I wanted to post this to give the new folks some hope that the sex offender registration laws are slowly being pushed back in our favor.  I realize that some of your days are dark indeed, but there are rays of sunshine trying to peek through the clouds.

Sometimes hope for a better future is all we really have.

I know it is easy to be so discouraged and lose all hope.  I see the diminished hope on several of the boards I frequent, but trust me, we are making progress.  If you think the registry and the sex offender laws are overly burdensome now, you should have seen them around 2006 or 2007.   Back then we were not winning any court decisions in our favor and legislators continued---year after year---to race to see who could pass the most ridiculous laws against sex offender registrants. 

Now some of the court decisions are going in our favor as judges realize that the sex offender registry is punitive in nature.

So here are some court cases we have won in the last several years.  We will continue to win cases at the state level, so everyone, just hang on.   There is more hope now than ever before that many of these laws someday will be abolished.

I could sit here and talk to you all day about some of the changes taking place in our favor, but rather than me tell you, I have searched my hard drive and found some specific examples------

The link below is to a Sixth Circuit Federal Appeals Court which ruled that portions of the registry for certain people on the Michigan sex offender registry are punitive and possibly unconstitutional. Here are some quotes from that article. Please note that the Sixth Circuit also covers Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, along with Michigan. This was a federal court decision, not a state court decision.

tinyurl.com/jz6ebjk

“Like so many states, Michigan is addicted to punishing sex offenders—not just once, but over and over again, through a series of measures designed to shame, stigmatize, and ostracize even those offenders who have been fully rehabilitated. On Thursday, the application of these laws to a large group of offenders was invalidated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in a vitally important ruling that suggests the judiciary has finally begun to view draconian sex offender laws as the unconstitutional monstrosities they obviously are.”

 If you read the opinion, the Justice or Judge literally excoriated Michigan for the manner in which it was handling its state sex offender registry.

The link below is to a site which explains the Williams decision in Ohio by the Ohio Supreme Court. Here are some excerpts from that page----

“The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today that imposing enhanced sex offender registration and community notification requirements included in the 2007 Ohio Adam Walsh Act (AWA) against defendants whose crimes were committed before the effective date of that law violates Section 28, Article II of the Ohio Constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from enacting retroactive laws.”

The Williams decision resulted in a few thousand registrants being removed from the sex offender registry in Ohio.

tinyurl.com/nogbyo6

This two links below are to articles in which the Maryland sex offender registry was attacked, namely the retroactive implementation of some of its laws. This will not affect many registrants, but it does show that more and more courts now understand that the registry is punitive.

Once the registry is rule punitive, it will most likely die.

tinyurl.com/y8jedel6

tinyurl.com/mqqde5s

“The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) has begun the process of removing 866 Maryland offenders from the state’s Sex Offender Registry (SOR) and is reviewing additional sex offenders registered for offenses that occurred prior to 1995 to determine whether these must also be removed.

“The review is in compliance with a recent ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals that retroactive sex offender registration of those who committed crimes prior to the Oct. 1, 1995 creation of the registry violates the Maryland Constitution.”

The two links below deal with the Starkey decision in Oklahoma, which caused the removal of my name from the sex offender registry.  Again, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that many of the provisions of the Oklahoma sex offedner registry were punitive in nature.

tinyurl.com/y9p2a5sg

“With an eye toward removing potentially hundreds of names from the Oklahoma sex offender registry, the state Dept. of Corrections is reviewing details of more than 7,700 listed sex offenders. The review follows a June 25 state Supreme Court decision that found retroactive application of revised sex-offender registration rules violated a state constitutional provision against ex post facto laws.”

The link below shows the result of the Starkey decision in Oklahoma. Read the red text at the bottom of the page.

tinyurl.com/h2553kn

“Oklahoma Supreme Court Order in Starkey v. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections and Justin Jones as Director

“On June 25, 2013, the Oklahoma Supreme Court entered an Order in Starkey v. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections and Justin Jones as Director, Case No. 109,556. In accordance with the Starkey decision, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is diligently reviewing all registrants on the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry and will be removing offenders that are determined to be subject to the opinion. A Court Order will not be required for removal of offenders that are subject to the holding in the Starkey case. Please allow a reasonable time for this review as there are currently more than 7,000+ offenders on the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry and each one must be reviewed individually.”

As you can see, more registrants are coming off the registry as time passes.

THERE WILL BE MORE AND MORE DECISIONS IN OUR FAVOR AS TIME PASSES, ESPECIALLY AT THE STATE LEVEL.

We are making more progress in our fight for fairness and equality than we ever have. Most newbies do not realize this as they never experienced the dark days a decade ago. Yes, sometimes we make three steps forward and then are thrown two steps back, but we are making progress.

I fully understand that you are hurting emotionally and your pain does not allow you to see anything but the bad things that have happened. The system has given many of your sons, BFs, and husbands a raw deal and you are just sad beyond belief. But hang on, it will get better.

I really hate it when I see these CP cases---or any case in which there is an injustice---happen to young men. Unfortunately, our criminal justice system has become so politicized that it cannot see these young men as anything but a threat to society. Many of the times I read about these cases, I hear a familiar story.

You are certainly not alone. On at least two forums, wives, GFs, mothers and family members are trying to pick up the pieces after their loved one has been arrested, especially on CP charges. Over at another forum, there are several young ladies really hurting because of these charges.

Everyone just hang in there and God bless you all.

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