Reforming Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Laws
Parents want their children to be safe. People on the registry and their families want that, too. A child waiting for a bus and a child living with a parent on the registry both deserve care. Two Florida reports bring us back to the same question: Are we looking at proof of harm, or being asked to fear a label?
Read moreFlorida’s population growth has brought more people to the state in recent years, including convicted sex offenders and predators. But residency restrictions and limited housing options are contributing to clusters of registered offenders in some Central Florida neighborhoods. Dr. Stephen Holmes, a University of Central Florida criminal justice professor who has spent decades studying violent sex offenders, said clusters are
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Veterans and Military Records: The Weight of a Label Military service can end while the records created during it keep shaping a veteran’s life. A discharge document, a conviction and a registry entry raise different questions. Families trying to move forward may find themselves explaining the same history again. The shared concern is the weight of a label: what it
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What happens when a law changes, but the social shame attached to a conviction remains? Earlier this morning, we looked at campaign rhetoric and reality. A new BBC report takes that discussion further: changing the law does not always clear a person’s record or repair the harm. BBC News reports that Northern Ireland’s scheme for certain abolished gay-sex offences received
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Rhetoric vs. Reality: What the Campaign Ad Leaves Out Children deserve to be safe. People who have been harmed deserve care and justice. Families deserve clear facts about the laws that shape their lives. A campaign ad for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier features sheriffs, talk of hunting down predators and caging monsters, and a large number: over 2,000. For
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By Florida Action Committee Media Another Halloween has passed. We hope it was a quiet one for families living under registry rules. As the decorations come down, it is worth asking what actually keeps people safe and what helps families move forward. This week, we want to make room for hope. There are people rebuilding their lives, volunteers offering support,
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