Texas Removes Sex Offender Designation From 176 Parolees

Texas Removes Sex Offender Designation From 176 Parolees

Registration fees not listed - please submit your state

Registry Fees Fact GuideBy: Derek Warren Logue
Created: November 2, 2011, Updated Nov. 4, 2011

Latest article on OnceFallen. If your state has registration fees not listed, let Derek know. Unfortunately, some states are harder to collect info from than others.

http://www.oncefallen.com/registryfees.html

"INTRODUCTION

Registration fees are becoming popular in a select growing number of locations. Perhaps the biggest story on this issue in recent memory is the ordinance proposed by the city of Lake Charles, LA, which would have increased yearly registration fees to $600 per year. As of this writing, the law is on hold due to a temporary injunction [1].

Obviously, registry fees and the fear over possible legal trouble for failing to pay fees is a very real concern. Some state laws consider failure to pay registry fees part of the criminal charge of “failure to register [2].” Exacerbating the possibility of arrest for failure to pay fees is due to the fact that registrants have far higher rates of unemployment than the average citizen. In Oklahoma, “nearly 40%” of registrants are considered “unemployed, disabled, or retired
[3]”; Washington State’s unemployment rate for registrants was 25% in 2005, with a 9% rate of homelessness [4].
 

While many locations have these laws, is it constitutional? There have been few stories regarding sex offenders arrested for failing to pay fees, and even fewer court cases addressing the fees. This article will cover the very sparse commentary on this subject."

Tomorrow night, Monday November 7th - Molester Mondays with Bill Blathers

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=113956&cmd=tc

What a great time! Learning to talk to that monster Bill Blathers made me want to scream. However, I kept my composure and let him have it with my suave personality and wit. He would belittle himself with rash, inhumane words but I held steadfast. He wouldn't bring me to his level...a level that judges another because he is afraid of what he doesn't understand. He doesn't know the facts and truths behind this issue at all.

Tomorrow night, Monday November 7th

Tampa Police and U.S. Marshals canvassed the city on Halloween ensuring sex offenders steered clear of trick-or-treaters

My personal opinion - a waste of taxpayers' money and more debt to Florida.

Finally a decorous article with some truth to it. But notice the title of the link below compared to the title of the article. Still lumping them the same. Predators vs sex offenders.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/218303/8/Police-pinpoint-sex-predators-on-Halloween-find-no-tricks

TAMPA, Fla. -- While thousands of kids dressed up to collect treats, police and U.S. Marshals canvassed Tampa to make sure sex offenders weren't playing any tricks.

More than a dozen teams crisscrossed the city to make contact with more than 200 sex offenders and predators. Authorities verified none of them were welcoming trick-or-treaters.

Officer Mike DiStefano and his partner, Officer Paul Triolo, usually know before they even get out of their car if there will problem, just by looking at the outside of the house. "We're looking to see if they have their lights on, if they have any decorations, if they're handing out candy," Officer DiStefano told us.

The pair covered an area north of downtown Tampa, near Ybor City. The neighborhood has one of the largest populations of sex offenders in the Bay area. Still, while 10 News followed them, the officers found no violations.

Most sex offenders seemed familiar with the laws on Halloween. Officer DiStefano asked one offender on Palm Avenue, "You know all the rules right?"

The man responded, "I'm here ain't I? I stay in here, don't answer the door...I ain't crazy. I've been doing this for 6 ½ years."

Once police verified his identity, the man waived goodbye. "Alright guys, y'all have a great day."

Tampa Police and U.S. Marshals credit their constant monitoring of the city's sex offenders with the few problems they find on Halloween.

The Daily Mail > Archives > News > Operation Halloween sheds insight into sex offender parolees

The Daily Mail > Archives > News > Operation Halloween sheds insight into sex offender parolees

Older video but things haven't changed

RSO Blues - By Fenix by ZMan6919

You mean I can vote?!?!” - Arkansas Time After Time (ATAT)

 The question forged to Robert Kim Combs, Executive Director of Arkansas Time After Time (ATAT), came as many do: After the weekly broadcast of "It Could Be You," the talk-radio show he hosts.
 
 The caller, an ex-offender still classified by legal definition as a felon, was amazed and happy to learn from Combs' interview guest -- the internationally esteemed civil rights and criminal defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig -- that here in Arkansas, after release from prison and completion of parole or probation, convicted felons may reclaim the right to vote with a simple trip to the county clerk's office.
 
 A graduate of Princeton University who earned his Juris Doctorate at Southern Methodist University, Rosenzweig started accruing professional gravitas in Little Rock in 1977 and has, since 1989, served as a legislative liaison for the Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (AACDL).
 
 Comprised of many if not most of the defense attorneys in the state, the AACDL, in affiliation with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), works to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crimes or other misconduct.
 
 Under the AACDL banner, Rosenzweig, working together with other preeminent attorneys like Patrick Benca of West Memphis Three acclaim, Didi Sallings, Executive Director of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, various members of Sallings staff and others with AACDL, monitors legislative issues and makes recommendations to elected officials regarding the constitutionality or potential legal ramifications of proposed or enacted laws.
 
 “There are problems particularly dealing with the investigation of these alleged offenses in several ways,” Rosenzweig said about sex crime issues in Arkansas. “One is that a number of investigators, especially in some of the smaller areas, are ill-trained. A second is that a number of these investigations are outsourced to groups like the so-called child advocacy centers which unfortunately are infested with ideologues who are unable to concede that a number of these cases are ill-founded; that they arise from messy divorces or other family antagonisms, or in the case of very young children from literal misunderstandings.
 
 “Consequently,” Rosenzweig continued, “they will tend to find 'crimes' that don't exist and there are several things that are going to need to happen to fix the problem. One is that you're going to have to have somewhat more leadership in DHS and the State Police. You're going to have to require more training than what is being done,” he elaborated. “The idea of outsourcing investigations to private entities is a horrible idea. If there is anything that needs to be done by a governmental agency, it needs to be the investigation of alleged crimes.”
 
 Of particularly problematic concern to Rosenzweig, the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Registry is a 'private' Department of Human Services (DHS) black-list which, once a person's name is on it, can prevent him or her from being employed in occupations which involve routine interactions with children.
 
 While this seems like a good idea, Rosenzweig explained that even when there is no criminal accusation or when the accused is found not guilty or the allegations of sex-crime or child abuse are dropped, DHS can an often does pursue Child Maltreatment Registry proceedings.
 
 Unlike criminal proceedings which play out in a court of law and may, upon conviction, compel registration as a sex offender, “These (DHS) hearings used to be a complete joke,” said Rosenzweig. “But they are better now in some respects,” he added. “And their rulings can be appealed to the circuit court.”
 
 Rosenzweig also discussed how registered sex offenders may, after a period of time stipulated by law, petition to be removed from the sex offender registry, but noted that once a person is on the DHS maltreatment list, it is nearly impossible to get his or her name removed. Thus, Rosenzweig stressed, whenever anyone is accused or suspected of being a perpetrator – no matter if it is by an officer of the law or by a DHS employee and even when they are innocent – they should immediately contact an attorney who is conversant with these issues.
 
 A grassroots legislative advocacy group dedicated to making communities safer and reducing recidivism with effective common-sense laws, Combs said the overarching mission of the volunteer organization he serves and the radio program they produce is to “develop a cooperative sense of community rather than take an adversarial approach among people on the sex-offender registry, victim's advocacy groups and the authorities in the state.”
 
 “It Could Be You” airs weekly, noon to 1pm, on Little Rock's “Voice of the People” KABF, 88.3 FM. An audio recording of Rosenzweig's full radio interview is available online at the ATAT website.
 
 ATAT meets the third Sunday of each month, 2pm to 4pm, in the West Room on the 1st floor of the Main branch of the Central Arkansas Library, 100 Rock St., in downtown Little Rock. Meetings are open to the general public.
 
 For more information, visit www.ArkansasTimeAfterTime.org or contact Robert Kim Combs, executive director, 501-563-2197.
 
 -30-
 
 PDF of this release on ATAT letterhead:
 http://www.arkansastimeaftertime.org/pdf/atat_nwerls_ltrhd110111.pdf
 
 More about “It Could Be You”:
 http://www.arkansastimeaftertime.org/radio/index.htm

The Jessica's Law Nightmare in California: 60 Days Until Eviction

The Jessica's Law Nightmare in California: 60 Days Until Eviction: I have exactly 60 days now to find a new home because the city is building a new park less than 2,000 feet from where I live. A park is gett...

Crackdown on Iowa sex offenders increases costs, not public safety

Crackdown on Iowa sex offenders increases costs, not public safety

My editorial on Halloween Laws - Fallen One

http://once-fallen.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-editorial-on-halloween-laws.html

Monday, October 31, 2011

Below is a brief editorial on Halloween Laws I wrote for a class. Since people stated it was good, I decided to share it here.

I was a child of the 1980s, and like most children, I went trick-or-treating. Outside my own little world, a new era of Predator Panic was forming. Missing children were plastered on the milk cartons in the fridge while local daycare centers were searched for underground tunnels, pentagrams, and literature from the Church of Satan. When we got home, mom and dad would confiscate our bags, and, much to our dismay, some choice candies were taken to “test for poison.”

Like the poison candy and the Satanic Ritual Abuse reports of the 1980s, our current laws targeting sex offenders are based upon urban legends. Much like the claims of high recidivism rates, as mentioned by Blathers, the myths of Halloween being a “sex offender smorgasbord” is based on fear rather than fact.

There are much more real threats to your children on Halloween night than the remote chance of a sex offender targeting your child on Halloween. Recent reports have discovered that traffic accidents with child victims are at their highest during Halloween. Should we ban all cars from driving because they pose a greater threat during Halloween than people on the public registry?

The problem with Halloween laws, as with many sex offender laws, are based upon wrongful assumptions and thus do not work as intended. Halloween laws were created to combat a virtually non-existent threat. After all, there is a definitive lack of reports of sex crimes committed by convicted sex offenders occurring on Halloween. So if in previous years there were no sex crimes committed by registrants, and I pass a new law to ban all registrants from participating on Halloween for this year and no sex crimes were committed by registrants this year, can I assume the laws had any effect on a non-existent problem? I think not.

It is time we as a society look at issues in our society from a rational standpoint and put stop scaring people with urban legends. If a sex crime is to occur on this night, it will be far more likely to occur within the child’s own home by a loved one not on the list. If you are worried about your child’s safety on Halloween night, then go with them, or take them to the many Halloween parties run by local churches or civic groups. And while sifting for those non-existent poisoned candies, try not to be as greedy with the choice candy as your parents were.