Reforming Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Laws
Unintended Consequences for Florida Sexual Offenders Let’s set aside personal beliefs about the death penalty for any crime and focus solely on the conviction and punishment of Donald Smith. I am so pleased that Donald Smith is being punished for the horrible, sick things he did to Cherish Perrywinkle! I’m also so happy that he’s being punished for the horrible things
Read moreThe same concerning statistic came up in two stories this week. The statistic is that Florida ranked 51st out of 52 jurisdictions in the US for total state mental health spending — behind 49 states and Washington, D.C. (the only jurisdiction that spent less, per capita, is Puerto Rico). The two stories were the Parkland massacre and the sentencing of
Read moreThe Florida House of Representatives was in session on Tuesday considering several issues. These included a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of the mass shooting that killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a resolution declaring pornography a public health risk. The House chose not
Read moreTwo weeks ago we told you about Florida’s Sunshine Law, which provides (or is supposed to provide) open access to public meetings. Last week, in the 2nd District Court of Appeals, the Court decided The City of St. Petersburg v. Wright, which invalidated at St Petersburg City ordinance because the commission’s consideration and discussion of the ordinance was done in
Read moreNews About Sex Offenders and Civil Commitment “Broken beyond anyone’s imagination” is how the State of Texas’ civil commitment program was described in this Southern Poverty Law Center article that was posted this weekend. The “civil commitment” scheme, which indefinitely confines (pretty much synonymous with “incarceration”) individuals under (a) the guise of treatment and (b) the belief that they may
Read moreFather on Sex Offender Registry Barred from Son’s Hospital A member contacted us this week. He’s on the registry for an offense that took place over 15 years ago. He brought his son to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando for surgery and was denied access at the door because of his status on the registry. These policies that prevent former
Read more