Links

The prison problem, from several angles

Commonweal (blog)

Leading corrections administrators worked to develop better targeted structures for dealing withspecific offenders, eg sex offenders, DWIs. ...

Indiana Sex Offender Management & Monitoring Program | eHow.com

Indiana has a program to monitor and manage sex offenders to ensure they don't ... This input concerns issues relating to community supervision of the ...

www.ehow.com/info_7860431_indiana-offender-managemen...

Indiana Safer Thanks to Sex Offender Treatment

January 28, 2011 04:39 PM Eastern Time 

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liberty Healthcare Corporation:

“Indiana had the foresight to implement and maintain a program that manages a very difficult population”

Press Availability

WHO: Dr. Adam Deming, Executive Director, Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program managed by Liberty Behavioral Health Corporation for Indiana Department of Correction.

SUBJECT: How the State of Indiana treated over 7,000 sex offenders and reduced recidivism and costs of incarceration.

WHEN: January 31, 2011.

WHERE: American Correctional Association Winter Conference, San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Deming is available via telephone (317) 508-9178 during the conference.

BACKGROUND: According to state data, sex offenders in Indiana are significantly less likely to be re-incarcerated compared to national figures.

Only 17, or 1.7 percent, of 997 sex offenders released from prison in 2006 were convicted for a new sex crime within three years, a state recidivism analysis conducted in 2010 showed.

By comparison, a 2003 Department of Justice study found that 3.5 percent of the over 9,700 released sex offenders surveyed in 15 states had been convicted for a new sex crime within three years.

Credit for the success in keeping sex offender recidivism low is being given to the public/private partnership between the State of Indiana and Liberty Behavioral Health Corporation, which oversees the Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program (INSOMM).

The program and the partnership will be discussed during a presentation being given by Liberty’s Dr. Adam Deming, Executive Director of the INSOMM Program, and by Edwin Buss, former Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, during the American Correctional Association’s Winter Conference in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday, January 31.

“Since 1999, Liberty has been a true partner with the Indiana Department of Correction in our efforts to assess, treat, and manage our sex offender population,” said Buss, who has been newly appointed to oversee Florida’s correctional system. “The Liberty staff work collaboratively with our facility staff and our parole agents in the community to help keep Indiana communities safe. That collaboration has enabled us to reduce sex offender recidivism rates, and deliver fantastic programming outcomes.”

Working with the state, Liberty provides sex-offender treatment and management services with the primary goal being making communities safer by reducing sex offender recidivism. 

After an assessment is made, clinicians provide treatment that targets specific risk-factors and needs of each offender in the program. By providing the right amount of treatment based on risk levels, the program is able to keep costs contained and avoid the additional high costs associated with re-incarceration.

“Indiana had the foresight to implement and maintain a program that manages a very difficult population,” said Deming. “As a result the state has benefited greatly in fewer victims of sexual violence.”

In addition to participating in treatment specific to sex offenders, inmates are required to attend sex offender re-entry programs including classes on sex offender registration and parole requirements. They also receive guidance on dealing with housing and employment issues. Liberty has provided these services to more than 3,000 Indiana parolees in the last three years.

For more information on the Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program, please contact Dr. Adam Deming at (317) 508-9178 during the conference or call Liberty Healthcare at (610) 668-8800.

 

About Liberty Healthcare Corporation

Liberty Healthcare Corporation (www.libertyhealthcare.com) has provided specialized and customized programs for mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system for over 25 years. It is a recognized expert in the management of high risk, challenging populations in secure settings. Liberty Healthcare’s subsidiary, Liberty Behavioral Health Corporation, currently operates the Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring (INSOMM) Program. Liberty Healthcare is certified by the Joint Commission for its staffing services.

Contacts

Liberty Healthcare Corporation
Business Development
800-331-7122; 610-668-8800
info@libertyhealth.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110128006047/en/Indiana-Safer-Sex-Offender-Treatment

Hanger Proposes Castration Bill - NBC29

Hanger Proposes Castration Bill - NBC29

Proposed cuts to sex offender program set off alarm | The Columbian

Proposed cuts to sex offender program set off alarm | The Columbian

Pecos City Council Passes Sex Offender Ordinance - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

Pecos City Council Passes Sex Offender Ordinance - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

San Antonio ban of sex offenders doesn't address real problems

New online tools to track crime, tips | Go Lackawanna, Scranton, PA

New online tools to track crime, tips | Go Lackawanna, Scranton, PA

Born A Criminal? Second Circuit Decision Illustrates Need for Sex Offender Reform

Born A Criminal? Second Circuit Decision Illustrates Need for Sex Offender Reform

Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme - More Craziness and Hysteria

Community is urged to report perverts - News - Hemel Today

Are you a pervert? Someone else might believe you to be.

Stillwater / Worker guilty of sex with inmate

Pioneer Press

Updated: 01/19/2011 10:59:44 PM CST

A Stillwater state prison employee has been convicted for having a sexual relationship with an inmate.

D'Ann Marie Haugen, 48, was sentenced in Washington County District Court earlier this month to 240 hours of community service and two years of probation. She was also ordered to register as a predatory offender and to complete treatment.

Haugen was charged in April with one count of criminal sexual conduct by a correctional employee after prison staff reportedly saw her kissing a 37-year-old inmate, according to a criminal complaint.

Haugen told investigators she and the inmate worked together in the kitchen, where she was assistant food director. They became friendly and eventually kissed. The inmate said the relationship was mutual, the complaint said.

Haugen is no longer an employee of CWF Solutions, the company that contracted her services to the prison, according to company officials.

— Elizabeth Mohr

Sentencing Law and Policy: Is it constitutional to criminalize ...

By Doug B.
Two local lawyers say it's unconstitutional to bar registered sex offenders from such social networking sites, and they're seeking to overturn a state law passed by the legislature three years ago. Across the state last year, ...
Sentencing Law and Policy - http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/

Miyagi's mandatory monitoring of sex offenders raises potential problems › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Miyagi's mandatory monitoring of sex offenders raises potential problems › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Turnout low at meeting about Level 3 sex offender

Turnout low at meeting about Level 3 sex offender

Convicted rapist allowed to walk after DNA tests cast doubt on case... after serving all but five months of 25 YEAR sentence

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:11 AM on 28th January 2011


A 60-year-old who was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in 1986 was told he can walk free after new DNA evidence cast doubt on his rape conviction... with only five months of his time to serve.
Larry Sims had always protested his innocence and remained remarkably philosophical about the fact that he has wrongly been jailed for quarter of a century.
At a Dallas County courthouse yesterday he was eventually released on parole after a series of delays in court - he was behind bars for most of the day due to administration checks - and has to still wear a tag on his leg.

Free but not exonerated: Larry Sims served all but five months of a 25-year sentence for rape but he was finally free to leave this Dallas Courthouse

In addition Sims, who missed the death of his mother as he was in prison, will have to register as a sex offender and is not eligible for any services or funds that the state gives to the wrongly convicted.
He is likely to appeal, so that he is completely cleared - as it stands, and in spite of  the new evidence, Sims is not counted among the 21 exonerated through DNA testing in the last decade.
The Dallas County district lawyer’s office has insisted that more investigation is required before prosecutors decide whether they believe Sims is innocent.
The new DNA evidence indicated that the woman who said Sims raped her had lied about the case when she claimed she did not have sex earlier with Sims’s cousin, Gerald Harding.
DNA found on her sanitary towel was the same as Harding's.
In the original trial the cousin testified that he and the woman had consensual sex.
With the woman’s testimony now in doubt, a judge decided on Wednesday to free Sims. It is indeed possible that no crime ever took place.
'She designed her story,' Sims said. 'I knew I didn’t touch her.
'I’m actually innocent.'
Upon being released in the afternoon rather than in the morning Sims, understandably eager to see his relatives, told the Dallas News: 'I’d already waited, I always knew I was innocent.
'I want to get with those three wonderful aunties I have - I have a couple of cousins I’ve never seen.'
Michelle Moore, Sims’s lawyer, said of the delays: 'It is a joke that this man did not walk out of the courtroom [in the morning]. It is a joke he has to report to parole.'

She indicated that she was not told of any issues when she checked with prison officials earlier in the week.
Mrs Moore added that she plans to challenge the prison’s decision in court, if required.
Sims's cousin Larry Freeman called it a 'blessed day' for the family.
Before he was released, State District Judge Gracie Lewis apologised to Sims for the problems in his rape case.
She ruled that with the DNA evidence, a jury would probably not convict him nowadays.
'I would like to apologise for the failures of the Texas justice system,' she said to Sims.
'Thank you for persevering and making sure this wrong was righted.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351351/Convicted-rapist-walks-serving-months-25-YEAR-sentence.html#ixzz1CLP7m6hc

State Wiretap Laws: The Title III Gorilla in Correctional Computer Monitoring?

State Wiretap Laws: The Title III Gorilla in Correctional Computer Monitoring?

By Art Bowker, Cybercrime Specialist

Published: 01/28/2011

Community corrections agencies are increasing being asked to manage cyber-risk. Some prohibit all computer or Internet use. Others conduct periodic computer searches. Many are relying on computer monitoring software to do the lion’s share of the risk management. So how does wiretap laws pertain to community corrections computer monitoring? Lets see! Title III in this article collectively refers to wiretap laws at the federal and state level. Kerr writes this in regards to the federal statute: “The basic structure of the Wiretap Act is surprising simple. The statue envisions that an individual is exchanging communication with another person or machine. The state makes it a crime for someone who is not a party to the communication to use an interrupting device to intentionally access the private communication in “real time.” (pg. 451) How does this relate to computer monitoring then? In O’Brien v. O’Brien, Case No. 5D03-3484, (2005) a Florida appellate court ruled that computer monitoring by a spouse was governed by the state’s wiretap statute, which was patterned after the federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2501). In this case the spouse used software to capture chats, instant messages, and web browsing by her husband, without his knowledge. The software eventually captured the husband’s communication with his girlfriend, who also was unaware of the monitoring. The appellate court ruled in part that …. “spy-ware installed by the wife intercepted the electronic communication contemporaneously with transmission, copied it, and routed the copy to a file in the computer’s hard drive, the electronic communications were intercepted in violation of the Florida Act.” Some community corrections officers are deploying similar monitoring software, particularly on sex offenders’ computers. The installation is usually through a supervision condition authority. Additionally, the offender and all household members who may use the computer are always fully aware that the monitoring software is present. Progressive agencies also place electronic consent banners at the start up of the operating system and place hard copy warning stickers letting all who may use the system know they have no expectation of privacy if they use the computer. Federal law provides a minimum level of privacy protection with the wiretap statute. Some states have greater protections. The federal Title III law and states with similar laws provide for some exceptions to a wire tap. Several exceptions are germane here. The first is commonly known as consent. There are two kinds of consent. The first is one party consent, which is contained in the federal law and 38 state statutes. Under one party consent if one person knows about the inception (monitoring) and agrees, the monitoring can occur. In a correctional setting, the offender knows as well as all who use the system, that the computer is being monitored. This is established by the use of the banner and/or hard copy notices. Additionally under federal law there is also an exception for a person acting under “color of law” to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication with consent of one party to the communication. The other type of consent is called two party. This means that both parties to the communication have to consent to the monitoring. There are twelve states that have two party consent (CA, CN, FL, IL, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, PA, and WA, Reporters Committee for Free Press). Some two party states, such as Florida, allow an exception to law enforcement with one party consent, when…. “the purpose of such interception is to obtain evidence of a criminal act.” (FL 934.03(1)(c)). The purpose of correctional computer monitoring is to insure compliance not necessarily to obtain evidence of a criminal act. For instance, monitoring may used to insure a sex offender is not viewing adult pornography, which would be a treatment issue and not a criminal act. Two party consent can therefore be an important consideration if computer monitoring is occurring. The offender and their household’s consent means little when they communicate via the computer with someone who is not aware the monitoring is taking place. The third party person they may communicate with can’t see the warning banner or the stickers. Lets see how this plays out. Sally’s son is being supervised for downloading child pornography. They live in a two party state and her son’s officer has installed monitoring software on the computer so he can have Internet access to look for work. Sally is okay with this as she wants her son to say out of trouble. The software will be on the computer as long as her son is in the home and on supervision. Sometime after the installation, Sally gets online and enters a chat room where a discussion on breast cancer is taking place. There are five others in the chat room. Sally posts in the chat room as well as communicates via instant messaging with the other participants. Additionally, she sends and receives e-mails from all them after exiting the chat room. All of this activity is being recorded by the monitoring software. Sally knows about the monitoring software but the five others do not. Do the five have a reduced expectation of privacy for their chat room discussions, yes of course? But what about the private instant messages or their e-mails with Sally? You see the problem. Some monitoring software alleviates this problem by limiting monitoring to only the offender’s usage. One company actually uses a biometric device to ensure only the offender is being monitored. But the offender’s communications are still obviously being monitored. It is hard to imagine why a sex offender would be allowed in a chat room, but use of e-mail is another matter. The offender’s exchange of e-mail with someone else could also create the same consent issues to monitoring in a two party state. Now the second exception to wire taps is the issuance of a court order. Under federal law there are specific time constraints and judicial oversight of the entire process. Additionally, there are specific requirements to get a wiretap order issued. They include a finding of probable cause that the following exists: ” a) there is probable cause that an individual is committing or about to commit a specific crime; there is the belief that particular communications concerning that offense will be obtained through such interception; and c) normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous.” Even a supervision condition for monitoring software, ordered by a Court is hard to imagine being the same. There is no probable cause to believe the offender is committing or about to commit a new crime. Additionally, a periodic computer search can be used to find the evidence so a normal investigative procedure could be used. Finally, computer monitoring on an offender can literally be on the entire term of supervision, which is often years in duration as opposed to days or months common in wiretap orders. It is possible that monitoring software might follow what has occurred with probation searches. Specifically, in United States v. Knights, 122 S.Ct.587 (2002), the Supreme Court “…held warrant-less search of a probationer’s apartment, supported by reasonable suspicion and authorized by a condition of his probation, was reasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.” Does this mean an appellate Court could carve out some kind of exception for computer monitoring for probation/paroles because they have an reduced expectation of privacy? What about the order’s impact on others inside and outside of the offender’s home who may be involved in communications with the offender’s monitored computer? By the way, what is the down side of breaking a wiretap law? How does possible criminal and/or civil penalties grab you? Clearly some thought has to go into computer monitoring in states with two party consent issues. At a minimum agency’s should do the following: Know thoroughly what computer monitoring they are using can do and can not do. Some important considerations are: Is a electronic consent banner part of the program? Can it be configured to only capture the offender’s activities? Can it be set to prevent incoming communication from non-supervised person’s from being captured? Can it block programs that might create two party consent programs, such a chat or Instant message programs? Can it filter data to monitor or alert, to only that which is germane to the conviction or problem conduct? Can it set to capture only outgoing communication from the offender With a working knowledge of the software discuss the situation with a Title III legal expert in the jurisdiction to insure that if monitoring can be deployed that it is done only in a manner consistent with state and federal law. The last thing you want to do is create bad case law or worse, by not dealing with this “gorilla.” References Electronic Surveillance Laws, Accessed fromhttp://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=13492 Florida State 934.03: Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited. Accessed from The 2010 Florida Statutes Kerr, Orin (2006) Computer Crime Law, Thompson, St. Paul O’Brien v. O’Brien, Case No. 5D03-3484, (2005). Accessed from Opinions 5D03-3484.pdf Reporters Committee for Free Press “Can We Tape?” Accessed from http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ United States v. Knights, 122 S.Ct.587 (2002) 18 U.S.C. Chapter 119, Wire and Electronic Communications Interception and Interception of Oral Communications. Accessed from http://www.justice.gov Visit "The Three C's (Computers, Crime & Corrections)" blog by Art Bowker

Stone Makes Second Run at GPS Monitoring for Sex Offenders

County legislators file bill....

   

Sen. Norman Stone said the state legislature should be more proactive on issues such as those involving sex offenses against minors. That's why we have so many laws now named after people — because we're being reactive." Credit Bryan P. Sears

Section Sponsored By

Some repeat sex offenders in Maryland could find themselves tethered to a GPS tracking unit if a bill sponsored by Sen. Norman Stone is passed during the current General Assembly session.

Under the bill filed by Stone, a Dundalk Democrat, sex offenders who have been convicted twice of an offense involving a minor and who are already required to be supervised for life by traditional means would have to wear the devices.

"Many of these sex offenders are going to re-offend no matter what you kind of requirements you put on them to stay away from children or schools or parks," Stone said. "At least if you have the tracking device then you have a way to monitor them."

Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Democrat who represents the 8th District including Perry Hall, Parkville and Overlea, is a co-sponsor on the bill.

Currently, state law passed in 2006 allows a judge to order the devices as part of the sentence.

This is not the first year for the proposal. In fact, Stone sponsored this bill last year.

Stone was at a loss for why the legislature has not passed the bill in past sessions.

"It's not easy to pass (sex offender) bills even though many other states already have them," said Stone, who added that he wished the legislature would be more proactive on criminal justice issues.

"That's why we have so many laws now named after people — because we're being reactive," Stone said.

Other legislation introduced by county legislators includes:

• A bill that would ban the sale of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, such as Four Loko, within the state. The bill is sponsored by Del. Dana Stein, a Democrat who represents the 11th District including Owings Mills, Pikesville and part of Timonium. Co-sponsors include Democratic Dels. Jon Cardin and Dan Morhaim, who also represent the 11th District, and Steve Lafferty, who represents the 42nd District including Towson, Timonium and part of Pikesville.

• A bill sponsored by Del. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam that would authorize the state Board of Nursing to approve licensing exams for electrologists. The bill would also require yearly renewal of those licenses.

• A bill in the House sponsored by Lafferty that would require apartment complexes to offer recycling to its residents. The bill is a cross file of a law introduced in the Senate earlier this year by Sen. Jim Brochin, who also represents the 42nd Disrict.

• Brochin is also sponsoring a bill that would take away the ability of legislators to award scholarships and move the entire program to the Office of Student Finacial Assistance. Senators can award up to $138,000 in scholarships annually and delegates can award the equivalent of four four-year, full-time scholarships in each term. Brochin sponsored a similar bill before and has spoken out against the program during his previous two terms in office.

"I think what's new here is that it's a new Senate and a new Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee, " Brochin said. "A lot of us from leadership on down are trying to make heads and tails of the new Senate."

Higher sex offender registration fees may be unconstitutional. - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Higher sex offender registration fees may be unconstitutional. - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Laws restricting sex offenders don't work

The Untouchables, Part 2

Famously ignorant quotes

Famously ignorant quotes

The world is filled with words. Some are heroic, filled with good, and have great meanings. There is always another side, though. There are quotes and sentences filled with venom and evil. Let's take a few minutes to go over some of the evil quotes from some very important and influential people here in our good old USA.

From John Walsh:

1. "I said I was kidding when I was talking to the Senate and I said they were talking about electronic monitoring, which is big and unwieldy for the sex offenders, and that some of these guys, no matter what the law in their state was, would have to wear one for 20 years or whatever. I said implant it in their anus and if they go outside the radius, explode it and that would send a big message. It was a joke. Nobody thought it was funny."

Really, John? Did you say that only after no one laughed?

From Mark Lunsford:

1. “Save a child- Hang a Pedophile.”

2. “My focus is on tougher laws for predators. If you don’t like me because I look at naked women, I don’t care. I’m not putting a black mark on my daughter’s name."

3. "We're talking about Romeo and Juliet here, not some 36-year-old pervert following around a 10-year-old." -- Mark Lunsford, responding to his son's arrest for a sex crime.

Mark, what exactly do you mean? You can't have it both ways.

From Wendy Murphy:

1. “I never, ever met a false rape claim, by the way. My own statistics speak to the truth.” Wendy Murphy, adjunct professor at the New England School of Law and alleged “legal analyst,” commenting on the “Duke Lacrosse case,” later discovered to be a case of malicious and false prosecution.

From Lisa Fritsch:

1. "What Mr. Troyer should be thinking is that if everybody went out and beat up a sex offender, we might have a lot less sex offenders. This is the point. Home run and bravo to Ms. Gibson." -- 590 KLBJ radio personality Lisa Fritsch, a "Christian," applauding an unprovoked vigilante attack in 2008.

What if someone didn't like your program and beat you up? More to the point, what if you yourself find the name "Lisa Fritsch" on the registry? Something tells me that may change your tune.

From Judy Cornett

1. “Sex Crimes against children is ZERO TOLERANCE, offenders need no mercy....Death is the only resolution....Prison??? Our tax dollars...I can think of better ways to spend our money...what about death for the predators and put the money that would of been used supporting these sickos and rehabilitate the survivors…”-- Judy Cornett, notorious vigilante.

So moving back to Nazi Germany is the answer. Where does some of this trash come from?

Do we have so much hatred in our country that we can no longer find the forgiveness that we expect for ourselves? What about the poor souls who have been falsely accused of a sex crime? It is time for change. The sex offender register doesn't work. The only thing it does is cause vigilantism and hate.

Please keep an eye on the blog, as I will look at things from a different perspective soon. In the meantime, watch for my second edition of "A Motion for Innocence" which is almost ready to roll.

Question more

Go to main page   News   Father of newborn goes to jail for sex with minor wife  

Father of newborn goes to jail for sex with minor wife

Published: 26 May, 2009, 11:09
Edited: 26 January, 2010, 10:08

The father of a newborn girl has been sentenced to three years in prison for having sexual relations with his underage wife, who is the mother of his newborn daughter.

A modern-day Romeo and Juliet, 19-year-old Zhenya and 15-year-old Katya, still a schoolgirl, live in the provincial town of Efremov approximately 310 kilometers off Moscow, Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets reports. They had known each other for about a year and a half when last summer Katya learnt she was four months pregnant. At the time Zhenya had no idea that Katya had in fact lied about her age and told Zhenya she was 17.
“When we met I told Zhenya I was almost 17. In fact I was two years younger. I lied because I liked him very much, but I was afraid he wouldn't go out with me if I told him my real age. He only found out after I got pregnant,” Katya says.

The girl’s mother recalls that the news was a shock for her:
“I knew she was dating Zhenya but did not think they had intimate relations,” she told journalists.
When the lovers’ parents met to discuss the situation, Katya and Zhenya told them that they loved each other and wanted to live together and bring up their child.
Soon, Katya’s parents obtained permission for the marriage of their underage daughter, which took place in January 17 this year. Two weeks later Katya gave birth to little Ksenia, who was born two months premature.
Relatives say Zhenya was looking forward to the birth of his daughter and was very anxious during the delivery.

Katya and Zhenya

The young family settled in Zhenya’s one-bedroom apartment. He found a job as a welder while his wife resumed her studies at school. Relatives of the newborn took care of her while the teenage mother was out, but what seemed to be a happy end to the love story was only the beginning of an ordeal.
Police contacted Zhenya, informing him that he was charged with having sexual relations with a person under the age of 16. The court then sentenced him to three years and one month in jail.
“After the hearing Zhenya left the courtroom and looked at his daughter for a long time, caressing her cheek. All the family was crying,” the relatives said. “He loves little Ksenia so much. What is his fault? They made love because they both wanted to. The judge has broken the life of the family.”
Zhenya is now in custody in the nearby town of Novomoskovsk. His wife comes to visit him almost every day.
Katya can't breast feed the baby anymore due to stress. She also has to miss outs on school lessons, because Zhenya used to babysit while she was studying.
Zhenya is not allowed to see his wife, let alone his daughter. If the family loses the appeal, the young father would not only miss his baby's first steps and words, but also in three years time will become a total stranger to his little girl.

Discrepancy between law and life

The young couple’s love has fallen victim to controversial Russian legislation. 19-year-old Zhenya is now in prison for having sex with his own wife Katya, meaning she has to take care of their baby without a father figure.

Little Ksenia

Russian law, simply put, states that you can marry an underage person with the permission of the parents, but you cannot have sex with this person.
Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Moscow Aleksey Golovan has admitted that there is a discrepancy between the Family Code and the Criminal Code.
“On the one hand, the girl was allowed to get married. On the other hand, law forbids sexual relations with a person under 16,” he said, adding “In this particular case, special circumstances should have been taken into account.”
The family believes the young couple did not receive proper legal protection.
“The public defence attorney we had lied to us. She said he has to admit his guilt and then nothing will happen to him. So he did and they put him in jail. She did nothing to protect our interests. We found a new lawyer and appealed,” says Katya’s mother Elena Karpova.
Boris Altshuler is a children's rights expert and says cases like this one should be inspected on an individual basis, rather than simply following the law. He says the prosecutors used this case heartlessly for their own interests. For prosecutors it’s just a good report for their chiefs – they did a good job and have exposed a crime.

© Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005 - 2011. All rights reserved.

Question more

Go to main page   USA   The Untouchables: The difficult lives of sex offenders  

The Untouchables: The difficult lives of sex offenders

Published: 9 July, 2010, 03:15
Edited: 27 September, 2010, 12:57

In South Florida, redemption is hard to come by for sex offenders. Some have been forced to live under a bridge for the rest of their lives.

This is part one of an in-depth report on the lives of sex offenders after they have served their sentences.

The strict regulations on housing for sex offenders are the result of a confluence of what some consider as public paranoia, misguided laws and poor management, particularly in south Florida. Sun, surf, and sex appeal have drawn millions from the entire Western Hemisphere to this tropical wonderland.

But a few years ago, this tropical heaven was hell for children. No one knows why things worked out the way they did. For about 30 years, some of the highest-profile cases of sexual molestation of young children came from this area. Those cases had names: Jessica Lunsford, Jimmy Ryce, Adam Walsh. As a result, the city of Miami, Miami-Dade County and other nearby cities rushed to strengthen sex offender laws. At one point, sex offenders released from prison could not live within 1,000 feet of any school, church, playground, park, or mall—anywhere children could be. After another rash of violent sexual molestation cases involving children, city and county leaders strengthened those "residency restrictions" to 2,500 feet.

But there was a problem.

A major metropolitan area like Miami is full of schools, churches, playgrounds, parks and malls. Once the heftier residency restrictions were in place, there were only three places in all of Miami sex offenders could live: at the airport, in the Everglades or under a major thoroughfare called the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

And this is where probation officers told the sex offenders to live. According to the law, there was nowhere else for them to go.

By the summer of 2009, the population of “Sex Offender City” under the bridge had swelled to over 100. Tents were dwellings, patio table and chair sets were dining rooms, generators supplied electricity, and just about everyone living there sported a GPS unit around his ankle. Amenities and toiletries were luxury items and toilet paper became the de facto currency. It was hot, especially in the Miami sun, and these "monsters of Miami" had to live here forever.

A very strong argument can be made there was one man behind Sex Offender City, one man who caused the creation of this place. His name is Ron Book. Book has his reasons for creating the situation, and he disputes that he did, indeed, create it, but that story is for part two.

But there are others who are trying to help the sex offenders move on with their lives. One of them is Randy Young. He finds houses where sex offenders can live, leases them, then leases them back out to sex offenders. And finding rental property is not very difficult in south Florida, which has suffered dramatically in the ongoing economic crisis. By putting sex offenders back in society, he is changing the way people think about these men.

To be continued…

http://rt.com/usa/news/sex-offenders-deserve-redemption/print/

US legal system should differentiate between types of sex offenders

http://rt.com/usa/news/us-legal-sex-offenders/

Mark-Lunsford!--Floridas-Children-Need-Your-Voice!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mark-Lunsford!--Floridas-Children-Need-Your-Voice!&id=120387

Illinois - State rep proposes murderer registry

http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2011/01/il-state-rep-proposes-murderer-registry.html

Original Article

Once again, a politicians trying to make a name for himself. Murderers have the LOWEST recidivism rate of any other criminal, and sex offenders have the second lowest recidivism rates. So it seems to me, they are going about this totally bass-ackwards. But, the more registries we have, and the sooner, then the sooner they all come crumbling down.

01/25/2011

By Ted Gregory

Database would track killers convicted before truth-in-sentencing law

Motivated by outrage over the 1998 murder of a Batavia woman, a state representative on Tuesday proposed creating a public database of convicted murderers.
- Why not save a ton of money and just create one registry for ALL CRIMINALS?

Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst, filed a bill known as "Andrea's Law," which calls for the Illinois State Police to create a murderer registry database on the Internet of individuals convicted of first-degree murder before truth-in-sentencing requirements were imposed.
- The police are already over burdened with just one registry, and when you introduce more?  But hey, the more the merrier, right?

The bill is named for Andrea Will, 18, who was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, Justin Boulay, while they were students at Eastern Illinois University.
- So, another white girl, another law named in her "honor?"  So why do we not have a gang offender registry for those killed by gangs (drive by shootings)?  A DUI offender registry for those killed by drunk drivers?  Or any other crime, like drug dealers/users, domestic violence, bank robbery, you name it.  Think about it!

Boulay was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Under sentencing laws at the time, he had one day removed from his punishment for every day he served without disciplinary problems. Boulay, now 33, was released in November and moved to Hawaii to live with a woman he married while incarcerated.

The proposed murderer registry "is a natural extension to the state's current sex offender and child murderer registry," Reboletti said in a prepared statement.
- So you are throwing big words in there to heighten the fear factor.  What about those I mentioned above by gang members, DUI's, abusive parents, teachers, etc.

The law would apply to convicted murderers who committed the crime before June 19, 1998. It would require them to be registered for 10 years after their parole, a Reboletti spokeswoman said.
- So once again, another  ex post facto law, violating the state (See section 16) and US Constitutions!

Florida Justice Transition - updated forum link

http://www.floridajusticetransitions.com/external1.html

Updated link for Florida Statewide Info. Sign up and make a difference.

We agree to disagree.

We agree to disagree.

UPCOMING HEARING on SORNA: Various Resource and Policy Papers

UPCOMING HEARING on SORNA: Various Resource and Policy Papers

Sheriffalerts.com

Now, governmental officials and law enforcement agencies have money to spend on application presentations for SO's. Wish they would put the real truth in these presentations! It quotes "don't be in the dark" others have no idea what is going on and how in the dark they really are. I guess contrarily ignorance is bliss, and panic and fear truly becomes a  crushing blow to our nation.

http://sheriffalerts.com/presentations/fl/jacksonville/jacksonville.html

Sex offender legislation: Myths and realities

Sex offender legislation: Myths and realities

Convicted Sex Offenders – The Other View

Convicted Sex Offenders – The Other View

High Court to Decide if Dangerous Sex Offenders Can Be Held Indefinitely

High Court to Decide if Dangerous Sex Offenders Can Be Held Indefinitely

Virginia, is proposing physical castration of sex offenders

Senator Emmett Hanger, Virginia, is proposing physical castration of sex offenders to offset the increasing cost of housing sex offenders according to an article written by fellow Examiner, Brian Gillie. Currently, Louisiana and Texas allow physical castration.

In an article written by Kristin Carlson, and published in the Michigan Law Review, another form of castration, chemical castration, is a procedure that really does not involve castration at all. It involves the administration of weekly intramuscular injections of Depo-Provera, which is a type of birth control. This is a drug that reduces the level of testosterone and reduces the subject's sex drive by decreasing the production of testosterone. It is a procedure that is completely “reversible.”
(For the balance of this article, this author will use a more accepted term – castration-by-medication instead of chemical castration).

Patients undergoing castration-by-medication, are not rendered completely impotent if the medication dosage is adjusted, but they do not experience intrusive deviant impulses. They do not have spontaneous erections, but are able to have an erection if stimulated by a partner.
Depo-Provera has proven to be effective in treating pedophilia, but it does come with side effects such as weight gain, headaches, insomnia, nightmares, reduction in the size of the testes, reduction in sperm count, and nausea.
Georgia, Oregon, Montana, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Iowa, and Louisiana have incorporated castration-by-medication into sentencing statutes in their states.
In a 1984 convicted rapist case in Michigan, a judge imposed a one year prison sentence and five years probation conditional on his receipt of weekly injections of Depo-Provera. The rapist appealed the judge's sentence, and the court of appeals found the trial court had imposed an illegal condition of probation.
In conclusion, Kristin Carlson, points out that incarceration of sex offenders may not be the most effective means of punishment – incarcerating them for lengthy periods of time and then releasing them into society does not alleviate the danger they pose upon release. Repeat offenders who have been diagnosed as pedophiles should be required to undergo castration-by-medication as a condition of probation. This approach will allow offenders to return to society sooner, and with less likelihood of committing further crimes.
Should Michigan consider castration of repeat sex offenders?  You be the judge.
Get information on sexual health issues by clicking the subscribe button above and simply entering your email address for spam-free articles delivered straight to your inbox.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Should Michigan consider castration of repeat sex offenders? - Grand Rapids Sexual Health | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/sexual-health-in-grand-rapids/should-michigan-consider-castration-of-repeat-sex-offenders#ixzz1CFTyWlXF

Will Texas Be Safe for Romeos and Juliets?

Will Texas Be Safe for Romeos and Juliets?

Senate committee recommends not implementing federal sex offender law

By Jordan Smith, Fri., Jan. 14, 2011

According to the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee, the state should go its own way when it comes to the registration and monitoring of sex offenders.

In its interim study report released last week, the committee, chaired by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, recommends that the state unbind itself from federal laws that provide for minimum offender registration requirements – clearing the way for the state to devise its own methods of assessing the risks individual offenders pose to the community at large and (finally) allowing the state to create a much-needed path to allowing qualified offenders off the list.

As of Jan. 6, there were 64,565 names on the state's sex offender registry, which is maintained by the Department of Public Safety. The swift growth of crime and punishment in this area of the law has created a number of issues. While initially designed to keep the public – in particular, children – safe from predators, the number of offenses eligible for registration has ballooned since the registries were first created in 1994, via the federal Jacob Wetterling Act. Many experts – including some who testified before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee last summer – agree that the addition of so many types of crimes has diluted any positive effect the registry might have had on public safety. (The registry includes not just serial pedophiles but also so-called "Romeo and Juliet" cases, often involving youthful romantic affairs in which one party is younger than 17, Texas' age of consent.)

As we reported in September (see "Sex Offend­ers Exposed," Sept. 10, 2010), there are other, similar relationships, such as that of Martin Ezell and his wife, who became involved when he was already 32 and she was just shy of 17. Ezell was prosecuted and given deferred adjudication on the charge of sexual assault of a child. Though he successfully completed his sentence, he will have to register for life. In the Ezell family's case, the registry's effect seems merely cruel: He's unable to find meaningful work; the couple's three children have, at times, been ostracized at school; and the family has had to move numerous times when neighbors have discovered his name and picture on the public database and responded negatively. Researchers around the country have determined that registration does serious collateral damage to sex offenders' families. "Based on the research, [and] the testimony provided during the hearing," reads the committee's report, "it is clear registries do not provide the public safety, definitely not the way it is now."

Although state lawmakers have previously asked the state's Council on Sex Offender Treatment to devise a scheme allowing qualified individuals a path to deregistration, those efforts have been stalled because of a state statute provision binding Texas law to the federal law – which is itself in flux. At issue is whether the state will enact the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act – in essence, an update to the Wetter­ling provisions – that seeks to "provide consistency," as the committee describes it, among the states' registries. But implementation would require the state to overhaul its current registry. For example, while Texas has sought to classify offenders based on risk, the Adam Walsh Act would classify them solely by the offense – a situation that the CSOT and many in law enforcement believe could cause misclassifications. This system would also increase, for many, the number of times per year registration must be updated with local authorities – at the cost of those local agencies – and could significantly increase the number of individuals required to register for life, in part because the act adds additional offenses requiring registration. The AWA also requires juveniles as young as 14 to be publicly registered, a decision that, in Texas, is currently left to judges' discretion.

Finally, and importantly, implementation could cost the state nearly $39 million, while the penalty for not doing so – the loss of some grant funding – would cost just a little more than $1.4 million. "Retaining the ten percent of federal funding is not adequate incentive" to enact the AWA, writes the committee. "Sex offenses are very serious crimes. There is no debate over whether violent and dangerous people should be punished [and] monitored extensively," reads the report. "However like with most issues there are levels and gray areas. In addition there are limited resources to address all of the issues facing the state today." In the end, the committee recommends that the state not implement AWA.

Whether lawmakers will take that advice remains to be seen. Dallas Democratic Sen. Royce West has filed a bill (see "This Way to the Big Top!") that would exempt from registration certain youthful offenders. However, the bill, as currently written, would also update state law to comply with the AWA. If that update remains, it would pose additional challenges for people like Ezell who have been searching for a way off the registry.*

As it happens, Ezell caught a glimmer of hope in mid-December, when then-District Judge Charlie Baird ruled that the state's registration requirement, as applied to Ezell, is unconstitutional. The registry's purpose is to enhance public safety, Baird wrote, and is not meant to be "so punitive as to be a criminal sanction." He continued, "When the remedial nature of the statutory scheme is not served by registration, and the registration requirement serves as the basis for continued criminal prosecution and causes the disruption of the ordinary course of five lives [Ezell, his wife, and their three children], the registration requirement, as applied to a particular individual, loses its remedial function and becomes purely punitive." Baird ordered Department of Public Safety to "remove all information" about Ezell from the registry.

Despite the order, the DPS has not yet removed Ezell from the list. According to an e-mailed statement from DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange, "DPS declined comment until its attorneys could review and evaluate the ruling." Indeed, the DPS is still bound to comply with the linkage between state and federal law as it applies to deregistration; nonetheless, Baird's order is valid. Interestingly, Ezell's attorney, Gus Garcia Jr., says he sent notice to DPS attorneys prior to the hearing, but no one from the agency responded. "We're hoping that [Ezell] will be able to avail himself of the judge's order," said Garcia, "because it's really like he's in limbo right now." He added that it may take legislative action – enacting the committee recommendations, perhaps – for Ezell to find a final measure of justice.

*Clarification: In the original version of this story we wrote only that Dallas Dem Sen. Royce West's bill regarding Texas' sex offenders and the registry (SB 198) would update state law to comply with the Adam Walsh Act. In fact, the main purpose of West's proposed legislation is to provide for an exemption for certain youthful offenders – that is, for Romeo & Juliet cases. The AWA enacting provision is included only because state law is currently tied to federal law and because the controlling federal law is now AWA, but not because West necessarily endorses that law.

...including millions spent on housing for sex offenders and dead people

Seriously don't know how to take the implication highlighted...If this house only sex offenders would they even care.

For video, go to : http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/philadelphia-housing-authority-spent-thousands-belly-dancers-bags/story?id=12771932

The nation's fourth-largest housing authority spent lavishly on gifts for managers and a party with belly dancers, and its executive secretly spent more than $500,000 in housing authority funds to settle sexual harassment claims, but it allegedly ignored complaints of unsanitary conditions that nearly killed a 12-year-old resident.

In Philadelphia, under the leadership of former executive director Carl Greene, the local housing authority spent $17,000 for a 2006 event, including $1,200 for a troupe of belly dancers. Photos of the event, obtained by ABC News, show Greene dancing with the exotically dressed women. A Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) spokeswoman said the event, which also included yodelers and karaoke, was a part of the housing authority's "diversity awareness" training.
CLICK HERE TO SEE A SLIDESHOW ABOUT GREENE
The same month, a 12-year-old girl living in the city's federally-subsidized housing suffered a near-fatal asthma attack after, her mother says, poorly trained housing inspectors failed to properly check her home for dangerous black mold.

The excesses of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, however, are not unique. As Nightline found in a joint investigation with the Center for Public Integrity, the federal government's low-income housing programs, which cost taxpayers $26 billion a year, are plagued by theft, mismanagement and corruption at local levels, including millions spent on housing for sex offenders and dead people, and all too often fail the 3 million families who rely on them for a clean, safe place to live.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY'S STORY ON PUBLIC HOUSING
 
In Philadelphia, under the leadership of former executive director Carl Greene, the local housing authority spent $17,000 for a 2006 event, including $1,200 for a troupe of belly dancers. Photos of the event, obtained by ABC News, show Greene dancing with the exotically dressed women. A Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) spokeswoman said the event, which also included yodelers and karaoke, was a part of the housing authority's "diversity awareness" training.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A SLIDESHOW ABOUT GREENE
 
The same month, a 12-year-old girl living in the city's federally-subsidized housing suffered a near-fatal asthma attack after, her mother says, poorly trained housing inspectors failed to properly check her home for dangerous black mold.

I'm telling them over and over again that these problems are going on and nobody's fixing anything. It's like they ignored everything I said," said Angelique McKinney, the girl's mother.
Greene also used housing authority funds to buy gifts, including a $16,000 purchase from Nordstrom for $800 Tumi travel bags for himself and 19 of his top managers in 2009.
"For 12 years, 13 years he's had free reign at the housing authority, and I can't explain it," said Michael Pileggi, a former housing authority attorney who now represents former PHA employees suing Greene and the housing authority. "It appears there was no fiscal oversight."

NY - Confining sex offenders comes at high cost

http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2011/01/ny-confining-sex-offenders-comes-at.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FjPcH+(Sex+Offender+Issues)

WA - Lawmakers debate notifications for juvenile sex offenders in school

For more on this, see: http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2011/01/wa-lawmakers-debate-notifications-for.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FjPcH+(Sex+Offender+Issues)

The Identity Project -

The Identity Project -

http://www.papersplease.org/wp/

IL - State representative Dennis Reboletti proposes murderer registry

Forensic "Lie Detection"

Why after reading this article below, by a Doctor no less, is polygraph a requirement for an SO. It is hard enough to gather money just to live along with all the other money needed for therapy classes, parole/probation fines and not to mention not being able to get a job because of the SO status and much more that others don't think about?

 

 

Forensic "Lie Detection":
Procedures Without Scientific Basis

William G. Iacono, PhD

Although the CQT may be useful as an investigative aid and tool to induce confessions, it does not pass muster as a scientifically credible test. CQT theory is based on naive, implausible assumptions indicating (a) that it is biased against innocent individuals and (b) that it can be beaten simply by artificially augmenting responses to control questions. Although it is not possible to adequately assess the error rate of the CQT, both of these conclusions are supported by published research findings in the best social science journals (Honts et al., 1994; Horvath, 1977; Kleinmuntz & Szucko, 1984; Patrick & Iacono, 1991). Although defense attorneys often attempt to have the results of friendly CQTs admitted as evidence in court, there is no evidence supporting their validity and ample reason to doubt it. Members of scientific organizations who have the requisite background to evaluate the CQT are overwhelmingly skeptical of the claims made by polygraph proponents.

Submit a video question for President Obama

Submit a video question for President Obama

Tonight, President Obama will address Congress and the nation when he gives his State of the Union address. His speech will lay out his vision for the next year, but he may not address the issues most important to you.

Good news: This year, Change.org members have an opportunity to ask President Obama our own questions, courtesy of YouTube.

On Thursday, President Obama will give a national interview on YouTube, and instead of letting the White House press corps have all the fun, you can ask your own questions. Concerned about health care? Focused on the environment? How about education, the economy, or foreign policy? This is your chance to spotlight the issue closest to your heart.

Upload a video with your question today at:

http://www.youtube.com/askobama

Community voting will help determine which questions get asked. Here are a few tips to increase the chances that your question will be chosen:

• Your video should be no longer than twenty seconds, and you should ask your question as directly as possible.
• Speak clearly and try to film in a place with minimal background noise. Try to keep the camera as still as possible.
• Feel free to be creative (use props, charts, etc.) to help your question stand out.
• An interesting backdrop may help reinforce your message –– for example, if you’re asking a question about education, you could be inside a classroom, or if you want to talk about the environment, find your favorite place outdoors.

The deadline to submit your question is Wednesday night at midnight Eastern Time. So get cracking, and we hope to see your question on President Obama's national webcast!

Click here to submit your question via YouTube today: 

http://www.youtube.com/askobama

Thanks for asking the questions that matter,

Patrick and the Change.org Team