A lawsuit has been filed against Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams after a 78 year-old man who was jailed in March for failure to register as a sex offender contracted Coronavirus and died from it right after being released.
Charles Peterson was jailed on March 11th for failure to register as a sex offender. After numerous requests to release him, he was finally released on March 30th, The person who picked him up from Jail said, he “could “barely walk,” was “very sick” and “cold and shivering,” Peterson was admitted to a hospital that day. On the morning of April 1, he died.
His underlying sex offense conviction was from 1999, more than 20 years ago!
I guess that unless you show total and complete outrage, group think if you will, your posts do not get posted. Sorry, but it is a requirement of the law for people like me.
All opinions matter
I post contrary opinions here all the time and welcome the variety of viewpoints.
Hello Jacob, I’ve tried posting a few times to this blog and they were declined. Like a rant I had against Mr Book, where I was literally vomiting into a vomit bag while parked inside the red garage at Jackson from the side effects of Chemo. Pile it up Mr Book cause I stand unbroken and I’m coming after you…..legally of cause..Forgot the whole rant but hey my head was in a vomit bag. I was sick.
There was an incident where a very high level puke in the movement was busted for having contact with minors. I was outrage by the support of this individual. He did nothing for our movement but bolster our oppositions argument concerning recidivism. My disgust over his actions where ignored.
Here’s my premise. I’m moderate in the center understanding the concerns of those supporters of registration laws. To keep this short and simple, for me any new restriction needs to be prospective not retroactive. I committed, plead guilty to and was sentence to a term on the registry with the option to be removed after 10 years. I was required to report to the DMV within 48 hours of changing my address and was required to answer an address verification notice that was mailed to me. Now the requirements are becoming nearly impossible to comply with. But Comply I we must otherwise face a felony charge.
Any new restrictions imposed upon me or anyone else AFTER the fact violates the EX Post Facto clause. Those recently convicted have been given fair notice of their requirements.
You rape a child or adult women, download kitty porn, get caught up in some online internet trap, there will be hell to pay. Please don’t come crying to me. I took and still take my medicine.
To be Experienced is to be Forewarned.
I am actually shocked that that opportunistic parasite Lauren Book hasn’t accused “sex offenders” of being behind the spread of the virus.
They are used as scapegoats and blamed shamelessly for everything else!
I to committed a sex offense over 22 years ago and still “REQUIRED BY LAW” to register. Because I’m transient, I’m “REQUIRED BY LAW” to register every 30 days. I’ve been “REQUIRED BY LAW” to register since I was placed on “Civil Probation” starting I believe in 2005.
Anyway, just like everybody else, I believe its unjust, not fair and the whole regulatory scheme is a substantial undue burden upon my liberty. Unless and until something changes and as long as I’m “REQUIRED BY LAW TO REGISTER” I, we really have no choice but to comply.
The same thing can easily happen in Floriduh, especially given that LE has been arresting folks for failing to register even though black letter law does not require registration if all sanctions imposed have not been satisfied. See Florida v. James, 2D18-2552 (2nd DCA pril 15, 2020)(discussing FSS 943.0435(1)(h)(1)(a)(II))
In light of the decision on Florida vs James wouldn’t the family have a point in also saying that FTR was a sanction of the registry and it was no longer a requirement to register?
This is a Colorado case. It’s not in Florida.
He fail to comply with the law and the law has no emotion.
Doesn’t surprise me any the porkers don’t care if anyone dies! It is not about life it is about bodies and money in jails. It is happening all around the country. They’re arresting mother’s on playgrounds with their kids and leaving the kids in the park? This is just the tip of the iceberg. It is going to get a lot worse with these brainwashed pigs.. They are NOT your friend!! They work for big brother and the deep state.
In Colorado? If so, this surprises most!
The ‘Dim-WIt’, there, must be friends with the likes of ‘Shitwood’ and Elmer Fudd, aka Greedy Grady Judd!(“Because we ran out of bullets”)
RIP to the dude that got screwed by his sheriff and didn’t get use vaseline beforehand! OUCH!
Is this a FAC lawsuit?
It is not.
Someone please use this case as PROOF THAT THE REGISTERY IS PUNISHMENT
!!! Jailed because of a “Registry ” rule/requirement !!
Caught the virus because of that rule/requirement !!
Died because of being JAILED because ofthat RULE/REQUIREMENT !!!!!!
Someone that PAID THEIR DEBT TO SOCIETY !!!!, Was punished and KILLED because of a Rule/Requirement of “THE REGISTERY” !!! NO Judge should be allowed to stay on the Bench if He/She ruled ANY other way !!!!!.
Remember,
All other “EX” offenders move on with their lives and become a normal citizen with no one knowing anything about their past unless they mention it or it comes up in a background check.
For those of us charged with any sex related crime no matter how minor or serious, we are forever labeled not by our name, our religion, our race, our job or anything other than Sex offender.
If you fished all your life but stopped 20 years ago, are you still a fisherman? Probably not unless you decided to be one again. So why is someone who made a mistake one time 10, 20, 30 or more years ago, always and forever a sex offender?
This man may have done something bad in his past but he was being punished every day he woke up alive after that up until he died. At least now he is free.
@ CherokeeJack:
Not exactly free. He will probably remain registered. It is Florida, after all.
I wonder what it would take to get the ironically named SMART office to audit Florida’s registry. Someone revealed that over 40 thousand of their 70+ thousand registrants are either dead, incarcerated, or have left the state. But I also read that SMART “requires” 90% compliance in order to be eligible for SORNA grants. An audit should ask the following (at least):
If Florida registration is for life, they why are the dead still registered?
Are we to believe that at least 90% of dead registrants report to the sheriff’s office annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly to verify that they are, in fact, still dead and resting in the same place? Wouldn’t dead registrants updating their status cause significant concerns outside the registry?
This was in Colorado
When we attended the SMART Office Seminar last July in Chicago it was abundantly clear they were trying to justify their jobs. One session I attended with Shelly from Michigan ACLU the representative from the BOP in DC was soliciting things the attendees needed funding for. That was one of our takeaways and the other was they were not fond of our ‘scarlet letter’ colored tee shirts (suggested by a member of FAC) with our silent message on the front and back. But, they did invite us back.
Let me just say a question regarding Florida was asked of a very high ranking individual at NCMEC.
At this point, I’ve got to think that the main reason the idiotic Registries are still around has to be to help politicians and keep big government big. Is there anything that is worse out-of-control big government than Registries? Hard to think of anything, at least in a country that likes to pretend it is a free country.
The Registries are about keeping and growing jobs for big government flunkies.
I love the scarlet letter shirts. But did they really say nothing? Ought to at least list your great websites on it.
I’d like a shirt that maybe says “scarlet letter” in large font, with “forced by out-of-control, nanny big government” in smaller font right underneath it.
Any research that I have read from SMART has always given results that did not line up with what other researchers were finding. SMART has come across to me as very slanted against anything that could legitimately help our cause. I have wondered if SMART is simply made up of very hard core prosecutors.
You are correct in your observations. If the truth were ever comprehended by the public, SMART would greatly diminish in its importance.
SMART and its employees and contractors are slanted against any findings that would threaten the SMART budget.
Just like any other government agency.
I think you give “the public” way too much credit. The U.S. has always, forever, been a hateful, dumb country. Today, people take pride in that ignorance.
I truly believe that most in the U.S. have little concern for what happens to People Forced to Register or their families. I think most don’t care that Registries don’t work. They won’t care unless they believe it is hurting them in some way. That’s “the public”.
I agree. Many years back when the registry first came out, some guy on the “List” was dragged out of his home and beaten because the neighbors didn’t want him there. None of the people that attacked him had anything to do with the case he was charged with.
When interviewed, I can remember one lady specifically stating that she hoped he either died or finally would move. I cannot remember if he lived or moved though.
Having said that, back then there were not as many on the registry so we were targeted more. These days , at least in Florida, there are so many registered that in some ways, now people just tolerate us. I have had less problems in the last 10 years than I did when the registry first came out.
Dustin. Your question :
“If Florida registration is for life, they why are the dead still registered?”
My Answer:
For life……………you die and go to the After “Life”. Since that still has the word life in it, you have to be on it until the end of the World. That way they make sure your family is also punished by your past. Even dead people make the state money it appears.
You only have to register for life. After that, they do it for you.
That in and of itself should prove that the registry IS in fact punishment. If it is to protect and inform the public, Who in God’s name are they protecting from a dead person ?
This is a reminder to the neighbors of the family that , that family use to have a labeled sex offender living in their home and they should be shunned for life for harboring such a person.
Florida has around 28,000 live bodies on the registry, but the actual registry lists over 73,000, according to the Sex Offender Registry and Monitoring Triennial Review…2018 (OPPAGA). (Notice that was back in 2018. I wonder what it is now.) The ‘padded numbers’ are due to the fact that any one on the national sex offender registry, who visits Florida for three days or more, will have their name added to the Florida registry and will never be removed, even though the person never returns to the state of Florida. In Florida, everyone remains on the registry for life. Your name is even left on the Florida registry for a certain period after death. Remember, Florida and every other state receive federal, private, and grant money for each name listed on their registry.
Unless FAC says otherwise, I would encourage you look into an audit for Florida.
Some of us on the registry and neither alive or dead. They killed my self worth and turned me into a zombie. I owned up to what I did and stupidly to things I did not do because I was interrogated for 6 hours without a lawyer.
Whenever I requested one I was threatened with them going to the news. I should have just endured that to fight my case but did not want to put my family through that. As it were, it would have been totally worth the fight but the lawyers ran me and my family out of money.
At some point I should have fired the lawyer and gotten a public defender but the damage was done. Despite all that, if I could just get off the registry, I could care less about having a record at this stage of my life. I am disabled and cannot work anyway.
Every time I register I have to worry they are going to call my name and bring back behind that door that you do not return from. I have seen a few guys go in there and never come back out. I guess next they will tattoo us with FTR on our arms.
Always grateful for your resourcefulness, SarahF. And I’ll never forget the wonderful expose by Steve Yoder:
https://floridaactioncommittee.org/floridas-sex-offender-registry-proves-inescapable/
Thanks. I had not seen this article.
“To Serve and Protect”, huh?
I hope they sue the s*** out of this piece of L.E. garbage!
Hope he wins, and and wins big.