Reforming Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Laws
Spouses and children of registrants in Missouri argued their homes’ inclusion on the registry left them socially ostracized in violation of the 8th Amendment. The plaintiffs argued that public access to the registry does not lower recidivism rates, that the psychological and social impacts the public registry inflicts upon innocent family members (spouses and children) was cruel, and that when
Read moreFormer Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, who backed laws such as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Amendments of 1996, the Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2000, the PROTECT Act of 2003, and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 died this past weekend at 84. Hastert, was one of the biggest hypocrites in
Read moreIn our work with families of registered citizens, FAC has been contacted hundreds of times by spouses, children, social workers and others trying to solve a problem that should never have to exist. How do you find a place for an elderly or profoundly disabled person who needs assisted living or nursing care when the registry makes him unplaceable? One
Read moreThe California Governor signed a law requiring people convicted of serious sex crimes must be over 65 and have served 25 years before being eligible to apply for elderly parole. Some groups opposed, arguing that it will categorically prevent the release of many who have actually rehabilitated themselves, but the bill was signed into law anyhow.
Read moreThere is something very scary about the wrongful arrest of a father described in this week’s Biometric Update and Florida Trib reporting. It concerns the use of facial-recognition technology by police departments. A man was communicating with an undercover officer he believed was a 13-year-old girl. The guy sent two photographs of another man — his former friend, identified in
Read moreCanada has taken a much more rational approach to managing persons required to register as sex offenders in the community. A recent CBC report out of Ottawa highlighted one such case where notification led to vigilantism. In August, Ottawa police issued a public safety notification about a man they described as a high-risk violent sexual offender who had moved to
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