconvenes. That said, we are prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation once it is signed by Governor Kemp. The case law on compelled speech is favorable to our position, and we believe that our chances of victory are quite good. It is critically important that our constituents understand that each victory builds the body of case law which helps us in other challenges. If we had done nothing, there would not be the Does v. Snyder decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, nor would there be many other victories which have been won in recent years. NARSOL has stated on numerous occasions that all laws enjoy the presumption of constitutionality upon enactment, and that the challenging party bears the burden of showing by the clearest of proof that the challenged statute is invalid. That being said, this particular challenge is a very strong one in our opinion because the First Amendment of the United States Constitution is something that the courts have been consistent in protecting. This particular challenge enjoys the support of the Alliance of Constitutional Sex Offense Laws as well as NARSOL.

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Larry Neely

Larry serves as NARSOL’S treasurer, publisher of the Digest, and co-chair of the conference planning committee. He also hosts the “NARSOL in Action” and “Can They Do That?” webinars and is a regular on the “Registry Matters” podcasts.

Source: https://narsol.org/2020/03/why-narsol-chose-halloween-litigation/

Georgia lawmakers push bad bill in response to Halloween sign lawsuit

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By Fred . . . Last October, in a lawsuit that was initiated and financed by NARSOL, Federal Judge Marc T. Treadwell ruled against Sheriff Long and other officials of Butts County, Georgia, by granting a preliminary injunction to stop the placement of warning signs each Halloween on the property of those required to be on the sex offender registry. Sheriffs and county officials “. . . should be aware that the authority for their blanket sign posting is dubious at best and even more dubious if posted over the objection of registrants“, Judge Treadwell wrote in his order after agreeing that the practice violated the constitutional rights of registrants.

As he promised to do, Sheriff Long has appealed the decision to the 11th Circuit Court. NARSOL along with ACSOL submitted an amicus brief in support of the appellate challenge being led by Georgia attorneys Mark Yurachek and Mark Begnaud.  Last month, NARSOL’s executive director, Brenda Jones, said that NARSOL is confident Judge Treadwell’s decision will be affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit.

The grounds for initiating the lawsuit were in part based on the fact that there is nothing in the state or local law that requires signs to be placed in the yards of registrants. To remedy this lack of legislation, a bill sponsored by State Representatives Steven Sainz(R), Chuck Efstration(R), Barry Fleming(R), James Burchett(R), Martin MomTahan(R) and Marcus Wiedower(R) was introduced to the General Assembly with the aim of making the sign placement and other stipulations part of Georgia’s law. On Thursday HB 720 passed in the House with a vote of 98-63 and is now on its way to the Senate where it has a good chance of passing. The high number of votes in opposition were due, at least in part, to the hard work by NARSOL’s Georgia advocates and other groups in their tireless letter writing campaign.

According to our advocate in Georgia:

Concerned citizens are encouraged to contact Department of Community Supervision Commissioner Michael Nail urging him to publicly oppose HB 720 as it would create a burden on his agency and make our communities less safe.  The Senate Judiciary Committee will be responsible for what happens next.  Many advocacy groups came together in letter writing campaigns, which was instrumental in creating the the significant opposition.  This campaign will only grow stronger as the bill moves through the Senate.

NARSOL fully expected and anticipated this legislative action by the Georgia General Assembly in response to the pending lawsuit, and we understand the concerns that will arise from those affected. However, to sit back and do nothing in the face of a blatant violation to the rights of those on the registry is simply not an option. If one sheriff is allowed to overstep the boundaries of his authority, it would be only a matter of time before every sheriff in Georgia adopted the same policy and expanded its use past just Halloween. NARSOL is determined to not to let that happen for the well-being of all Georgia registrants and their families.

The lawsuit will continue on constitutional grounds, regardless of whether or not HB 720 becomes law. We are confident that we will prevail in court and that any unconstitutional laws passed in retaliation to our legal action will be challenged if they are not struck by the 11th Circuit Court’s decision in this case.

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Fred

Fred began volunteering with NARSOL as a gatekeeper and correspondent. Later he became involved with the tech committee to help with the development and maintenance of our many website projects. He devotes much of his time to helping the team ensure that NARSOL’s operations are running as smoothly as possible so that we can continue to grow and reach more people.

Source: https://narsol.org/2020/03/georgia-lawmakers-push-bad-bill-in-response-to-halloween-sign-lawsuit/

Georgia HB720 moves to floor for vote.

– From NARSOL’s Georgia advocate

Yesterday in Georgia, House Bill 720 moved out of Committee by a 6-3 vote and is headed to the floor for a vote.  THIS IS A TERRIBLE BILL for registered persons in Georgia.  The intent is to protect the vulnerable citizens of Georgia from roughly 400 Tier 3 registrants that are no longer required to wear an electronic monitoring device (ankle monitor) once they have completed their sentence.  Unfortunately the legislature has chosen to “fix” the issue by introducing legislation that would overwhelm the Department of Community Supervision and impose unnecessary burdens.  In a nutshell, the bill would restrict Judges from deviating from mandatory minimum sentencing, require that lifetime probation be implemented upon conviction of a second sexual offence, remove first offender eligibility for all sexual offenses (it is up to the court’s discretion today), and make it lawful for law enforcement agencies to place Halloween signs.

Rep. Sainz, who is the lead sponsor on this bill, incorrectly stated that “we know that a sexual offender is most likely to reoffend within a period of around five years.”

Here is what this BAD BILL would do:

  • Any person convicted of a sexual offense shall be sentenced to a split sentence which shall include the minimum term of imprisonment specified in the Code section applicable to such sexual offense.
  • No portion of the mandatory minimum sentence imposed shall be suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the court.
  • Any such sentence shall include, in addition to the mandatory term of imprisonment, an additional probated sentence of be followed by probation for at least one year
  • No person convicted of a sexual offense shall be sentenced as a first offender
  • For convictions that are felonies and that are for a second or subsequent conviction for a sexual offense arising out of events that are different from events of a previous conviction, such probation shall be for life.
  • Any law enforcement agency of competent jurisdiction may, on October 30 and 31 of each year, post a sign upon the front of the residence of any person on such probation, stating the following: ‘No candy or treats at this residence.’ Such signs shall further be in the form as provided for by the department.
  • When a probationer is on probation for life as provided for in Code 310 Section 17-10-6.2, The Department of Community Supervision (DCS) shall file a petition to terminate his or her probation if, after serving ten years on probation, the probationer has:
    • Paid all restitution owed
    • Not had his or her probation revoked during such period
    • Not been arrested for anything other than a nonserious traffic offense
  • If a petition for a probationer who is on probation for life as provided for in Code 323 Section 17-10-6.2 is not granted, a petition shall be filed every five years thereafter

We are encouraging everyone in Georgia to contact their State Representatives asking them to vote NO on HB 720.  If this bill crosses over next week, we will fight to stop it from being voted on in the Senate. You can find your State Representative by clicking here.

You can watch a recording of the committee meeting here (Starts at 50:42):

https://livestream.com/accounts/25225474/events/8737140/videos/202562368

Media coverage of this can be found here:

https://georgiarecorder.com/brief/house-committee-wants-to-restore-lengthy-gps-monitoring-for-sex-offenders/

Brendan Spaar

Georgia Advocate

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Source: https://narsol.org/2020/03/georgia-hb720-moves-to-floor-for-vote/

Sexual offense registries: “Somewhere along the line, we lost our way.”

sexual-offense-registries:-“somewhere-along-the-line,-we-lost-our-way.”

By Diane Diamond . . . Those who fight for a more equitable way to keep track of sexual predators won a big victory in Michigan last week. That is a state with some 44,000 names on its sexual offenders registry.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland put his foot down and gave the Michigan legislature 60 days to rewrite its current “unconstitutional” registry statute. Last spring, Cleland set a 90-day deadline for lawmakers to rework the law, but he was ignored. This time, he’s serious.

Everyone agrees we need to keep track of career sex criminals after they are released from prison. Once they’ve been convicted of violent sex crimes, it’s possible they’ll reoffend. A public safety monitoring system makes sense.

But understand that these state registries — there is one in every state — are bloated beyond belief with many names that shouldn’t be there. Registries were mandated by federal law in the mid-’90s to keep watch over ex-convict pedophiles who sexually targeted children. Somewhere along the line, we lost our way.

Included in the registry over the years have been: a 10-year-old female caught “play-acting sex” and then branded with “criminal sexual conduct” charges; a 19-year-old boy caught with his 15-year-old girlfriend; drunks discovered urinating or streaking in public; average citizens unjustly accused of sex crimes during ugly divorces; and men duped into believing that an intimate partner was not a minor when she was. Many of these people, often caught up in a moment of normal human passion, have been forced to register as sex criminals —for the rest of their lives.

Read the rest of the piece here at creators.com.

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Source: https://narsol.org/2020/02/sexual-offense-registries-somewhere-along-the-line-we-lost-our-way/