“Freedom” As a Level 2 Sex Offender
“”Freedom” as a level 2 sex offender” is the section title of a federal lawsuit filed by Anthony Broadwater against municipal officials and the government following his wrongful arrest for a sexual crime in NY that took place decades ago.
The complaint reads, “Mr. Broadwater was finally released from prison after reaching his maximum conditional release on December 31, 1998. While the New Year is a time of optimism and setting intentions for most people, Mr. Broadwater’s New Year as a “free man” came with conditions. Mr. Broadwater was finally released from prison after reaching his maximum conditional release on December 31, 1998. While the New Year is a time of optimism and setting intentions for most people, Mr. Broadwater’s New Year as a “free man” came with conditions. As a Level 2 sex offender, Mr. Broadwater was required to register as a sex offender for life. Every year he had to verify his address and employment. Every three years he had to update his photograph with law enforcement. His name, photograph, exact address, crime of conviction, alleged modus of operation, among other information, was readily available on the internet and could be disseminated by any entity. The publicly available nature of this information limited employment opportunities. He lost several jobs because of it.”
Despite having spent 16 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he could not even find relief in his release because of his designation as a sex offender! His lawyers correctly put the word Freedom in quotes to show that even though he’s free, it’s not real freedom on the registry.
We hope he is successful in recovering millions from those who wrongfully prosecuted him and convicted him. We hope his case gets tons of publicity and sheds light on the fact that being on the registry is nowhere close to being free… even off probation. And we hope that now that he has been removed from the registry he will get a taste of true freedom!
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No one has “freedom” in this country. The appropriate legally viable word to use would be “Liberty”. For example, a dog does not have freedom on a leash, a dog has Liberty on a leash.
On the registry one has even less liberties than others. I don’t know how anyone can use the word “freedom” with a straight face anymore.
-Taxes
-dependency on a consumer based economy
-restrictions on growing your own food
-laws restricting travel
-vax mandates
-mask mandates
-mandatory school attendance
-jury duty
If you have to deal with any of that, you are not free my friend.
The registry has been deemed non punitive by the nations highest court so he won’t receive compensation for being on it.
It seams to me that there is a link between the Sex Offender Registration Laws and FAILURE to Register Laws. The failure to register, report new phone, internet names, vehicle ID, periodic re-register… any one of these can be punishable by imprisonment, a punitive act. Doesn’t this punitive linkage make the Federal as well as State laws PUNITIVE in nature?
Are there other laws that are Non-Punitive by statue but result in Punitive results if NOT obeying?
If it Quacks like a Duck……
This is too choppy and confusing to have been written by FAC. You can tell from the comments that we’re all reading our own interpretation into it.
“Prison Without Conviction”
Although I myself never did hard time, had Adjudication Withheld with no Felony and placed on Probation in Florida for 8 years being released from the courts in 2001, I remain a registrant for 25 years.
Its by all definition of the word most certainly not Freedom. Freedom to travel freely, Freedom as defined Constitutionally and Freedom of mind, body and soul.
The failed Registration process strips away any Freedom you have in a normal life in Society and turns you into a hunted down monster living a paranoid nightmarish life.
Remember most sexual crimes are non violent and most violent sex crimes are committed by family members or they know their victims.
Its time to repeal on the Federal level all Registry Laws.
JEV
TRUE CONFESSIONS
This is a man who never surrendered, even though he surely would’ve benefitted from doing so. Thanks for sharing this inspirational sotry.
Just abolish the registry already. It doesn’t work. It shouldn’t take 80 years, like the war on drugs, to eliminate laws that don’t work.