Welcome to the Florida Action Committee -
- With Unity Comes Change
An Introduction - An Invitation
We are an organization of citizens, concerned about Sex Offender issues and policies in Florida.
Reacting to public hysteria following isolated and heinous events, legislators’ enacted broad reaching, and well-meaning legislation intended to protect the public. Unfortunately it fails to do exactly that. The cost to Florida tax payers is not only millions of dollars annually, but includes profound human collateral damage to families and communities and it also fails to protect our children or our communities, nor does it work towards stopping the cycle of abuse.
Our purpose is to educate the public, our legislators and the media in an effort to correct these inequities and establish an empirically based, rational approach to dealing with sexually related offenses and stop the cycle of abuse.
By providing the courts a mechanism to evaluate risk through the use of risk assessment tools it will enable the courts to differentiate between high risk and low risk offenders. Enabling us to focus our resources where they will be most effective. We will create safer communities, provide a return on investments for tax payers and most importantly work towards stopping the cycle of abuse.
Fact: a large and growing body of research proves current policies are misguided. Perhaps the most critical misconception is that sex offenders are repeat offenders; (most laws are based on this assumption, including GPS monitoring, curfews, and residency restrictions). Statistical analysis conducted by the US Bureau of Justice shows an overall recidivism rate of approximately 5.3%, the lowest of all major categories of crime except murder.
Fact: to isolate a former offender from services, jobs, family and stable housing increases risk for other offenses, such as probation violations.
Another common misconception guiding legislation is the myth of “stranger danger”.
Fact: : According to California’s Department of Justice and other agencies’ over 90% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by relatives or people close to the child, not by strangers and they are first time offenders.
SORNA the “Sex Offender Registry”, would not have them listed anyway, and residency restriction would not have been effective either.
The human toll of our current Sex Offender policies is catastrophic. Each of the almost 60,000 Florida Registrants their families and friends who also suffer the stigma and hardships has had their lives shredded. The stories are heart breaking.
FAC needs your participation. To succeed, our efforts require the uniting of many voices. We provide members ongoing, relevant information from around the state and the country regarding sex offender policies and breaking cases. But what is perhaps the most valuable aspect of membership is that we understand all too well what it means to be arrested for a sex offense in Florida. We are individuals and families that offer hope and compassion to the thousands whose lives will no longer be the same.
Here you can find purpose. Here you can find understanding, empathetic people. Here you can find friendship. Here you can find a way to fight back.
“From Unity Comes Change”
Find out what YOU CAN DO to help make a change. Send your representative an "I Believe Letter". A sample can be found HERE
GEt involved! Fight! Tell your story! Become a Member! For other ways to help read what our FAC President has to say HERE
NEWS RELEASE: National Experts Call for Sex Offender Law Reform
"I am sick and damn tired of politicians who won't take a stand on controversial issues," Senator Cisco A. McSorley, public servant of the people of New Mexico's 16th District since 1997 and preceding that, from 1984 through 1996, as a Congressman in the New Mexico State House of Representatives, garnered a standing ovation from the podium of the 4th annual Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc. (RSOL) National Conference, held at the Ramada Inn Conference Center in Albuquerque, September 6-9, 2012.
McSorley, a Democratic who serves on the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee, has a long-standing reputation for taking on tough issues with a bent to finding solutions. Back in May, for example, legislation he sponsored took a bite out of public corruption, mandating the repayment of salaries and forfeiture of state pension benefits by elected officials found guilty of corruption while at the same time resolving a contentious funding issue with the state's medical marijuana program.
READ MORE
Watch Videos from the 2012 Albuquerque Sex Offender Conference:
Please Note: This video commentator is not from the State of Florida. To learn more about the laws of Florida email info@floridaactioncommittee.org **NEW COLUMN**
Our new columnist JEV is currently a Florida based RSO. These are personal viewpoints and are not be used as Legal information in any Court of Law. "True Confessions" is a column designed to give out constructed information as well as criticism in the fight for reformation of Sex Offender Laws.
FAC - FEATURED ARTICLES
Child Porn Sentencing Rules Subject Of Debate. Read More
WEST PALM BEACH—
— Harsh local restrictions on where sex offenders can live should be lifted, the Palm Beach County public defender said.
And prosecutors and law enforcement agreed. Read Article
Boyfriend gets lifetime sex offender status for cellphone video, even though sex was legal. Read More
Bill would grant courts ability to designate sex offenders. Read More
Clallam prosecutor may seek death penalty in double-homicide case
By: By Paul Gottlieb
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — The death penalty may be sought against accused double-murderer Patrick B. Drum of Sequim, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said Wednesday.
The 34-year-old was charged Wednesday in the murders of Jerry W. Ray, 56, of 31 Heuslein Road in Port Angeles and Gary L. Blanton Jr. of 5011 Sequim-Dungeness Way in Sequim. READ MORE
Donations for the Blanton Family can be made HERE so that Gary Blanton can be laid to rest with dignity and honor.
Are sex offense laws too broad?
By: Maggie Clark, Stateline Staff Writer
Over eight years in the Missouri House, Republican Representative Rodney Schad has gotten numerous phone calls, letters, and emails from registered sex offenders and their families about the damage the registry has caused in their lives — the harassment, persistent unemployment, and community ostracism. Three years ago, Schad decided to start researching the state's registration policy, and what he found surprised him.
"There's no way to tell who's dangerous and who isn't," says Schad. "[People] look up their address and see 10 offenders living or working near their house." In his view, the list is becoming bloated and less helpful to ordinary citizens than it should be. READ MORE
Inside Story: The US Prison System
By: Sadhbh Walshe
Around two years ago, six ICE agents entered the home of a 20-year-old man named Adam while he was sleeping. They put a gun to his head and informed him they had a warrant to search his premises for child pornography.
Adam is a musician and was a frequent user of the peer-to-peer file-sharing website Limewire, which he used to download and share music videos. The search of his computer hard drive yielded 2,331 videos, most of which were music and a small portion of which were adult porn. Two suspect child porn videos featuring girls aged 16-17, and another video apparently featuring a three year-old, had been downloaded and deleted.
Adam claims that the downloads were accidental, and that although he occasionally indulged in adult porn (like many men his age), he has no interest in child pornography (CP), never sought it out and deleted the downloaded items as soon as he realized what they were. The fact that the forensic evidence showed that the items were never viewed and that there was no record of any keyword searches that would indicate he was looking for CP would seem to back up that claim.
But it didn't matter: Adam was charged... READ MORE.
