Saturday, April 25, 2015

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts - April 25 2015



The Laws You Intended to Protect Me Made Me and My Family Homeless 

April 25, 2015

The following is an image appearing on the W.A.R. (WomenAgainstRegistry.org) website from this past week's Rally In Tally peaceful protest. The image speaks for itself....
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Hundreds of homeless sex offenders expected as city ordinances pose problems [WITH FAC COMMENT] 

April 24, 2015

[FAC COMMENT: IT'S REFRESHING TO READ AN ARTICLE THAT CONTAINS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS 'POSE PROBLEMS'. AFTER ALL, THESE RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS WERE PASSED...
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The Steve Wilkos Show – Our Son Is A Sex Offender 

April 23, 2015

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Sex offender surprises Pasco County commissioners with emotional plea 

April 22, 2015

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Sex offenders moving to Pasco County will soon have major restrictions as to where they can live. That’s after a new tougher county ordinance was passed...
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Marco Island makes it harder for sex offenders to move-in 

April 21, 2015

How misinformed can people be? __________   COLLIER COUNTY, FL - It's about to get harder for sex offenders to move to Marco Island. Monday night city councilors voted 7-0...
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Sex offenders registry may put man back in prison for offence committed as child 

April 21, 2015

Aged 12, Josh Gravens committed a sex-related felony. Charged with failing to update his register details, he now, aged 28, faces a possible 25 years to life in jail Josh Gravens...
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Sexual predator gets second chance, now faces 14 new charges 

April 20, 2015

The following story appearing in yesterday's Tampa Bay Times is exactly the type of story that enrages community members. A multi-time repeat sex offender is released after...
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FSCJ changes policy to restrict sex offenders, bar sex predators from campuses 

April 19, 2015

Florida State College at Jacksonville has implemented a policy that mandates sex offenders go through an additional application process while baring sexual predators from...
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One Survivor’s Crusade Reveals a Plague of Errors in Nation’s Sex Offender Registries 

April 19, 2015

Estimates of the number of entries with crucial mistakes run into the tens of thousands. One man—and pretty much only one man—is trying to fix them. Tim Fisher steps slowly up...
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Advocates Fight for Sex Offender Rights With Lawsuit 

April 17, 2015

KUDOS TO W.A.R.!!!! ____________   As New Times discovered earlier this year, there isn't a subject touchier than the laws outlining the rights — or lack thereof — of sex...
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The Overpolicing of American Sex 

April 16, 2015

The following appeared in AlJazeera   Rape and sexual assault often do not get the police attention they deserve in the United States, whether on college campuses, in the...
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FAC Requests Clarification from FDLE on Vehicle Registration 

April 16, 2015

The following letter was sent from FAC to the FDLE. ----------   To Whom It May Concern:   Last year, the Florida legislature passed a series of laws governing sex...
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How Irresponsible Reporting Perpetuates False Fear 

April 16, 2015

The title of this report out of Pennsylvania says, "6 sex offenders arrested under ‘Operation Eagle Eye’ after unannounced Megan’s Law compliance checks" Apparently, "The U.S....
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A “free range” family fights back: “The police coerced our children into the back of a patrol car” 

April 16, 2015

Maryland parents Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they’re afraid of their children being snatched away from them. They are not, however, concerned about the ominous threat of...
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International Travel: Another HOT Topic 

April 16, 2015

Once this legislative session is over, we will have some time to focus on another hot button topic which has emerged recently; International Travel. During last legislative...
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Lifetime Monitoring Bill: What happened? 

April 15, 2015

Yesterday, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee was supposed to hear testimony on SB 134, the "Lifetime Monitoring Bill". Last week, though there was discussion on the bill, it...
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Lake County Homeless sex offender arrested for not charging GPS ankle monitor 

April 15, 2015

Have you ever had your cell phone battery die at an inopportune time? Let's say you were out in meetings all day, need to be home for dinner or your wife will give you a hard...
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St. Augustine looks to add beaches to “exclusionary zones” 

April 13, 2015

Again... you have to wonder how many issues are taking place or have EVER taken place on a beach which would cause these politicians to consider passing ordinances. From the...
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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts


Sex Offenders might soon be precluded from another job… drivers.

April 9, 2015
Broward County is looking to further regulate taxi and limo drivers. The Sun Sentinel reports today that a number of taxi drivers have criminal and driving records which should...
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If at first you don’t succeed… throw “sex offenders” in there.

April 8, 2015
Last week we posted about a bill concerning privacy rights and drones. To get their bill to pass, one legislator suggested that sex offenders might use drones to leer at...
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Marco Island may increase sex offender buffer zone

April 7, 2015
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Keep sex offenders out! That’s the message from Marco Island. The city might ban sex offenders from living 2,500 feet from where kids live, play and go to...
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Dissapointing Decision in Miami-Dade

April 4, 2015
Judge Paul Huck granted the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss in our lawsuit challenging the Miami-Dade residency restriction. While it was not a surprise, it was nonetheless...
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FAC Gets Wikipedia Page


April 4, 2015
A member has generously put together a Wikipedia Page for Florida Action Committee. The Page can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Action_Committee Wikipedia...
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: Lifetime Monitoring Bill To Be Heard

This is URGENT!!!
 
The Lifetime Monitoring Bill is being heard on Tuesday (Today). That's this coming Tuesday!
 
If you are opposed to this bill it is important that you please call and email the senate committee. We are counting on our members to call and send emails by the thousands!!!
 
You do not need to mention if you are a registered citizen, related to one, or a friend of one.
 
You only need to tell them,
 
“HB203./SB134 is not good policy for Florida, It is not based on empirical research, and will be an unsustainable cost to the tax payers. You prefer they put these resources towards prevention, education and victim services.”
 
OR
 
“I’m calling about HB203 or (SB134) As a citizen of Florida I am really hopeful we will begin to create and pass legislation that is based on empirical evidence and this bill clearly is not. It also flies in the face of being fiscally responsible with tax payer dollars and public safety.  With all of the restrictions on registered citizens they will not be able to pay these charges for life and will be back in prison. The tax payer footing the bill. If the only reason we will re-incarcerate someone who is otherwise not breaking any law, living in a law abiding manner, but because they are poor and cannot pay a debt imposed by punishment, will be re-incarcerated makes no sense. Prison should be for those who pose such a concern to public safety they cannot be managed in the community, this would not be the case. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BILL, I AM ASKING YOU TO VOTE NO!”
 
Points:
 
•     Does nothing for prevention, the monitor does not prevent new offenses and is contrary to allowing an offender to effectively re-integrate back into society. The monitor creates a hardship for an offender to even go food shopping. It goes off in most large retail locations. Publix, Target just to name a few, not allowing them to complete their shopping. They must go outside to re-establish their signal and vacate their purchase.
•     Burden for cost will fall back to the tax payer both for the cost of monitoring as well as the cost of incarceration for a violation. It will also present false information on numbers relating to recidivism.
•   Not supported by empirical evidence,.  After about 8 years and again in half after 10… After 15 years the risk drops to zero 0… NO greater risk than anyone else in the community who has never been convicted of a sex offense. Sex offenders have a low recidivism rate to begin with as compared to the other offender populations.
•   Creates a revolving door back to the prison, is contrary to public interest and contrary to smart justice.
•   Denies Liberty and Due Process
•   There is no basis other than punishment and ignorance which drives such policy.
 
It is your responsibility to reach out to your legislators and all those on the Criminal Justice Sub Committees in both the house and senate to advise them this is not what Florida wants or needs. (SEE 
LIST AND CONTACTS BELOW)
 
TO FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS:
 
www.myfloridahouse.gov click on Representatives or enter your address             

www.flsenate.gov click on senator or enter your zip code
Senate Criminal Justice Sub Committee
 
Chairman:
 
Greg Evers [R]
evers.greg@flsenate.gov     850.487.5002
 
Vice Chair
 
Audrey Gibson [D]
gibson.audrey@flsenate.gov  850.487.5009
 
Rob Bradley [R]
bradley.rob@flsenate.gov   850.487.5007
 
Jeff Brandes [R]  
brandes.jeff@flsenate.gov  850.487.5022
 
Jeff Clemens [D]  
clemens.jeff@flsenate.gov  850.487.5027
 
House of Representatives Criminal Justice Sub Committee
Chair  12/8/2014 - 8/1/2015
 
Trujillo, Carlos [R]
carlos.trujillo@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5105
 
Vice Chair  12/8/2014 - 8/1/2015
 
Van Zant, Charles E. [R] 
Charles.vanzant@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5019
 
Democratic Ranking Member 12/19/2014 - 8/1/2015
 
Bracy, Randolph [D] 
randolf.bracy@myfloridahouse.gov   850.717.5045
 
Baxley, Dennis K. [R]  
dennis.baxley@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5023
 
Fant, Jay [R]
jay.fant@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5015
 
Harrell, Gayle B. [R] 
gayle.harrell@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5083
 
Kerner, Dave [D] 
dave.kerner@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5087
 
Latvala, Chris [R] 
chris.latvala@myfloridahouse.gov   850.717.5067
 
Pilon, Ray [R]
ray.pilon@myfloridahouse.gov   850.717.5072
 
Plakon, Scott [R]  
scott.plakon@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5029
 
Pritchett, Sharon [D] 
sharon.pritchett@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5102
 
Spano, Ross [R]
ross.spano@myfloridahouse.gov  850.717.5059
 
Watson, Jr., Clovis [D] 
clovis.watson@myfloridahouse.gov   850.717.5020
 
You can also refer them to this report:
http://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/HighRiskOffenders_MayNotBeHighForever_Hanson_Harris_Helmus_Thornton.pdf
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Take the NACDL Restoration of Civil Rights Survey


Posted by on June 2, 2014 in Featured Articles, 

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is doing a survey. It would be advantageous to get as many as possible that have convictions to respond:

As a part of their Collateral Damage report and project, the Task Force would like to include stories from individuals who have lost their rights as a result of a plea or a guilty verdict. The Task Force encourages those affected by collateral consequences of a conviction to complete the survey at:
http://www.nacdl.org/restorationsurvey
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One To See Change Past Posts

One to See Change Blog List

"When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect."
~Adlia Stevenson U.S. Vice President (1893–1897) and Congressman (1879–1881)

On a Personal Note

Thanks for the opportunity to express my thoughts regarding the issue of citizens’ rights, particularly addressing certain sex offenders’ crimes that do not fit the devastating, inequitable and endless punishment given.


As you know, many young men and women lives across the nation are being destroyed by incarceration, life-time registry and restrictive laws that do more harm than good. For those individuals, there is no second chance.

Below is a personal letter to President Obama:
* * * *
“Dear President Obama,

I truly agree with your sentiments that individuals, such as ex-felons, should be able to receive a second chance at life. Since we all know that one can veer off that path of life and travel along rough, rocky terrain, sometimes running off and ending up in some ditch. We all have made our fill of mistakes and sometimes those held a costly consequence that changed life forever. So we lived through it, trying harder to make things right with family, friends and those around us, but what about those who aren’t able to make things right even if they tried…because they’re labeled as too dirty, a leper, a person who is rejected from society and home.

But what if they’re a seventeen year old and had sex with a fifteen year old, consensual at that? Or they’re a teen that had gotten so enraged after a breakup that he sent out naked pictures of his girlfriend on his cell phone or email? Or an individual urinates where someone just happens to see them?

All are wrong and a travesty but do they deserve the life of no second chance with a registry that ends all. They are labeled, no jobs, no where to live…they have been deemed a menace to society, a plague. These certain circumstances, and many other situations similar to these, I believe still deserve a second change.

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

After my son’s early release and two years of prison, I thought I had handled that fact graciously knowing after serving his time he would be able to get that fresh start, that second chance. He was an exemplary inmate, GED, college courses and vocational classes. Little did I know that a second chance on the outside was the farthest from the truth? He now struggles and lives in a trailer park sharing a trailer with another and surrounded by others in the same rocking boat, one to float endlessly in shark infested waters. I see him little because of probation requirements (he couldn’t live with us because we were 800 feet near a school). My family is afraid of what would happen to them if he lived with them…vigilantism. My son has no other place to stay since others condemn him of his crime that is screamed from the highest rooftop. Sex offender, sex offender!

Not all sex offenders are pedophiles or predators but some are simply young kids that make one stupid and rash decision that eventually changes everything, and they have no idea what they’ve done until their life is never their own. Exactly, where is that second chance for those sex-offenders who are lumped together with pedophiles and predators? Now, it makes me sick to think of my son’s future and many like him that are on the registry and many with no second chance…ever. I am asking you as a mother and as another concerned citizen of the United States that these laws are looked at again and taken into serious consideration in what they are doing to the Constitution of the United States, not for sex offenders in general but the future rights of every citizen, before anymore are put into effect. They unjustly strip an offender of their rights and place them in a guillotine that can be easily set off by anyone and at anytime. Where is the second chance for ex-sex offenders in the present, pending and future laws?”
* * * *
What truly saddens me is the weakness and deterioration of what the sex offense issue is doing to our once, great nation. Across Europe, others are seeing the injustice and disregard of rights, but we ignore this problem and it makes me wonder where humanity is heading….

We have become a hysterical society in which our latest witch-hunt is a sex offender--no matter his/her crime.

Below is a email sent from a foreign advocate to a father of a sex offender:
* * * *
“The tragic story of your son's death is just so sad that it's difficult to explain how. It was very hard to read your letters. It seems almost unbelievable that this can take place in a democracy! From our point of view, there is no justice in this. Not in any way: not for you, your son, the former girl friend – or even the state.

It is an abusive legal system. It seems barbaric. And we are so very sorry that this takes place. That's why it's so important for us to try to neutralize the debate with this…, hopefully making some changes. ….. to show the every day life of the sex offenders, trying to show how they keep on being punished, even after served prison time…..But we will for sure tell the story of the injustice that your son has been exposed to.”
* * * *
I appreciate everyone's commitment and backing to protect everyone's civil rights, plainly as noted in the Constitution of the United States and is presupposed, giving ALL men are “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”