Families of SOs Community Group
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From Brenda Jones, director of FAIR Maryland,
As most of you know, we have several hundred people being removed from the registry thanks to the recent Doe v DPSCS decision here in Maryland. I have had several members notify me when they come off, and report how they have found a private place to go and cry for a while. For many, it has been decades. I wanted to share the post below from a member who has had NO problem with giving his registry office grief at every opportunity (think passive resistance - and at least one lawsuit). He was expecting eventually to come off the list as a result of the ruling, but as the state has been taking its sweet time, Registration Day came around for him and he had to make a decision: Deliberately not register, in defiance, or go ahead and go? I'll let him pick the story up from there.
Brenda Jones, Executive Director
Families Advocating Intelligent Registries
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 1:25 AM
Most will remember how I was struggling last month with the thought of re-registering again even though I am in the #1 group to come off after the Doe decision and am still expected to go through all this even months after the court's decision was final. I couldn't bring myself to phone in to setup an appointment as I've always done. But it was a beautiful morning today, and I just hopped on my bike and rode over there unannounced. I wasn't angry or frustrated. Sorta like taking an aspirin, I just decided to take a big swallow and put it down with as little thought as I could manage. The last thing I did before going in the door was check the registry from my phone just to be sure I still needed to do it, and I did. So that much was certain. The count was 251 [in his county].
They know that I am active in FAIR, it seems, so they went into all this detail with me about what they were doing to manage the ex post facto cases. I wasn't even the one to bring it up. I guess they figure correctly I will be back here reporting to you. At least they are that smart. I wasn't being sarcastic. I just responded matter-of-factly that I couldn't tell much had gone on because the count had gone down less than 15 in this county over several months. They both said, oh no, there's a lot more than that who've come off. Still being friendly I told them the count was 251 when I came in the door compared to 265 two months ago when the law passed. If they had 20 minutes plus time for me to go home to get my laptop, I could name them which ones.
The woman explained we would be getting green postcards thru certified mail and it is important to sign the certification or else it would come back to them and delay the process. Only after we follow the directions on the card can they finish the process to remove our names from the online registry. I didn't bother bringing up that none of that coincided with anything I've heard from members here. What goes on between us here is never any of their business. She showed me one of the cards and said, I've got a bunch of them right here. And that seems to answer the next question why so few of them have made it to the post office.
I told her I would just patiently wait for the green card and follow the directions when it came. I've waited this long and wouldn't start stirring the pot now. I'm sure you're doing your best with what they give you, I said. They both smiled in relief, briefly. I'm not actually known for patience or good spirits I presume.
I said, I really just have one question: Has anyone in the last couple weeks reported back that your officer made any attempt to open their doors or slip into their homes unnoticed?
What?
I was standing right there in the kitchen last week when he showed up. I heard him open the security door first. Then I could hear him grip the door knob and give the door a couple pushes as he tried to twist the knob on the main door. Of course it was locked. I have a security door on the outside that appears to be a storm door. My mother's health is fragile, and I've taken to leaving the security door unlocked in case of an emergency so as not to slow down emergency responders. But I don't leave the main door open too. They just have to break that one down or hope the neighbor gets there in time with the key. I also have a doorbell. Anyone who is really a visitor has no need to open either door. They ring the bell.
Strictly speaking, it's illegal for anyone to just walk up to a house and start opening doors, even if they are unlocked. Also considering recent matters, your officers are on the thinnest ice to explain being out at my house at all. So I wanted to know if anyone else reported anything like this.
The guy said, well, I've been to your house once or twice and remember the outer door. There could be some explanation why he opened that to knock on the inside door.
I told him that's the simple beauty of an eyewitness. I can just call it however I actually see it. If that adds up to attempted housebreaking in my eyes...
He mumbled something that sounded like "blowfish" that I wasn't supposed to hear.
Then the woman broke back in and asked me to tell her exactly what happened. I said I'd be glad to send her a copy of my report to the court when I file it, and that will be in all the excruciating detail that I can manage. Since I have filed criminal complaints against her boss the sheriff in the past, this received a sincere silence. She thanked me and said if I end up off the registry before the next meeting in December that she hopes I have a great life ahead. That was genuine and I thanked them both.
It was a noticeably beautiful day on the way out of there. I rode the bike a few miles down route 40 to Clear Spring and back before going home. It's a ride I'll remember for a long time. When I'm at work in the evenings I have gotten into the habit of checking the registry for Washington County from my phone every night during my dinner break. Tonight the count was 250; down 1. My record was missing. It appears that things can and do move faster than the green cards process after all. Remembering Walter Cronkite: America, that is how it was.
Dave in the Philippines
As most of you know, we have several hundred people being removed from the registry thanks to the recent Doe v DPSCS decision here in Maryland. I have had several members notify me when they come off, and report how they have found a private place to go and cry for a while. For many, it has been decades. I wanted to share the post below from a member who has had NO problem with giving his registry office grief at every opportunity (think passive resistance - and at least one lawsuit). He was expecting eventually to come off the list as a result of the ruling, but as the state has been taking its sweet time, Registration Day came around for him and he had to make a decision: Deliberately not register, in defiance, or go ahead and go? I'll let him pick the story up from there.
Brenda Jones, Executive Director
Families Advocating Intelligent Registries
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 1:25 AM
Most will remember how I was struggling last month with the thought of re-registering again even though I am in the #1 group to come off after the Doe decision and am still expected to go through all this even months after the court's decision was final. I couldn't bring myself to phone in to setup an appointment as I've always done. But it was a beautiful morning today, and I just hopped on my bike and rode over there unannounced. I wasn't angry or frustrated. Sorta like taking an aspirin, I just decided to take a big swallow and put it down with as little thought as I could manage. The last thing I did before going in the door was check the registry from my phone just to be sure I still needed to do it, and I did. So that much was certain. The count was 251 [in his county].
They know that I am active in FAIR, it seems, so they went into all this detail with me about what they were doing to manage the ex post facto cases. I wasn't even the one to bring it up. I guess they figure correctly I will be back here reporting to you. At least they are that smart. I wasn't being sarcastic. I just responded matter-of-factly that I couldn't tell much had gone on because the count had gone down less than 15 in this county over several months. They both said, oh no, there's a lot more than that who've come off. Still being friendly I told them the count was 251 when I came in the door compared to 265 two months ago when the law passed. If they had 20 minutes plus time for me to go home to get my laptop, I could name them which ones.
The woman explained we would be getting green postcards thru certified mail and it is important to sign the certification or else it would come back to them and delay the process. Only after we follow the directions on the card can they finish the process to remove our names from the online registry. I didn't bother bringing up that none of that coincided with anything I've heard from members here. What goes on between us here is never any of their business. She showed me one of the cards and said, I've got a bunch of them right here. And that seems to answer the next question why so few of them have made it to the post office.
I told her I would just patiently wait for the green card and follow the directions when it came. I've waited this long and wouldn't start stirring the pot now. I'm sure you're doing your best with what they give you, I said. They both smiled in relief, briefly. I'm not actually known for patience or good spirits I presume.
I said, I really just have one question: Has anyone in the last couple weeks reported back that your officer made any attempt to open their doors or slip into their homes unnoticed?
What?
I was standing right there in the kitchen last week when he showed up. I heard him open the security door first. Then I could hear him grip the door knob and give the door a couple pushes as he tried to twist the knob on the main door. Of course it was locked. I have a security door on the outside that appears to be a storm door. My mother's health is fragile, and I've taken to leaving the security door unlocked in case of an emergency so as not to slow down emergency responders. But I don't leave the main door open too. They just have to break that one down or hope the neighbor gets there in time with the key. I also have a doorbell. Anyone who is really a visitor has no need to open either door. They ring the bell.
Strictly speaking, it's illegal for anyone to just walk up to a house and start opening doors, even if they are unlocked. Also considering recent matters, your officers are on the thinnest ice to explain being out at my house at all. So I wanted to know if anyone else reported anything like this.
The guy said, well, I've been to your house once or twice and remember the outer door. There could be some explanation why he opened that to knock on the inside door.
I told him that's the simple beauty of an eyewitness. I can just call it however I actually see it. If that adds up to attempted housebreaking in my eyes...
He mumbled something that sounded like "blowfish" that I wasn't supposed to hear.
Then the woman broke back in and asked me to tell her exactly what happened. I said I'd be glad to send her a copy of my report to the court when I file it, and that will be in all the excruciating detail that I can manage. Since I have filed criminal complaints against her boss the sheriff in the past, this received a sincere silence. She thanked me and said if I end up off the registry before the next meeting in December that she hopes I have a great life ahead. That was genuine and I thanked them both.
It was a noticeably beautiful day on the way out of there. I rode the bike a few miles down route 40 to Clear Spring and back before going home. It's a ride I'll remember for a long time. When I'm at work in the evenings I have gotten into the habit of checking the registry for Washington County from my phone every night during my dinner break. Tonight the count was 250; down 1. My record was missing. It appears that things can and do move faster than the green cards process after all. Remembering Walter Cronkite: America, that is how it was.
Dave in the Philippines
My fight's in California, and I'm still living here in the Philippines.
It is nice to see folks coming off though!
Dave in the Philippines
That is becasue the whole after sentence is completed part is deemed civil control - once it is punitive they cannot impose it on people that it was not part of the sentence or plea deal. And once it is considered punitive across the board then everyone that is already a SO the laws would now be ex post facto - does that make any sense? Here is the thing - all the ex post facto people getting off the registry (thank goodness) is based on the recognition that the registry in itself is punitive. If it is punitive for one group of people it is also punitive across the board. You can not really (except for legal purposes) say that it is only punitive for those adjudicated before AWA - if it is punitive then it is for everyone
Rew set me straight that only the retroactive aspect is in question but to me the whole case points out the punitive nature for everyone.
Of course one way to get around that is start making it criminal as part of the sentence vs. civil.
There are also laws about the punishment fitting the crime but everyone's minds are skewed when it comes to SO since we are all evil goblins out to get everyone. They will twist movement restrictions as appropriate to the crime.
I guess the pessimist in me feels like they'll find a way to twist it all to be legal.
But the optimist is holding her breathe for the KS ruling and watching CA in the hopes that Janice does something truly big and donating money to my states legal fund as they prepare to file suite.