Reforming Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Laws
A former Tennessee detective whose job was to oversee sex offender registry compliance has pleaded guilty after investigators discovered he forged registrants’ signatures on official registry documents. He was originally indicted on 10 charges—including eight counts of tampering with government records and two counts of official misconduct. Under his plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to one count of official misconduct.
Read moreWhen we launched our Change.org petition, calling for an end to public sex offender registration and highlighting its conflict with fundamental human rights principles, we knew it would be an uphill battle. Yet thousands of people have already added their names, recognizing that public registries do not simply affect those listed on them—they impact spouses, children, families, and entire communities.
Read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court concluded its 2025–26 term this week. While the Court did not directly decide a sex offender registration case, a few decisions from this term could have significant implications for future challenges to registry laws, supervision conditions, and government surveillance. For those following registry reform litigation, the most important development may have been the Court’s willingness to
Read moreWhen government officials are willing to speak honestly about difficult issues, they deserve recognition. At a recent Wisconsin county meeting considering a new sex offender residency restriction ordinance, a representative from the Department of Corrections acknowledged a reality that researchers, practitioners, and advocates have known for years: residency restrictions are ineffective. We applaud the officer for being willing to tell
Read moreIn 2020, after 10 years in prison, I was getting ready to come home—I just needed a place to live. Once out of prison I would be required to register as a sex offender, so the Tennessee Department of Correction said my release address needed to be registry-compliant. One reentry staff member said that eventually if I couldn’t find a
Read moreCalifornia bill aimed at preventing registered sex offenders from holding local elected office was halted Tuesday after a Senate committee declined to advance the measure without changes opposed by its author. Assembly Bill 2753, introduced by Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria in February, would have prohibited anyone who is or has been required to register as a sex offender from running for
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