“Two decades after Ohio began labeling sex offenders on a public database and setting restrictions on where they can live, a major overhaul to the law is being proposed that could drop thousands of lower-level offenders off the list.

“Some critics are even calling for doing away with the registry entirely, saying it’s been an expensive effort with little benefit to the public.

tinyurl.com/y7wqrzzv

This is GREAT news. No, all the proposals will not make it into law, but this is a wonderful development and a good start for all offenders and families in Ohio.

People are beginning to realize that parts of the registry are counterproductive and not working. More and more states will follow Ohio’s example and slowly roll back some of these laws that do not allow an offender or his family to live a normal life.

“The Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee — tasked with overhauling Ohio’s criminal code — delivered recommendations to the state Senate last month that they say will save local sheriffs’ departments money on administration while ensuring the most serious offenders are still monitored.

“The committee, in its notes on the changes, says the goal was to give judges more discretion on whether to put low-level offenders on the registry and, “to prioritize registration for those who remain a danger to the community and not to dilute the registry with offenders who no longer remain a danger to reoffend.”

“Ohio currently has more than 17,000 individuals on the sex offender registry. Less than a third are labeled Tier III, the highest tier, meaning they committed crimes like rape of children, sexual battery or murder with sexual motivation.

Opponents of registration have long argued that it does more harm than good to keep those who have served their time from re-integrating into society, and they say the registry unfairly labels people who commit low-level, non-violent crimes.”

“It’s the greatest reform we’ve seen in Ohio since registration originally came to be,” Barb Wright, founder of Families and Individuals for Reform, said of the committee’s report.

Residency restrictions, which currently bar sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or day care, have been a particularly hot button issue and the committee recommends getting rid of them.

“Empirical data shows there is no evidence to support that residency restrictions impact public safety,” the committee’s notes say.

In 2015 state supreme courts in California and Massachusetts struck down local residency laws that cities and counties had imposed. Texas also does not have a statewide residency rule, but numerous cities that enacted limits later withdrew them after challenges from reform groups.

“It poses huge hurdles for offenders, especially in the cities,” Wright said. “There’s literally no place that they can live.”

“The Ohio ACLU called the recommendations an improvement, but said the committee fell far short of the sweeping reforms promised when it was formed by then Senate President Keith Faber.

“Should we have a registry at all?” said ACLU Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels. “We should be having that discussion.”

The 24-member, bi-partisan committee included prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, prison officials and others and met for two years before submitting its final set of recommendations. The plan maintains the current three-tier registration system, but allows for low-level offenders to avoid registration at a judge’s discretion, allows offenders to petition to get off the registry after a set amount of time, and moves some crimes to lower tiers.

The lower tiers have fewer restrictions.

“There’s a lot of consensus that the registry is over-inclusive and then it’s ineffective because of the number of people the sheriffs are required to monitor,” said Jill Beeler, appellate services director for the Ohio Public Defenders Office and a member of the recodification committee.”

“Under the committee’s recommendations, a judge would determine whether Tier I and Tier II offenders need to register.

For Tier II offenders, a group whose crimes include unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, there would be a presumption in favor of registration for 25 years, according to the committee’s report.

Tier I offenders, whose crime categories include voyeurism, would be subject to registration only if a judge deemed them a danger to the community or likely to reoffend.”

“One of the main arguments in favor of registration has been that neighbors should be informed of where sex offenders live because they pose a continued risk to society.

But opponents have long demanded evidence that sex offenders re-offend more often than convicted criminals. It’s not clear that they do.

A comprehensive Department of Justice study from the late 1990s found that within three years of prison release, 5.3 percent of sex offenders were rearrested for another sex crime, a higher percentage than the 1.3 percent for non-sex offenders.

But sex offenders were less likely than non-sex offenders to be rearrested for any offense — 43 percent of sex offenders versus 68 percent of non-sex offenders, according to the DOJ report.

The data was collected before Ohio began registering sex offenders in 1997.”

“Another change would allow sex offenders the ability to petition to get off the registry after a certain amount of time.

The petition could be filed after five years for Tier I offenders, 10 years for Tier II and 15 years for Tier III.

A judge would be able to order a risk assessment of the offender and hold a hearing, if necessary, to decide whether to grant or deny the request.”

My dear friends, WE just have to hold it together until some of these changes become law. We are making progress every day at the state level.

Do you see what is happening here? Gradually, state-by-state, they are beginning to question the regulations of the sex offender registry. The reforms are sweeping very slowly, but nevertheless, there is progress.

I know someone will say, “My guy did not commit his crime in Ohio.” He may not have, but the mindset of the authorities is what is important. Someday---I don’t know when----there may well be reforms in YOUR state, so hang on. Loosening these laws will continue on a state to state basis.  The tide is slowly turning and someday will be YOUR day to rejoice.

Best news I have had for a while.

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