After 15 Years, Does the Adam Walsh Act Need Rethinking?
On July 27, the US Marshals Service (USMS) issued a press release[i] celebrating the 15th anniversary of the passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA).
But the Act continues to be controversial. Many states find it confusing or expensive to comply with. And, arguably, the additional scrutiny it places on registered sex offenders has had no impact on recidivism.
The requirement under the Act to place teens as young as 14 on sex offender registries, as well as the requirement to classify Registered Persons by offense rather than by risk has added an extra burden to lawmakers. That may be why only 18 states, four territories and 136 tribes have been in “substantial compliance” with the AWA guidelines[ii].
Texas rejected the AWA because authorities found it would cost them only $2 million to take the federal penalty for refusing to adopt the AWA guidelines, but $39 million to implement them.[iii]
Even among AWA-compliant states, laws vary greatly and are no less confusing and complex than before they adopted the AWA guidelines. In Ohio, the first state to adopt the AWA, the switch from risk-based to offense-based classification placed three times the number of Registrants into the “Tier 3” category, the category associated with high-risk offenders. This was a direct result of the AWA guidelines; no additional crimes were committed to cause this change.
The Ohio Supreme Court later declared SB 10, Ohio’s AWA compliance law, was punitive and violated constitutional protections against retroactive laws.[iv] As a result, Ohio has two separate registry guidelines, one for those convicted before January 1, 2008, and the other for those convicted after January 1, 2008.
Ohio wasted about $10 million in taxpayer dollars to defend this controversial law in the courts.[v] Ohio’s sentencing commission has since recommended Ohio return to a risk-based classification system, which would bring the state out-of-compliance with the AWA.[vi]
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What ticks me off the most about John Walsh is he allowed his son’s name to be used to harm people. He could of said, I don’t want my son’s name attracted to this bill. Now children are on the registry because of AWA like that’s something to proud of as a parent.
Don’t forget Dennis Hastert had his hands in this as well while violating students.
John Walsh has nothing to do with AWA.
He didn’t come up with its registration scheme, didn’t draft it, and certainly didn’t pass it— a unanimous voice vote in both houses of Congress did.
John Walsh could have supported it or stayed silent, Congress could have named it after his son or called it Bozo the Clown Act, and it would have made zero difference in whether this bill became law.
But the fact that Congress named it in honor of his son does have one lasting legacy— every time we need to focus on the Federal lawmaking process, we instead distract ourselves by foaming at the mouth about John Walsh. Even if John Walsh lost all public credibility tomorrow, the law would stay right where it is while we complained about him.
So…forget about John Walsh! Blaming John Walsh for bad law, or hating on him, won’t get us out of this.
(This is not a comment on the excellent article btw, just a tendency I’ve seen in this forum whenever the Feds come up).
John Walsh may not have been the direct catalyst for the AWA but he was the vessel used to justify this bad bill, and it was his right hand man, Mark “The Pagemaster” Foley, who was the driving force behind the bill. What eventually became the AWA sat mostly stagnant for roughly a year after introduction before taking off. The Daily Kos reported at that time that Walsh was indeed lobbying for passage of the AWA, and influenced legislators to fast track it using suspension of the rules and remove hate crime legislation which was keeping it from advancing. Orrin Hatch would announce on Nancy Greace that the bill would be renamed the “Adam Walsh Act” and wanted it passed in time for the anniversary of the discovery of Adam’s death. So you can’t say Walsh had “nothing” to do with the AWA.
To Derek:
Back in the “America’s most wanted” era, I actually met John Walsh. He did not come to see me specifically but was doing a “Most wanted” episode that a multi agency task force was doing a joint intelligence operation on. He was at our headquarters and I briefly said hi and shook his hand. I told him I admired him for what he was doing and loved the show.
Jumping forward all these years, I do not hate him and know he did not personally form the registries. But I know all these cases collectively led to them. Ironic I am on a registry that back in those days, I actually might have supported. Sometimes the saying “You have to walk a mile in my shoes” has more meaning that was expected.
Also I ironic I went from putting people in jail to being there myself. Although I probably deserved to be punished, there was no registry when I plead guilty. Funny how they can change the narrative after you already gave them everything they wanted with a cherry on top.
Derek…SPOT ON!
And “NANCY’, well, that is just another CONUNDRUM….
She Just followed the BIGGER HYPOCRITE….so sad!…a very hateful person…VERY VERY full of hate for mankind!
Nancy is on Fox Nation for all the hate you want a month. Thanks I rather pull splinters from my fingernails.
I am willing to bet that if there was a way to accually count and have a percentage of all the Government authority figures ” all men ” !!. The percentage would be at least 50 percent, engage in some kind of inappropriate sexual behavior of some sort periodically in past and present everyday activities. Behind closed doors ofcourse. Examples, like married men flirting with numerous women, having sex with one or more of these women. And/or flirting with a much younger female, some under age. Going places where teenagers hang out like the beach for one, and doing who knows what while sitting in his car looking at the “seems like” most sexy, sweet, back in school days hottest cheerleader ever. But who knows this could be completely wrong. But the statistics on mainly male hormones/ tetesterones, that start raging is sometimes unforgiving at home in the bed with significant other/or not!. We as registered citizens have more control or as much control as a normal person who do not engage in this type of behavior, compared to the hundreds of thousands who do everyday! ( Sorry I have no names to back this claim up!!!. Post this or not !!. It’s just common knowledge Facts of Life!!!. Guilty or not…
To: concerned #2
I could name lots of names. Celebs, Politicians, Actors, Singers, rappers etc.
But I am not going to point fingers, name-names or accuse and judge. That would make me a hypocrite. Having said that, many of them seem to either buy their way out, or have some power, influence or even knowledge of what some judge did to make it all “Go away”.
The old saying, it is “who you know & who you are” and “How much money and power” you have. That is why I have seen someone who did something worse than me get probation while I went to prison. I got run out of money or I would have gone to trial. Neither my attorney NOR the judge mentioned I could have chosen a public defender, which would have been better than pleading guilting because I was broke.
First…Thank You Derek for your Posts and Information, as they are ALWAYS VALUED!
Second, The Best way to ‘SUM UP THE JOHN WALSH SAGA’, and not to do justice for FAC, NARSOL, and the rest….Prison Legal News has a Great Article on JOHN WALSH, and side-kick wife. REVE…..you must read it…google it…YOUR EYES WILL OPEN UP, TO, REALITY!
HOW AMERICA’S MOST WANTED HYPOCRITE SUCKER PUNCHED EVERYONE TO BELIEVE IN HIS LIES AND THEN HE BECOMES A MILLIONAIRE FOR HIS THEN, PERVASIVE DRUG USE!
HYPORCRITE EL NUMERO UNO!