The Endless Punishment of U.S. Sex Offenders

By Chelsea L. Arnold Arnold states that “sex offender registration and civil commitment laws speak to the need for a complete overhaul of the U.S. Criminal justice system.”  The U.S. desires punishment over rehabilitation.  “…until the tough-on-crime turn starting in the mid 1970’s, rehabilitation was a key part of the U.S. penal system.” Arnold is with Seattle University’s Department of

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Updates on FAC Legal Team

Our Ex Post Facto I case in the Southern District is currently in standby but is still alive. Our next focal point for our FAC Legal Leam is to go after proximity and residency ordinances that supersede the state statute.  Anyone who has been affected by residency or proximity ordinances, and has not already done so, should fill out a

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 Federal Appeals Court upholds NC sex offender registration law

“The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld North Carolina’s sex offender registration law.”  (The Carolina Journal, “Federal Appeals Court upholds NC sex offender registration law,” August 9, 2024) “Two nonprofit groups had challenged the law in federal court as violating offenders’ constitutional right against ex post facto punishment.” “A unanimous three-judge appellate panel agreed with a trial court

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A Voice, If You Can Keep It

By Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith August 14, 2024   In bringing a First Amendment lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s newly-passed law prohibiting anonymous speech on social media platforms by some people with past sex-related convictions, I anticipated that the media would likely want to focus on my own story, and my own past.  I’ve written before about my own arrest in 2006, and my

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11th Circuit weighs in on draconian AL law

Paul Dubbling, an outstanding attorney with whom NARSOL works, is representing a Person Forced to Register (PFR) in Alabama who simply wants to live under the same roof as his young son. Alabama Code §15-20A-11(d)(4) states: “No adult sex offender shall reside or conduct an overnight visit with a minor,” including the offender’s own children if “the adult sex offender

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NARSOL’s letter to the MI media

By Sandy Rozek, Communications Director for NARSOL First published at narsol.org. A letter, such as this one emailed to 48 Michigan media outlets, is just one of the many reasons that I belong to and support NARSOL. Rozek says that NARSOL (National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws) “advocates on a national level for laws based on facts and evidence

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Louisiana’s surgical castration law proves to be controversial

The Economic Times states, “Louisiana now joins the Czech Republic, Nigeria, and Madagascar in having this law.” Senator Regina Barrow, who introduced the bill, says, “…the possibility of losing a body part could discourage those who abuse children.”  But for some Louisiana lawmakers, the original intent of the law was to counteract the strict abortion law that Louisiana passed earlier:

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