Friday, July 31, 2015

Cold Justice Sex Crimes

Strange that this link below was a top search for sex offender. Now you can't tell me that this issue isn't a money-making hysteria that is out of control! Nightly, every TV news station, especially in Orlando area, has a mention of a sex offender or the issue. Do I need to say more...

___________________________

Cold Justice Sex Crimes - Don’t Miss Cold Justice Sex Crimes!

Too many sex offenders to walk safely to school?


KATU
Too many sex offenders to walk safely to school?


Scott said one of the biggest issues is that seven
predatory sex offenders ... It said the seven predatory
sex offenders do not live in the walking area, ...

Residents accuse sex offender of living in wrong neighborhood | Florida Action Committee

Residents accuse sex offender of living in wrong neighborhood | Florida Action Committee

ABC NEWS Nightline: This 19-Year-Old Will Spend the Next 25 Years as a Registered Sex Offender | Florida Action Committee

ABC NEWS Nightline: This 19-Year-Old Will Spend the Next 25 Years as a Registered Sex Offender | Florida Action Committee

Thursday, July 30, 2015

New Mexico: Interview with Attorneys Barry Porter and Sheila Lewis

RSOL

GREAT RADIO SHOW IN New Mexico; YOU GOTTA LISTEN!

Everyone is invited to listen to the interview of Barry Porter and Sheila Lewis, attorneys from New Mexico, as they discuss reentry barriers and collateral consequences facing those with felony convictions. The show was aired today on public radio in Santa Fe and is available online at  http://www.santaferadiocafe.org/uncategorized/2015/07/29/sheila-lewis-and-barry-porter/.

The hour-long show covers many topics with an emphasis on:

·        barriers to reentry;
·        lack of housing/employment opportunities;
·        excessive sentencing; and
·        the need to enact legislation that would expunge some arrest records.

Both attorneys discuss Sex Offender Registration in detail and the need to move away from the “one size fits all approach” that is used in New Mexico and most other states. Mr. Porter attended our national conference and mentioned some of what he learned regarding practices in other states. Also, Mr. Porter regularly contributes to our monthly newsletter. In this month’s issue he will respond to a question regarding whether or not a person must admit his crime to be granted parole. 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Fix the Florida Sex Offender Registry


"Sex offenders are not a homogenous group. Not everyone on the list is a child molester, not everyone directly harmed someone and not everyone represents the same level of risk. Lumping everyone into the same basket who may or may not pose a likely risk or even be present in our community is unfair and it impairs a parent’s ability to distinguish the truly dangerous from everyone else.
 
It is time Florida fixed its sex offender registry and removed those who are no longer in the community, no longer dangerous or who never were dangerous in the first place."

Sign the petition for Governor Scott to fix the Sex Offender (for LIFE) Registry here in Florida! Click here to sign! 

 

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Punitive incarcerations drain state coffers | Florida Action Committee

Punitive incarcerations drain state coffers | Florida Action Committee

Miracle Village gets more national attention. | Florida Action Committee

Miracle Village gets more national attention. | Florida Action Committee

Justice for Zachery Anderson (Indiana) and Fix the Florida Registry Petition

Justice for Zachery Anderson

Parents of Zachary Anderson

Also, don't stop there with the injustice for many that were forced into the same situation! 

Florida couple was convicted for having consensual sex on a public beach

"Sex offenders are not a homogenous group. Not everyone on the list is a child molester, not everyone directly harmed someone and not everyone represents the same level of risk. Lumping everyone into the same basket who may or may not pose a likely risk or even be present in our community is unfair and it impairs a parent’s ability to distinguish the truly dangerous from everyone else.
 
It is time Florida fixed its sex offender registry and removed those who are no longer in the community, no longer dangerous or who never were dangerous in the first place."

Sign the petition for Governor Scott to fix the LIFE registry here in Florida! Click here to sign!

Ex-Supreme Court Chief Tapped To Oversee Sex Offender Case « CBS Minnesota

Ex-Supreme Court Chief Tapped To Oversee Sex Offender Case « CBS Minnesota

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Advancing Advocacy: Analysis, Research and Advocacy

Advancing Advocacy: Analysis, Research and Advocacy

July 28, 2015

Dr. Jill Levenson will discuss recent research about recidivism and implications for SORN laws. As well, she will discuss tips for advocates to convey messaging in a way that is understandable and persuasive to stakeholders. Come prepared to ask questions about policy analysis, research, and advocacy.

Dr. Levenson is currently an Associate Professor of Social Work at Barry University in Miami, FL. Prior to coming to Barry, she served on the faculty of Lynn University's College of Arts and Sciences from 2004-2014, and on the faculty of FIU School of Social Work from 1999-2004. She is also a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience with interpersonal violence and trauma-related disorders. Dr. Levenson’s primary area of research involves studying the impact and effectiveness of social policies and therapeutic interventions designed to reduce sexual violence. She has been a co-investigator or consultant on five grants funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Most recently, her research endeavors have focused on the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences and their influence on adult health, mental health, and criminal outcomes. She has published over eighty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has co-authored three books on the treatment of sex offenders and their families. She is well-known as an international expert on sexual aggression and is frequently quoted in the media.

Court backs sex offender ordinance in Palm Bay, but WAIT....

Court backs sex offender ordinance in Palm Bay

WAIT!...

I think that should read " Court Backs Sex Offender in UNCONSTITUTIONAL Palm Bay ordinance.


(I love how the media has turned this suit around and the latest's news is spinning it as though he lost. Unreal.)

Here's the truth that the MEDIA didn't say..

FindLaw's District Court of Appeal of Florida case and opinions.

"Comments: Editor's Comment: Ordinances like the one involved in this case arbitrarily and capriciously adversely impact those convicted of a wide variety of laws governing sexually related activities from exposure to pedophilia and basically prevent those subject to them from living almost any where in many cities. " 

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

Above comment is from: http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?s=FL&d=80324 

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpufistrict Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fifth District.

John DOE I, Appellant, v. CITY OF PALM BAY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D13–3876.

    Decided: July 17, 2015

- See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1708037.html#sthash.e4Iw2Uwg.dpuf

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Here’s an IUD–but wait! You can’t have sex yet! | Florida Action Committee

Here’s an IUD–but wait! You can’t have sex yet! | Florida Action Committee

FAC to take on “Internet Identifiers” with lawsuit | Florida Action Committee

FAC to take on “Internet Identifiers” with lawsuit | Florida Action Committee

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts - July 14, 2015


NBC2 Investigation: The sex offender 1,000-foot rule [WITH FAC COMMENTS]


July 14, 2015
1,000 feet is 1,000 feet, right?  Apparently not when measuring how far away sex offenders can live from parks and schools.  An NBC2 investigation uncovers differences in the way...
Read More »

Much needed registry reform and what you can do…

July 13, 2015
Over the past couple of days the story of Matt Gaetz (son of Don Gaetz who coined the “scorched earth for sex offenders” phrase) called in to a Sirius XM talk show on politics...
Read More »

‘Matt from Fort Walton Beach’ says state may tweak sex-offender law

July 13, 2015
TALLAHASSEE - Florida legislators might consider tweaking the state’s sex-offender law after the prosecution of a couple seen having a midday romp on the beach, radio talk-show...
Read More »

Sex-on-the-beach conviction spurs talk of tweaking Florida sex offender laws

July 10, 2015
Florida legislators might consider tweaking the state’s sex-offender law after the prosecution of a couple seen having a midday romp on the beach, radio talk-show caller “Matt...
Read More »

From CA: Have Sex-Offender Registries Gone Too Far?

July 10, 2015
Public Radio in California broadcast a story on sex offender registration. It's nice to be getting lots of news coverage on this debate and it's great that the recurring theme...
Read More »


Italian Media Outlet Reports on Injustices in Florida


July 9, 2015
The following is a translation of a story that appeared in Corriere, an Italian Media Outlet. The original story was in Italian and highlights the (mis)treatment of Sex Offenders...
Read More »

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Requesting stories or contact information for a Romeo (and Juliet) on the registry

A prominent reporter is requesting links to stories or contact information for anyone who has a story about a "Romeo" who was put on a sex offender registry. 

Please send either link or contact info to one.to.see.change@gmail.com, or I can forward the person's email asking for this information. 

(All information sent to me will be remain confidential)

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

From Canada: Parents fight to get their 19-year-old son off Indiana’s sex offender registry | Florida Action Committee

From Canada: Parents fight to get their 19-year-old son off Indiana’s sex offender registry | Florida Action Committee

FAC Change.org Petition | Florida Action Committee

FAC Change.org Petition | Florida Action Committee

Second Elkhart family fights to get son off sex offender registry | Florida Action Committee

Second Elkhart family fights to get son off sex offender registry | Florida Action Committee

The Second Class Citizen | Florida Action Committee

The Second Class Citizen | Florida Action Committee

How Law Enforcement Gets Away With It. | Florida Action Committee

How Law Enforcement Gets Away With It. | Florida Action Committee

FBI agents search Subway spokesman Jared Fogle’s home

Raid comes after Jared Foundation executive’s arrest on child pornography charges

http://news.yahoo.com/subway-jared-fbi-raid-home-154836815.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma#

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Do You Need Help?

Reposted from http://floridaactioncommittee.org/

"If you feel you are a victim to Florida's broad and aggressive sex offender issues and policies, please fill out our case consideration form so that we can assist you in your time of need."

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts - July 7, 2015

The heat is turned up (one hopes) against sex offender registry statutes

July 7, 2015
As I’ve noted a number of times here on the VC (most recently here) I’ve gotten involved over the last few years in a series of constitutional challenges to various State “sex...
Read More »

 

Advocates on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show

July 7, 2015
For those who were unable to catch the live show, today's Diane Rehm show can be listened to here:...
Read More »

 

9 Investigates uncovers proposed plan to make sex offenders pay yearly fee

July 7, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. — Sheriff's offices all over central Florida spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to keep tabs on sex offenders. But 9 Investigates uncovered one state has a...
Read More »

 

Florida man convicted of having sex on beach sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

July 6, 2015
Jose Caballero, one half of the "sex on the beach" case, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison today. The incarcerative sentence is one thing, but he and his girlfriend...
Read More »

 

NPR to address Sex Offender Registries

July 6, 2015
Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show (10AM EST) on NPR, the topic will be Sex Offender Registry Reform....
Read More »

 

Great Article in NYT: Teenager’s Jailing Brings a Call to Fix Sex Offender Registries

July 6, 2015
ELKHART, Ind. — Until one day in December, Zachery Anderson was a typical 19-year-old in a small Midwestern city. He studied computer science at the local community college. He...
Read More »

 

Area communities tighten their grip on sex offenders [WITH FAC COMMENTS]

July 6, 2015
Off U.S. 27 and just east of the Williston city limits sits a quiet, rural neighborhood of manufactured homes on tree-lined streets. The rigid, vinyl-sided homes are surrounded...
Read More »

Friday, July 3, 2015

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts - July 3, 2015

Trying to keep us down

July 3, 2015
Here's an interesting story that came out today from Orange County. A registrant is arrested for not providing his email address and other information, but that information was...
Read More »

 

Woman appeals prostitution case, sex offender label

July 3, 2015
DAYTON — A Kettering woman convicted of promoting prostitution and labeled a sex offender after she drove a friend to what turned out to be a prostitution sting was granted...
Read More »


 

More Teachers and Police Officers Getting Arrested


July 3, 2015
The proof that current sex offender management schemes are not working and more focus and resources need to be allocated to PREVENTION rather than punishment; still more teachers...
Read More »

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Article by The Zoo Cage Prophet "Labels" by Adrian Torres

Found this article on line the other day and thought it worthy of repost: http://www.friendsofadrian.com/cms/index.php/blog/153-labels 


The Zoo Cage Prophet
Labels by Adrian Torres


"The labels came off these." The store manager held up two cans of roast beef. "They are not old or expired. The labels came off, that's all."
 
I was a bit suspicious, but I only had $8 to spend (my monthly earnings for working 150 hours) and I wasn't going to debate the person who knew her product. "Okay, I'll take them," I said to her. I also added two packs of Peanut M&Ms and a bag of refried beans (dehydrated.)
 
I walked off excited, thinking about the wonderful roast beef I would be enjoying that night. And to go with it, a nice-sized helping of beans. For dessert, M&Ms.
 
At night I took out one of the unlabeled cans and heated it up in my hot pot. I prepared the beans by adding 3 jalapenos (sliced in wheels) and 7 yellow hot chiles. (What? I’m Mexican.) I opened a pack of M&Ms as I waited.
 
About 15 minutes later I removed the very hot can out of the boiling water and prepared it to be opened. My mouth watered just thinking about the delicious roast beef that waited inside.
 
I took the can opener and clamped it onto the lip of the can. My mouth now watered even more. The can opener’s one claw pierced violently into the lid, causing it to bleed out the juices that were trapped inside.
 
Seeing the juices bleed onto my fingers brought of tsunami of saliva in my mouth. I felt rabid. Animal-like. Very Fred Flintsone-ish. So I cranked the can opener even harder. Even more hot juices majestically flowed down my fingers. Such a beautiful mess.
 
Too much of the can's nectar was on my fingers, so I paused the cranking to lick them.
 
Strange. It didn't taste like roast beef juice. So I took another – but slower – taste. Yup, it wasn't roast beef but beef stew. My mouth went dry.
 
I finished opening the can and confirmed what my taste buds were telling me. What a letdown.
 
I don't dislike beef stew; it's just that I had my heart set on enjoying roast beef. I still ate the beef stew with thanksgiving, but it wasn't the same. Even my heat-packed beans felt bland.
 
Labels on cans are important. I've learned my lesson. I'll never buy unlabeled cans again.
 
Labels are good for many things, like for organizations. Clothing. Gas or diesel. Men's and Women's restrooms. Labels are good, but not on people. Labeling people is very hurtful.
 
When we label, we judge, and make ourselves better than those we label. If the label is ugly enough, it causes the "labelee" to be boxed in.
 
As an inmate I have been labeled many things by staff – by other inmates – by society – and even by my own family. The worst label, however, is that which is placed on inmates the minute they are sentenced. Murderer. Molester. Rapist. Thief. This is the label you are known by from that day forward. A label one can't remove. 

This is the label other inmates use to judge who you are. Eventually this label causes separation, hate, depression, and violence. This is one of the reasons prisons are so full of hate – because some crimes – sins – are viewed more favorably than others.
 
The night of my Mystery-can Surprise, after eating my beef stew, I sat on my bunk (yes, while eating my second pack of M&Ms) thinking how Jesus hung around a whole bunch of labeled people. He purposely befriended tax collectors and sinners, two groups with the ugliest and lowest labels in His day. Yet He publicly was seen with them and never really cared what others thought.
 
The Pharisees did their best to discredit Yeshua by pointing out how He hung out and ate with them. But what the Pharisees didn't care to understand was that Yeshua left heaven to find, and dine with, the lost – the labeled. It wasn't a surprise to Him. Yeshua knew and expected others to judge Him for his actions. Yet He continued anyway.
 
He wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with the outcasts. He purposely embraced them to change their labels from "Sinners" to "Saved."
 
I wonder how many of us are purposely staying away from the labeled? Not wanting to be affiliated with the outcasts? Shying away for the sake of our reputations? If we are to be like Jesus, and are His disciples, why aren't we seeking the labeled?
 
You probably know someone, or have heard of, a labeled person to whom you could actively reach out, yet you don't. Why not? Are you better than he is?
 
Let's not forget that we too had the "Sinner" label on us. Yet Yeshua tore it off and graced us with a new label, sealed by His Holy Spirit, that reads "Saved."
 
There are many labeled souls out there who are waiting for your non-judgmental love.


... sticking to cans with labels ...    Adrian G. Torres
  
(Adrian's book "The Walls Talk" is available on online on Amazon and other dealers: ISBN 1495391000)

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.”