Families of SOs Community Group
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An investigation was recently done by the newspaper USA Today involving sex offenders in the federal system http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-13/dangerous-sexual-predators-detained/53621210/1?AID=4992781&PID=4169806&SID=5gubk0xgdgpy
Although the article investigates sex crimes from the civil commitment position, it neverheless presents very chilling details about the mentality of government officials in the "free for all" approach that is taking place across our nation with those convicted of sex crimes.
USA Today is a major national newspaper and its investigation is certain to draw a great deal of light onto the whole sex offender law issues. Unfortunately, the vast majority of comments left by readers shows a great deal of hate, utter ignorance, and many times just plain stupidity about the issues.
I have requested our new state auditor in Missouri to investigate our state's sex offender programs in both our state correctional system and civil commitment center, and I cite the USA Today investigate report to shed light on the government mentality existing.
Every state has a state auditor. It is an invaluable resource to get involved to uncover facts, statistics, government compliance with laws, and overall mentalities existing in government. Their reports then are official records that can be cited to strengthen and further arguments to be made.
For myself personally - the USA Today investigative report is a God send. Extremely little attention is given to the issues existing in civil commitments, which are effectively a death sentence for those forced into such because all too often once commited they are never released until they are dead.
In 2011, there were two federal lawsuits filed in my state by residents of our civil commitment center. Both suits exposed the fact that state officials have acted with deliberate indifference to providing residents any sort of treatment at all.
This is important because it also exposes the fact that state government officials have been deliberately lying to courts to get people civilly committed and to keep them civilly commited. State officials sell civil commitments to the public and courts on the claim that those commited will be treated. But once they are, state officials then sell the idea of keeping them commited on the claim that they cannot be treated. But these two federal lawsuits exposed the fact state officials have been lying to the public and to courts.
Although the article investigates sex crimes from the civil commitment position, it neverheless presents very chilling details about the mentality of government officials in the "free for all" approach that is taking place across our nation with those convicted of sex crimes.
USA Today is a major national newspaper and its investigation is certain to draw a great deal of light onto the whole sex offender law issues. Unfortunately, the vast majority of comments left by readers shows a great deal of hate, utter ignorance, and many times just plain stupidity about the issues.
I have requested our new state auditor in Missouri to investigate our state's sex offender programs in both our state correctional system and civil commitment center, and I cite the USA Today investigate report to shed light on the government mentality existing.
Every state has a state auditor. It is an invaluable resource to get involved to uncover facts, statistics, government compliance with laws, and overall mentalities existing in government. Their reports then are official records that can be cited to strengthen and further arguments to be made.
For myself personally - the USA Today investigative report is a God send. Extremely little attention is given to the issues existing in civil commitments, which are effectively a death sentence for those forced into such because all too often once commited they are never released until they are dead.
In 2011, there were two federal lawsuits filed in my state by residents of our civil commitment center. Both suits exposed the fact that state officials have acted with deliberate indifference to providing residents any sort of treatment at all.
This is important because it also exposes the fact that state government officials have been deliberately lying to courts to get people civilly committed and to keep them civilly commited. State officials sell civil commitments to the public and courts on the claim that those commited will be treated. But once they are, state officials then sell the idea of keeping them commited on the claim that they cannot be treated. But these two federal lawsuits exposed the fact state officials have been lying to the public and to courts.
When it comes to "organizations" I know in Missouri the only rsol organization we have refuses to take on issues, even those involving sex offender registration, if they deal with people with disabilities, and this is why I declined their invite to join their organization and I told them so.
Likewise, I recently terminated my membership in the organization we have in Missouri that addresses prisoner issues because that organization also refuses to advocate for prisoners with disabilities just as they advocate for prisoners with NO disabilities.
So, I accepted the invite of the NAFI project to list the organization that I first started in 2008 and am now in the process of slowly building again. My focus is only on disability issues as they releate to the cirminal justice and correcitonal systems of government becuase we have absolutely no representation by any other organization in Missouri, and pretty much nationwide.
However, I believe that when organizations and individual people, as well, join forces we are stronger and have a louder voice to be heard. But all too often I see that we are our own worst enemies because we fall prey to the pitfall of only working in the confines of our individual focuses, goals, and agenda's and in doing so tend to shun others.
When I tried to get the symposium going here in Missouri I learned that the issues defeating us are not the sole fault of government and organizaitons on opposing sides but rather our own resistence to work with each other and often times to even communicate with each other, and to deal with all the issues instead of only the popular issues.
As offensive as it is to say, it is like folks only want to deal with issues affecting those perceived to be "normal criminals" and that only "normal sex offenders" should be allowed to live in free society. It is a belief system that disgusts me, but it is one that is deeply rooted in people in this state just as it is deeply rooted in the belief systems elsewhere in our country.
I fully agree that family, friends, and those convicted of crimes need to be educated and often times about what category their situations and complaints fall into, e.g. Double Jeopardy verses cruel and unusual punishment verses violations of the Americans with Disabilies Act.
However, I also know that too many people inherently want to rely on someone else to solve their problems for them rather than stepping up to the plate and helping others help them solve the issues. Moreover, too many people tend to want help but are not willing to help others and it is not necessarily because they don't know how to help. I think that is a convenient excuse that is sometimes used by people to seemingly justify not doing anything to help. It does not take much to write a letter, send an email, or make a phone call and say - hey that is wrong and this is why I believe it is wrong.
I believe that it will only be when we, the indivudal organizations and others involved, ban together that we will finely begin to achieve positive results in solving the issues and we will do so quicker than what is going on now. Politicians base decisions on how many people are flooding their office with complaints, suggestions, and so forth - to them its a numbers game because the more numbers they see the better chance they have of being re-elected.
I do agree that we live in an apathetic society that would rather have someone else do it for them rather than working towards some kind of goal themselves... It is what an entitled society turns into when they rely on the government to do things for them and provide for them rather than working towards it on their own...
Here here to you and your plight in this incarceration nation... Thank you for bringing the disabled issues to the rest of us for the purpose of awareness...