Families of SOs Community Group
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All someone needs is a child to accuse them of touching and you spend the rest of your life in prison.
January 17, 2014
House committee approves tougher sex offense bills
1-17-2014 Florida:
Adults who rape children older than 12 would have to serve a minimum of 50 years in prison and more sexual predators would face the potential of civil commitment under two of eight bills related to sexual offenses that a House committee approved Thursday.
Lawmakers in both chambers are hoping to pass legislation this year that would keep the most violent sexual criminals locked up longer — if not for life. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee made that clear as most of the measures it voted on passed without opposition.
They ranged from making a second and subsequent convictions of lewdly exposing genitals a third degree felony to making rape of children over the age 12 a life felony with a minimum of 50 years to be served.
And one lawmaker said even life doesn't go far enough for those who rape the most vulnerable.
"If there was an opportunity for us to give them the death penalty, I would be one for it. I would stand with you, because those particularly individuals do not belong in our community at all," said Rep. Kionne McGhee, a Miami Democrat and a former prosecutor. "We have to punish these sexual offenders and predators. We have to send a message to the rest of the world that we're not playing around with them."
The push for strong laws is inspired in large part by the death of Cherish Perrywinkle, an 8-year-old girl who was abducted in a Jacksonville Wal-Mart. Donald Smith, 56, who has a history of sexual offenses against children, is charged in her death.
One of the bills (PCB 14-06) approved by the committee would make changes to the Jimmy Ryce Act, which became law in 1998 and allows for the civil commitment of violent sexual predators once their prison terms are served. Smith was let out of jail a month before Cherish's murder, but because it was a jail sentence, and not a prison sentence, he was not considered for a review under the Jimmy Ryce Act.
"If this was passed into law last year, a little girl in Jacksonville would be alive today. Someone had slipped through the system and this would tighten that up," said Rep. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast.
The law would add prosecutors to the list of entities that could ask for a civil commitment review. Right now offenders only can be recommended for review by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Children and Families, which runs the civil commitment program. The bill also would allow reviews for offenders who are serving jail time, and not just prison time.
Among other measures approved by the committee is a bill (HB 73) that would ban sex offenders on probation from viewing pornography or any form of sexually stimulating material. Right now state law bans offenders from viewing sexual material that relates to their particular offense. The bill would make an exception for any sexual material approved as part of a treatment program.
Another bill (HB 445) would eliminate the statute of limitations for lewd or lascivious crimes if the victim was younger than 16 at the time it was committed.
People who get caught lewdly exposing their genitals more than once would face a third degree felony instead of a first degree misdemeanor under another bill (HB 161) approved by the committee.
Another bill (PCB 14-03) would require the Department of Corrections to compile recidivism statistics on sexually violent offenders released from civil commitment under the Jimmy Ryce Act.
Sexual predators and offenders would also have to provide law enforcement agencies with any internet usernames they use, as well as information about their passports, immigration status, vehicles they own, and professional licenses when they register as sex offenders under another bill (PCB-14-04) approved Thursday. ..Source.. by BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Reader's Opinion:
January 17, 2014
House committee approves tougher sex offense bills
1-17-2014 Florida:
Adults who rape children older than 12 would have to serve a minimum of 50 years in prison and more sexual predators would face the potential of civil commitment under two of eight bills related to sexual offenses that a House committee approved Thursday.
Lawmakers in both chambers are hoping to pass legislation this year that would keep the most violent sexual criminals locked up longer — if not for life. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee made that clear as most of the measures it voted on passed without opposition.
They ranged from making a second and subsequent convictions of lewdly exposing genitals a third degree felony to making rape of children over the age 12 a life felony with a minimum of 50 years to be served.
And one lawmaker said even life doesn't go far enough for those who rape the most vulnerable.
"If there was an opportunity for us to give them the death penalty, I would be one for it. I would stand with you, because those particularly individuals do not belong in our community at all," said Rep. Kionne McGhee, a Miami Democrat and a former prosecutor. "We have to punish these sexual offenders and predators. We have to send a message to the rest of the world that we're not playing around with them."
The push for strong laws is inspired in large part by the death of Cherish Perrywinkle, an 8-year-old girl who was abducted in a Jacksonville Wal-Mart. Donald Smith, 56, who has a history of sexual offenses against children, is charged in her death.
One of the bills (PCB 14-06) approved by the committee would make changes to the Jimmy Ryce Act, which became law in 1998 and allows for the civil commitment of violent sexual predators once their prison terms are served. Smith was let out of jail a month before Cherish's murder, but because it was a jail sentence, and not a prison sentence, he was not considered for a review under the Jimmy Ryce Act.
"If this was passed into law last year, a little girl in Jacksonville would be alive today. Someone had slipped through the system and this would tighten that up," said Rep. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast.
The law would add prosecutors to the list of entities that could ask for a civil commitment review. Right now offenders only can be recommended for review by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Children and Families, which runs the civil commitment program. The bill also would allow reviews for offenders who are serving jail time, and not just prison time.
Among other measures approved by the committee is a bill (HB 73) that would ban sex offenders on probation from viewing pornography or any form of sexually stimulating material. Right now state law bans offenders from viewing sexual material that relates to their particular offense. The bill would make an exception for any sexual material approved as part of a treatment program.
Another bill (HB 445) would eliminate the statute of limitations for lewd or lascivious crimes if the victim was younger than 16 at the time it was committed.
People who get caught lewdly exposing their genitals more than once would face a third degree felony instead of a first degree misdemeanor under another bill (HB 161) approved by the committee.
Another bill (PCB 14-03) would require the Department of Corrections to compile recidivism statistics on sexually violent offenders released from civil commitment under the Jimmy Ryce Act.
Sexual predators and offenders would also have to provide law enforcement agencies with any internet usernames they use, as well as information about their passports, immigration status, vehicles they own, and professional licenses when they register as sex offenders under another bill (PCB-14-04) approved Thursday. ..Source.. by BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Reader's Opinion:
I dont argue.. this is the reality of it in this point in our culture.
I have to say that I agree with you both... There is the idealistic view that if we all just took things to trial that they would over crowd the prisons that they would have to see the err of their ways... Unfortunately that just takes too long, too many have to fall on their swords to accomplish it and in the end, many would lose their whole lives to try to elicit change? In a perfect world, maybe. Then there is the realism side of things where we look at history and see how things are going in this point in time in our society. Whenever I start thinking idealistically I try to remember this, "those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it." Yeah sometimes it may appear that it isn't the best way to start change, but to make sure change works you have to see what didn't work. For doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insanity... :)
Clogging up the system would be good and bad. First, you would think that the 'powers that be' would see the backlog and maybe not arrest so many people for smaller things.
But.. I doubt that.
I think it would just keep more people in the prisons, innocent people who can't afford bail, waiting for their trial to come up. Years of waiting for your trial to find out if you'll be 'innocent or guilty'.
Ya gotta think these things thru and see what would happen as the result. As Wiconsin says.. History is very telling. Over extension of our government has never been an issue for them. They'll just keep doing what they do. They wouldn't care if someone spends 1 or 10 years in county prison waiting for their trial.
Something similar is happening in Miami-Dade but it's due to the lack of public defenders. The state is dropping cases left and right there because there are too many indigent defendants and the public defender's office is unable to provide representation for all of them. For a while anything less than a felony 2 was automatically dropped by the state.
I can see how an onslaught of cases that needed to be tried would basically shut the system down entirely if done quickly and in enough numbers. Just like any other clog. :)
Nak, look at human history all the way back to the Egyptians and Romans, we are repeating the same humanitarian, civil and legal mistakes that were made back then. The more I read the more I believe that that the RSO cause is similar to the Jews in two different eras. For those that are more up on current events, what happened in Croatia, Albania and all those other countries they change the name of since I was in school. Genocide, persecution of entire sections of people propelled by propaganda and fear. Over and over through out the age of the cro magnum man.
It all boils down to who is in power and who they fear or don't like. "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - Lord Acton
WHERE IN THE BLOODY HELL WERE ALL THE PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THIS?!?!?
I see Gail Colletta. I see Suzonne Kline.
And I saw no one else. You want to know why laws in Florida aren't getting changed. That empty room is a good reason why.
I hate to say this but sometimes these reform groups dont grow because they dont give their mew members respect for what the new member can bring. Theu can be very political
Just like the reform group here in PA which is so afraid of retribution that they are invisible.
Im an avtivist and a lot of the people in these groups are afraid to be activist..they dont want to bring the spot lote to their family member who is an SO.
Its been really frustrating for me.