Holy Cow! 25 years for a FTR!
A Texas man just got 25 years for a failure to register an address change. “In 2015 this defendant went to prison for six years for a failure to register as a sex offender,” said First Assistant Nathan Young. “He knew what was expected of his registration when he was released. His blatant disregard in complying with a service that helps keep our community safe warrants a severe sentence, and sends a message to other offenders that may fail to comply with sex offender registration.”
Send a message?!?! The only message this sends is that if you are going to fail to register you might as well take out your enemies before getting caught because you’ll get the same sentence! [FAC NOTE: The last sentence was sarcasm. But come on!]
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Is the registry punishment? That should be a question posed to the appellate court. In this case, it certainly is punishment for a violating a “civil” regulation.
@Just saying
I cannot imagine what their definition is for punishment. Who else in the U.S has to report to a Sheriff’s office 2 or 4 times a years when that person is not on any sanctions such as probation or house arrest.
If we have served our time, I understand we will always have a label of a felon, I am ok with that. But being labeled a sex offender (alludes to us still offending) for life sure as heck feels like punishment for us and our families/loved ones who have to go through this with us.
What do families when their loved one on the registry do, gets murdered because they are on the offender list? That seems like the family is also being punished as they have a great loss for no reason other than hate. Hate that could be avoided if there was not a registry which causes division with everyone.
I like the last sentence. If we are going to face 5-25 yrs for forgetting to update our DL or a new email address or anything like that, that can be easily overlooked/forgotten. We might as well do something to actually warrant that sentence i.e. rob a bank, commit massive fraud etc. This is crazy. I seen a guy right here in Cross City get 10 yrs for failure to update his email address. I’ll commit suicide before I let that happen. I got 4 yrs probation for my offense. But can do 25 yrs for a simple mistake that is ridiculous. I won’t let them take me, that’s a fact. I will do something to warrant a 25 yr sentence.
Florida is no different, with the new changes to the wording of failure to register counts. Each and every single time you register, whether it’s your month, or simply to update something, it is deemed a count. This means, if you failed to register an email account for example, and you registered 4 times in a given year, this is 4 counts of failure to register. Each with the potential of 5 years a piece. That’s 20 possible years, without even taking into the possibility of repeat offense laws Florida has as well. I’m well familiar how this bogus stuff works, and luckily it was before the change to the wording of the law, or I would have been facing a possible 45 years! All because of the old paperwork, no online registration capability with FDLE, and the sheriff’s office screwing up!
How does this scheme make communities safe? A. It’s a scheme. Scheme is a big word for scam. B. It doesn’t. Not one person has ever been made safer because of the registry. There’s the illusory “feeling” of safety just because you know where all the registrants live, but you work with them. You shop with them. You go to the same places and you’d never ever know someone was a registrant just by looking at them. So how is anyone safer because of the registry? I mean, the Byrne funds might make roads safer. Marginally.
Ben
Opposite of safer is danger. And guess what the registry does to those (Us) who are on that registry? Harassment, vandalism, physical harm and on some occasions, we have seen the worst part, someone on the registry murdered because they were a registered citizen. And most of those times, the registered person had ZERO connection to the killer.
I hope they appeal this to the TX Appeals Court on Eighth Amendment grounds.
Absolutely.
Should be an easy win.
I do not understand how a twenty-five years or even a six year sentence is justified for what the courts say is a civil matter. I guess that we have to shrug and say “it’s Texas.”
That is more time I got in total for my actual legit crime. Wow. Just shows they want every registered person back in prison for life. For some like myself (60 years old) if I got 25 years right now I would be 85 when released, if I lived that long.