Families of SOs Community Group
WE HAVE MOVED!!! ............................. ............................... ......................... ............................ ............................. .......................... HERE: http://support-for-families.boards.net ............. ................ ............... ................ ............................... .................Please create a profile...
http://kfor.com/2014/05/13/thousands-come-off-sex-offender-list-months-after-new-law/
A new law took thousands off the sex offender registry.
Exposing yourself near a playground, urinating in public or peeping in a bathroom stall are just some of the actions that have landed thousands of people on the sex offender registry.
Now many of those names are disappearing from the list.
“If you were to slap a woman on the behind, that would be sexual battery and you would have to register for 15 years and that has nothing to do with children on the playground,” said attorney David Slane. “People who urinated in public or fall under what we call the Romeo and Juliet situation, where the young man may have been just a little bit older than the girl or vice versa. They’re the ones typically being removed.”
Slane said he’s taken on over 400 sex offender cases, more than anyone else in the state.
In many situations the offenders were on the list way past their punishment because the laws kept changing.
“They’ve had a number of changes or revisions of sex offender registration act over the last ten or 15 years and the court said those later laws could not apply retroactively,” said Jerry Massey spokesperson for the Department of Corrections (DOC).
Out of the 2,400 now off the list, Slane said most are level one or level two offenders which does not include those who committed violent and heinous sex crimes.
He also said under the new law a judge is able to decide a punishment on a case by case basis and not paint all offenders with a wide brush.
Slane said, “The more serious cases are the one we should spend our resources on, not someone who urinated in public.”
DOC officials say they still have another 2,700 cases to review to see if there are more offenders who are eligible to come off the list based on the new law.
Dave in the Philippines
A new law took thousands off the sex offender registry.
Exposing yourself near a playground, urinating in public or peeping in a bathroom stall are just some of the actions that have landed thousands of people on the sex offender registry.
Now many of those names are disappearing from the list.
“If you were to slap a woman on the behind, that would be sexual battery and you would have to register for 15 years and that has nothing to do with children on the playground,” said attorney David Slane. “People who urinated in public or fall under what we call the Romeo and Juliet situation, where the young man may have been just a little bit older than the girl or vice versa. They’re the ones typically being removed.”
Slane said he’s taken on over 400 sex offender cases, more than anyone else in the state.
In many situations the offenders were on the list way past their punishment because the laws kept changing.
“They’ve had a number of changes or revisions of sex offender registration act over the last ten or 15 years and the court said those later laws could not apply retroactively,” said Jerry Massey spokesperson for the Department of Corrections (DOC).
Out of the 2,400 now off the list, Slane said most are level one or level two offenders which does not include those who committed violent and heinous sex crimes.
He also said under the new law a judge is able to decide a punishment on a case by case basis and not paint all offenders with a wide brush.
Slane said, “The more serious cases are the one we should spend our resources on, not someone who urinated in public.”
DOC officials say they still have another 2,700 cases to review to see if there are more offenders who are eligible to come off the list based on the new law.
Dave in the Philippines
I'm in PA too, so I'm surprised at the lifetime for your hubby Faery. My son got 15 years.
Looking at the registry I see some offenses listed that are suppose to be tier one offenses listed as tier two offenses often. That tier system is all over the place nuts and far from a perfect system.
My RSOL in my state isn't very good either and I sometimes think people that are contact people for the state often shouldn't be. The worst thing anyone can do if they want to encourage people to join a cause is to ignore them and sadley that's often the case.
People often claim to be experts regarding the registry and if my being on the registry for as long as I have been has taught me anything it's taught me nothing works right regarding the registry and it follows very few rules even when they are so called laws.
My state is pushing to make johns picking up prostitutes a tier two offense because they have associated prostitution with sex trafficking and although they say it's a serious problem I really wonder if it's true or a government lie. if LE caught the so called individual that was basically kidnapped they already have a law for that and kidnapping is a life offense so punishing a guy that picks up a consenting adult that usually is trying to support a family or addiction problem and treating him like he's in the human trafficking business when he's not seems really irresponsible. It seems like LE would question the prositute better to find out if she was kidnapped and forced into prostitution then go after the guy accordingly.
I have spoken to many guys registering that committed indecent exposure and end up getting charged as a sexually delinquent person so the original misdemeanor charge becomes a tier three lifetime registratration offense.
If CA implements a tier system, hubby will be classified as a tier 2. The devil will be in the details, if/when it's passed, but for now, I see it as a positive thing.
I know Frank was the head of the PA RSOL but it all just fell apart.
Besides, a crying mother is always the best advocate. That's what started this whole mess!
faerydark, don't know how to help you now. I was going to suggest W.A.R. as well, that was my advice. If you send me a PM, maybe I can bump it up to another level. Folks, we have a turnover issue at RSOL. Actually, in the entire movement, I don't like it, but there it is. Our movement is so complacent, so fractured and divided. We spend more time arguing between ourselves as opposed to the opposition. It's a wonder we get anything done ourselves. Every organization (the ones that are actually active that is), every group, chapter, and individuals all are running around in circles, saying different things about what should happen. With that said, there's not enough people joining or helping with finances to really make progress.Were not presenting a united front to the opposition. We need strength, numbers, and resources, or it's going to take forever,
Anyway, the problems for PA is a known issue. Funny though, I'm hearing peoples names brought up and I have NO idea who they are. I believe the people here, not saying that, just I'm sort of in the dark as to who fills what position and what's their status.
I'll help as I can folks.
Dave in the Philippines
The tier system is terribly broken and a false hope I believe. I am due to come off the registry soon because I'm a tier two offender that was legally suppose to be a tier one offender. I have had this tier system changed four times in almost two decades now. Originally I was ten years on the registry then it changed to life. Then to twenty five years now that I'm nearly done with my time now a politician is trying to change it again to life. A movement to make all tier two offenders lifetime registrants once again.
I also was forced to agree to pay a one time fee of $50 and sign a contract agreeing. Then nearly two decades later forced to sign another agreement of $50 a year and now the same politicians trying to get tier two offenders to register for life think families should be paying $100 a year for a registry that is suppose to be federally funded. They don't honor contracts!
I'm glad Janice is making positive headway and winning because so few people are winning any kind of reform at any type of level. Educating the masses only can happen if the masses want to be educated and I don't see the masses getting smarter they actually seem to be getting more stupid if that's even possible because they are close to caveman now grunting... "Kill the sex offenders and family! Hurt the sex offenders children."
The tier levels in most states do not accurately place registrants where they should be because the classification is done according to the crime only and there is no individual assessment done.
A person who molested a child 30 years ago may have rebuilt his life. He has gotten older, which makes him less a risk than he was 30 years ago. He may have gotten help for any drug habit or alcohol habit he had back then and is now sober. He may now have a family with a wife and children and decent job---steady employment at the same job for several years.
Age, substance abuse, family stability, and employment are all known factors which determine if a person might reoffend---they are all risk factors.
Yet they want to pass laws such as residence restrictions and so on to destabilize the guy who molested the child 30 years ago. How does destabilizing anyone and making them more likely to reoffend make sense? Well, it doesn't.
But what happens? The state looks at the 30 year old crime, bases his classification on that incident only, and places him in tier 3.
On the other hand, you might have someone who downloaded child porn being placed on tier 1. Yet, they have several criminal convictions for crimes other than sex offenses, they only work sporadically, they are divorced and picking up women at bars is as close as a relationship as they will ever have.
They have no family and their life is full of instabilities.
But what happens? Because his classification crime was a non contact crime of possession of child porn, he is classified as a tier 1.
Who do you think is more likely to reoffend? Using common sense who is more dangerous?
Unfortunately, since the registry is a political animal and is not based on any scientific studies----or hell, even common sense-----it is too expensive and too much work to classify people the correct way using the methods that are the most accurate.
In Oklahoma, over 70% of the people wound up on tier 3. Tier 3 is reserved for the predators, the worst of the worst, those likely to reoffend. Do you really think that 70% + of the registrants in Oklahoma---or any state for that matter----are predators and so dangerous that they need to check in and register every 90 days for the rest of their life?
Registration is the only example in which a person can get MORE dangerous as times goes on even though he has not committed a crime in that period. When I first began registering in 2000, I was just a sex offender. In 2007, when they implemented the tier level, all of a sudden I became a tier 3 level reserved for predators and perverts. I had committed no crime since my release from prison----hell, I was not even guilty in the first place---but my risk level to reoffend went up drastically.
As I said, the registry is a political football that politicians kick around when it comes time for re-election. I don't believe we should even have a registry, but if they must have one and put people on "lists" then they should at least have the wisdom to make it efficient.
Once these laws have been passed and the politicians have received all the "political mileage" from these laws----which is their main goal to begin with---- they don't really care about how or why they work.
But wisdom and common sense go out the window when it comes to any sex offender legislation, so the registry will probably never be fixed.
rewdiazepam
Most of the rapists/child kidnappers/serial child molesters were career criminals who had no steady job, no family stability, and a long history of crime.
They were lifelong petty criminals who just decided to molest or kill a child one day. They were career criminals who became sex offenders, NOT sex offenders who became criminals.
John Couey who raped and killed Jessica Lunsford, Richard Allen Davis who abducted and killed Polly Klaas, Phillip Garido who abducted Jaycee Dugard and held her captive for two decades, and Brian Mitchell who kidnapped and raped Elizabeth Smart all have a couple of things in common.
They all lived a life of great instability with no home, no job, no family to speak of, and they had a long history of crime dating back to when they were very young men.
It is no coincidence that these guys have that commonality. Instability is a risk factor in dealing with sex offenses and the propensity to reoffend. Yet, our politicians want to enact new laws and modify the registry which leads to more even more instability among the registrants.
This makes no sense and nothing good will ever come from destabilizing these guys.
rewdiazepam
One issue with the PA RSOL and it's probably why they're not doing anything as well, is they want to hide and not be visible. I suggested a few things.. and I probably complained that nothing was done and the main woman in charge got pissed off because she thought I wanted to take over. I didn't. but I have ideas. I was kicked out right away. I was misunderstood. It happened in Floriduh too. I'm a fan of Gail and FAC. but I'm not a good soldier and I want to be very active.
There are a lot of politics in these groups and someone's idea of what to do is different than someone else's. It's not easy and so people leave and a lot of the RSOL are left so bare bones they're overwhelmed.
I never hold a grudge, in fact I don't get mad. I still would be part of the PA RSOL but they're not so forgiving. I feel I've been misjudged just like others misjudge our loved SOs.
Faery.. yes, I understand. It's based on nothing that could be proven or disproven. That sucks. sorry.
Didn't feel left out. In fact, I think you would be great as the PA RSOL Rep. Like I said, "crying mothers".
If you go for it, I will help as much as I can. As for unforgiving, I've worked well in the past with people I personally couldn't stand. They need to get over it and put someone there who is willing to do something.
Dave,
How do you feel about this? You seem to have some contacts at RSOL.
Nak, are you willing to be a representative for WAR in PA? Maybe contact Vicki Henry about the possibility.