Really Palm Beach Daily News? Is your shaming article necessary?
Wouldn’t you want someone convicted of an offense in the past to be doing better now? To have a profession, earn a license, become a productive member of their community? All your article does is seek to bring down a handful of people who are doing nothing other than trying to do their job and support their families.
Also, you COMPLETELY misapplied the recidivism statistics. The actual re-offense rates for people on the registry is in the single-digit percentage. Why not write a story called “could your real estate agent be a drug dealer” or “could your real estate agent be an armed robber” because both those crimes have much higher recidivism rates?
If anyone wants to share their thoughts with the journalist, please do: Wendy Rhodes. 561-820-3864. [email protected]
I wouldn’t care if my real estate agent was a liberal progressive communist Democrat as long as he/she got me a good deal!
Could your X serviceperson be a drunkard that killed 3 innocents crossing the street or a woman that killed a whole family as they crossed the street because she was texting…at age 16 (really happened when I was in UCF) or how about a drug abuser or thief whose not been caught yet… WHAT IF gasp
TV news is like the registry worse than useless it’s stupid and dangerous.
W.A.R. has posted comments to the article on the Post’s website.
Have others posted comments that aren’t showing up there?
I posted there and it was up for awhile, but now I don’t see it.
I went through every Opinion article and Commentary and could not find it.
Such beautiful retorts to the Palm Beach Post. I hope they have the fortitude to print them…but I seriously doubt it. Most news outlets do not like to put themselves on report. I would love to be a fly on the wall in their press room today.
I went to the newspaper web site looking for any letter/reply that had been posted in the paper. To date, I’ve not seen any letters posted by the newspaper. I sure would like to know if they do post any of our comments.
I am happy that so many have provided feedback to the paper. My comments follow.
This is in response to the August 2, 2009 article written by Wendy Rhodes concerning someone with a prior sex offense conviction being a real estate agent. I’ll be blunt. Ms. Rhodes and your paper have abandoned professional ethics and simply engaged in yellow journalism and fear mongering. With freedom of the press comes responsibility of the press to present factual information. While I doubt you have the courage to print this letter, I feel compelled to write.
Ms. Rhodes attempts to justify her textual vigilantism by mis-characterizing a report from the Department of Justice. The report does not claim that two-thirds of sex offenders are arrested within nine years of their prison release or that they are three times more likely to be rearrested for rape or sexual assault.
The first paragraph of the report explicitly states it involves only persons released after serving a sentence for “rape or sexual assault”. Footnote 1 unambiguously indicates that for the purpose of the article, the term “sex offender” includes ONLY members of that group. These represent a tiny subset of those who are required to register as sex offenders. The author goes on to extrapolate this disinformation to include all offenders. Whether intentional or not, this twisting of official statistics falls far short of any acceptable level of fact checking.
The specific target of Ms. Rhodes’ witch hunt pleaded no contest to possession of child pornography 12 years ago. I will remind you that under current jurisprudence, “child pornography” comprises any “lascivious” photo of someone under 18 whether or not sexual activity is actually depicted. The federal Probation and Pretrial Services Office—an administrative arm of the courts– reports that 97.4% of those convicted for such a pornography offense do NOT sexually re-offend.
The newspaper mantra once was “if it bleeds, it leads.” That has become “if it sizzles, it sells.” Shame on you for putting profit above journalistic accuracy.
Veritas
Dear Ed C, I want to thank you for that blistering correspondance to Ms. Rhodes and her ilk. Awsome!
I had sex with my girlfriend near 30 years ago. I have no desire to see anyone who isn’t my fully developed wife in a sexual manner. BUT WATCH OUT! Hide your kids hide your wife AND husband! I’m a menace!
Frequently it takes failures in our own lives to wake us up to the respect we owe others. Most RSO’s have learned that lesson. That is the reason ‘the man on the street’ is more likely to commit an offense. He still has a hard lesson to learn. It seems to be a human trait. Throughout history it has taken the avoidance of good advice to wake man and society. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ask yourself, is it safe to shop at Wal-Mart
Many involved with real estate are financial offenders. Disclosuere and compliance are not in their dictionary. CBO estimates $500 billion per year in tax evasion (2016).
I also contributed my thoughts, much of which was already much more eloquently stated by others who have written. Thanks to all who wrote!!!
This was my contribution:
I am writing in response to your recent article covering the topic of registered persons as real estate professionals.
The article was an interesting read with a very attention grabbing headline, I must say. You are absolutely right regarding the fact that some real estate professionals might be potential sex offenders, but not for the reasons you might think. As you mentioned in the article, reoffense rates for those on the registry are low, which means that the vast majority of sexual crimes are being committed by persons with no known offense history. This means that screening out people on the registry would not be a very effective tool in ensuring the safety of individuals in any situation or profession. To illustrate my point, the incident you referenced in your article regarding the assault committed by the Orlando real estate agent reported no known sexual offense history on the perpetrator.
As an advocate for the homeless, I have interacted with and have had the privilege to know many persons on the registry, the vast majority of whom are seeking to rebuild their lives and move beyond their pasts. It is shameful when we as a society don’t give them that chance after they have paid for their crimes. This type of perpetual shaming is not what this country stands for and I believe even those who have committed serious offenses have the ability to lead transformed lives, if they have been granted the opportunity to do so by our justice system through the completion of the terms of their sentences.
So much human potential goes to waste when we tie a virtual ball and chain around individuals, regardless of their individual circumstances. I grieve what we’ve lost as a nation because of our stubborn attitudes toward former offenders in this regard. Have you taken the time to get to know some people on the registry? They have names, not just mugshots. They often have families that depend on them as well. If we throw away these persons, we also torpedo their families. Do we really want to punish them also? I suggest you read about some of their stories so that your future reports on the subject matter may be better informed.
I look forward to reading future reports on the subject.
Sincerely,
[Name Withheld]
This is EXCELLENT!!! Thanks, as always!
This is a well-written letter. I would love to see it on the editorial page of all the major state newspapers.
Epic.
Thank you sir
I just emailed my letter to Ms. Rhodes.
Here’s my comment I posted on the article:
Perhaps, Ms. Stilwell, esteemed board member of her HOA in Wellington, should take the time to run background checks on all board menbers, residents of the area and anyone wishing to do any type of work whatsoever in the close knit community. It would probably also be a good idea to run a check on anyone who just doesn’t fit in or who others don’t like. I believe that those that have paid their dues should be given a second chance. Public shaming causing the loss of jobs over hysteria often brought on by media reports is not the right direction. Research will show that ex offenders have a very low rate of recidivism. I wonder if Ms. Stilwell realizes how many children are on the list of almost 1 million sex offenders in this country? How many are on the registry for decades old offenses? How many had no physical contact with anyone? How many lives must be ruined by alarmists. Such actions not only impact the ex offender but their families as well. The article serves no purpose, in my opinion, except to fan the flames instead of helping put the fire out.
This is my letter to the writer of the article:
Wendy, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your job with the Palm Beach Post. It is a responsible position in which you can exert much influence. I believe that it is good for all folks to have good jobs and be able to support their family and society responsibilities and obligations. Our nation is great because of those kinds of people.
Now, I must warn you that I do like to write and that I do get a bit verbose at times especially when I have something important to write about…your article elicits such a reason to write. It’s good that you have the opportunity to write such an article but it would be so much more effective if you educated yourself on the subject before putting ‘pen to paper’…or whatever reporters do nowadays. While I can in no way support the possession of child pornography, I do know that any victims so involved will still be victims whether or not the property manager had any. Sometimes an inadvertent click of a button can put you on the computer where you do not want to go and permanently deleting sometimes requires a ‘rocket scientist’. Having been the ERB chair in my HOA I doubt they did not like him because of his ‘unknown’ sex offense record, but because he was requiring the residents to comply with the deed restrictions…I know from experience. By the way, that 1,000 foot rule makes no one any safer. If a sex offender is going to commit an offense, he/she is not going to walk across the street to do it. And as is well documented, most sex offenses are done by family members, school teachers, close associates, someone met on vacation, etc, etc…and not someone on the registry. There are very few “Jack the Rippers” out there.
You mention maps about where sex offenders live, but nothing about where they work. By the way the term “Sex Offender” is a misnomer…that is someone who wakes up in the morning, preps, and goes out looking for a victim. Those on the registry hardly fit that category. They are just someone who committed one of the variety of offenses clumped into the category of ‘sex offense’. 97% are people who have accepted responsibility for their failures, paid the price…and are still paying it, and just want the opportunity to get on with a life of responsible citizenship. Getting a job and reintegration plays a big part in this effort…the registry does not. Where a person who committed a sex offense lives or works is really quite irrelevant.
You mention Peter Cruise, a Palm Beach County ethics commissioner…whatever that is…and a director at Florida Atlantic University. He says, “If we’re dealing with a crime like a sex offense, that’s a very serious thing.” He is part of the problem going about spewing misinformation. The variety of potential sex offenses are such that very few fall into the “very serious thing” category. What is serious is when an individual’s life and the life of his/her family is destroyed because of a society that has bought the paranoia and false information distributed by people who do not know what they are talking about or who make a living on degrading others and then pretending to care about the ‘victims’…follow the money trail.
You discuss the stories of two individuals who committed heinous offenses related to sex. I am always grieved to see such stories, as are the vast majority of those who have committed a sex offense. We know those stories will reflect negatively whether deservingly or not. Then you go on to say that two-thirds of sex offenders are arrested a second time within nine years of their release from prison. You fail to explicitly mention that few of these rearrest are for a sex crime…many are related to some ‘off the wall’ technicality or to a condition brought about by joblessness or homelessness. The recidivism rate for sex offenses is 3.9%. Only murderers can top that. By the way you mention ‘background checks’. I call them ‘badground checks’ since they, like many ‘do-gooders’ in society, only look for the bad in others…known as the ‘thermo effect’; pass the heat.
At this point I suppose I should tell you somethings about myself so you can understand why I would take the time to write so much. I am a retired Navy captain; I grew up in a Navy family; I enlisted in the Navy in 1962; I was appointed to the US Naval Academy by President Kennedy and graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering; I went to flight and aircraft maintenance schools; I served on four aircraft carriers, three air stations; on an admiral’s staff, at the pentagon…aircraft maintenance policy, and at the Naval Air Systems Command. I retired after 29 years total service. My wife retired from the Navy after 20 years and three years later cancer claimed her life. I did not accept it well at all. I went through four years of depression before my ‘life’ caught up with me. I now live in Florida…my retirement home, and am active in the community, the HOA, write a weekly blog, research for a book on aviation history that I plan to write, restore old aircraft, and dabble with model aircraft building and model railroading. And oh, by the way, I am an ex-offender who committed a sexual offense and was released from probation eleven years early. During my extensive evaluation before my release it was determined that I was less likely to ever commit another offense than even the ‘average Joe’ on the street who had never committed an offense. You are more likely to be offended by the person who works next to you in your office.
You seem to focus your article on the prospective dangers of a sex offender being a real estate agent and totally overlook the possibilities that represent much more of a threat…bugler, armed home invader, armed carjacker, drug dealer, embezzler, thief, etc…all of whom for the most part represent more of a threat than a person with a past sex offense…and those aforementioned are not on a registry. Have you ever thought of writing articles about people who have overcome their failures and became productive community and family members? That is what God would call us to do. A great American president, Abraham Lincoln said, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
Wendy, focusing on restoration as a news person just may be one of the greatest contributions you can make to society. Write stories about those who have overcome failure. You have the platform…maybe you might want to use it.
Charles R. “Bob” Munsey Jr.
Absolutely fantastic!
The Florida Times Union, Jacksonville newspaper, would probably print your letter on the editorial page. (My guess is that most other major newspapers in the state would also print it.)
If you feel led to do so, send it to [email protected]. His number is 904-359-4307.
Sarah, I sent it to both the Florida Times Union and Orlando Sentinel. I do not believe in ‘hiding in the shadows’. If my background and experience can help/encourage someone, then I go for it.
The Palm Beach Daily News should definitely be printing it in their editorial section, if they truly believe in freedom of speech.
Thank you, Bob. I will be watching for it.
Sent her/them an e-mail i hope they read it it truly sucks that someone who is on the registry actually got hired and now they have to tear them down
I ran across this report several years ago and I had problems with it then as I have problems with it now.
Report states
Two-thirds of sex offenders are arrested a second time within nine years of their prison release, a May 2019 report by the U.S. Department of Justice says. And while sex offenders are less likely than other released prisoners to be arrested again for any crime, they are three times more likely to be arrested for rape or sexual assault. Seems at best contradictory, at worst an obfuscation of facts.
This paragraph seems to contradict itself. The first sentence seems to imply a 67% recidivism rate; the second sentence would seem to imply s low recidivism rate and that of that low number, the percentage rate for sexual assault is 3 times the rate of say rearrested drug dealers. Let us say, there are 3 of every 10 re-arrested sex offender who again sexually assault someone, then for every 10 rearrested drug dealers, there may be 1 who is rearrested for sexual assault. But this does not compare the total number of individuals who are rearrested and seems more an oranges to apples comparison.
I would appreciate someone explaining this report to me. The report seems to be a reason for this reporter to be writing this article, maybe because it is so confusing.
BTW, I have a degree in Math and have worked with numbers all my life and still don’t understand it.
The Two-Thirds is an interpretation of a number that is not a re-offense statistic.
When anyone considers the term “recidivism” they need to consider only a subsequent sexual offense (that number is less than 5%, not a technical violation of one of the multitude of additional restrictions that don’t apply to non-registrants).
Correct. That is where the 3 times more likely to re-offend statistic comes from. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 5% of former sex offenders sexually re-offend. This is compared to about a 1.8% sexual offense rate for others released from prison. When people use the 3 times argument they fail to point out how low the actual number is.
Many people get glassy-eyed when the see a percent sign and fall asleep at the mention of comparative statistics. They don’t need to get off the couch or even press a button on the remote to understand “3 times as likely.” Fear mongering is so easy!
The reporter who wrote the article, and her editor, need to be inundated with mail. Only posting here is just preaching to the choir.
Veritas
It would be interesting to run criminal background checks in all realtors in the Palm Beach area and see how many have criminal backgrounds. Armed with that data would Ms. Rhodes write a similar article?
Or anyone affiliated with the Palm Beach Daily News.
Loved your reply FAC!!!!
I sent a nice long email to this lady asking why not look into how hard it is for people living life on the registry everyday and how people on the registry will and are paying the price for Jeffery Epstein and many other sex crimes can’t believe this lady from the hoa has to complain and take her story that far… this mans crimes was in 2007 12 years ago has he harmed anyone??? Reoffended?? Doubt it she thought he was weird or off well if your living on a public registry to be constantly judge with no privacy you might be weird or off a tad bit that’s not a crime I’m not on the registry can’t imagine how hard it would be to be on one but I will stand up and voice my opinion to anyone as often as possible
Or a released murderer. So many are being released but with no registry. So an 18 year old who had sex with their 17 year old girl/boy friend is more dangerous than a murderer. Js
I sent Wendy the following email. It really bugged me that every inch of life has to be scrutinized for all. Read: Thank you Gail. Shaming is a strategy to keep people under control it does nothing to change behaviors. No matter how hard you try to abide by the rules of law; you are not exempt from becoming listed. There are individuals in the registry who never ever touched a person. Many have never had a sexual experience at the time they are labeled. In just a moment when your guard is down you may find yourself clicking a link that is not what you thought and may put you in prison for no less than 5 years and registered for life. Better educate yourself. You or any of your loved ones could be next. Think open and wide.
I will definitely have to give a response to Wendy Rhodes. This is where we need to do much education. The ‘fake news’ needs to quit being part of the problem and become part of the solution.
I passed the State Contractors Exam only to be denied activation due to not being able to have my civil rights restored. Instead I provide service and low volume product I use investors on up to the limit Im allowed to build by law with no license. There isn’t a doubt in my mind my net worth would be 10-20 times what it is now. After the recession the banks quit loaning money to anyone who doesnt have a contractor which is like 4 percent higher rates and at times risky as they could pull out at any time leaving you unfunded midway through …is pretty easy to get a GC to pull the permit for fees but its a bummer giving some hack 2-5k and sketchy when it comes to someone in the middle of you and customers money who could fire me and take them for a ride or take control of the draws so I do what I can sleep well at night doing
When I applied for my D.O.T license, I passed the D.O.T test with 100%. So good of a score, I was accused of cheating so they gave me a 2nd one and watched me closely. The second time I also got 100%. They then told me because of my charges, I would have to pay for the 2nd test. I told the supervisor to hold that thought while I call my lawyer and channel news as well as my representative in Tallahassee. 5 minutes later I had my license. NONE of these kinds of things would happen if we were not on the registry. Even though a background check reveals the charges, the registry is what is stirring the pot for vigilantism across all aspects of our lives. And 99 % of the vigilantism is not physical but doing things to us like making our job applications disappear. The mail man throwing away our mail ( happens to me constantly ) and more. Registries make every day neighbors and residents turn into mobs for a cause that 90% of the time won’t affect them. I have heard of people being bused into other counties they do not even live in to protest an offender moving into a community. Really? Don’t they have some socks to knit, some whales to save, a homeless shelter to volunteer at or something more productive? My great grandmother was treated this way when they tried to send her to a reservation and stop her from marrying my great grandfather, a German immigrant . She cut and dyed her hair in the 1800’s and pretended to be another race just to keep from losing her freedom. My point is, wait until they have Registrant reservations or concentration camps we are all sent to.
I agree with you Cherokee Jack but this is where all of us need to write to our legislators as much as we can the only way to make a difference is everyone together and not giving up I’m not on the registry my son is he gets out of prison in November and I live 400 feet from a school so he can’t live with our family so we are looking into selling our home my son was sent a chat attachment online containing child porn it saved in his phone he didn’t know even as he was being questioned so it’s hard for everyone in these positions it’s unfair and you never really tend to understand or know how bad it is or how easily a person can be put on the registry until it happens to you or someone close to you people are quick to judge not to understand or have compassion but all we can do is write to our legislators newspapers and as many as we can until change happens I know that’s what I’ll be doing until they’re tired of hearing from me.
There is also an unbalance of justice. A person is convicted of raping 20 kids who has a lot of money, a great lawyer and a judge who shows mercy gives that person 10 years probation.
Then you have someone like me who had an inexperienced lawyer and a hanging judge and I got 25 years.
I did go back on appeal but was advised to wait until that judge was on rotation. As soon as they were I got a new judge and got a good chunk of my sentence tossed ( albeit after I had already served most of it )