Illinois Appellate Court Rules Lifetime Sex Offender Registration “Grossly Disproportionate Punishment” for 21 Year Old.
The opinion in People v. Tetter, which came out a couple days ago, is another great decision to add to our growing list of cases where courts have found the registry to be “punishment” and conditions of the registry have crossed the line into irrational.
Kyle Tetter was 21 when he met a girl on an online social media app. Her profile said she was 18. Even though he later learned she was 16, they continued the consensual relationship and eventually she became pregnant and her mother reported him to the police.
Tetter was sentenced to 180 days in county jail, 4 years’ sex offender probation, and lifetime on the registry.
The appeal directly addresses the question, “Whether Sex Offender Statutes Constitute Punishment”
The Court acknowledges prior precedent that found it didn’t, but goes on to say, “Our legislature subsequently passed numerous amendments imposing additional requirements and restrictions upon sex offenders. Most importantly, it imposed specific restrictions on where sex offenders may be present or live. Sex offenders cannot have jobs where they work, at any time for any reason, within 500 feet of a school or public park or within 100 feet of a school bus stop.[The law] also effectively bars offenders from working any job requiring extensive travel; sex offenders must notify, in person, both Illinois law enforcement and the destination’s law enforcement when they are away from home for three or more days. 730 ILCS 150/3(a) (West 2012). The amendments since [the precedent case] “directly restrict where [a sex offender] can live, work, and even move about his community.” Thus, we are faced with very different and more restrictive statutes than those addressed in [the precedent cases]”
In addition to finding registration requirements that have been ratcheted up since the original decision, the court made another interesting observation and looked at the characteristics of the Defendant. As opposed to taking a “one size fits all” approach, it recognized that “sex offenders” are not homogeneous and should therefore not be all treated the same. It found, “Defendant is simply not the person at whom the sex offender statutes’ purposes are aimed. Its statutes are not tailored to regulate only dangerous offenders, those likely to recidivate, or those with little or no potential for rehabilitation”
Here, the court (for one of the first times in personal recollection, at least) evaluated the gravity of the offender’s conduct in relation to the restrictions imposed by the registry and found that in the case of Tetter, a lifetime on the registry is excessive and a violation of the eighth amendment.
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I applaud this judge for being able to see through the bull s— and making a rational decision. But there is one thing that bothers me the judge also said this judgement would only apply to this case only not to other similar cases. similar cases would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to get a similar ruling. This happened in Missouri about ten years ago but even the attorneys that won the cases wouldn’t take any more on because of the great expense involved
I am happy this young person will have the chance to have a real life. I pray for the day that Florida can look at the research and make some common sense based rulings, rather than those based on hate and bias. However since Senator Book and Senator Hutson seem pushing many of the bills that are now before the Senate committee it doesn’t look good. It would be nice if they could put aside their personal feelings and look at not only the research, and the rulings in other states, but also the cost of all of these laws to our state, and what the money for over use and punishment of these laws could be used for.
The comments by the dissenting judge are ridiculous. It is clear she is biased against any male committing a sex crime and should have recused herself.
It is also a shame that they didn’t take the opportunity to look at the “frightening and high” and “80 percent recidivism” rate that Smith V Doe 2003 and all sex offenders laws and failed court cases cite as reasoning behind the laws. This case basically allows all that to stand but say that even with that this one individual isn’t part of that high percentage so it’s cruel. Well, hey, that’s the case with over 85% of sex offenders as a whole, and 99% of certain types of sex crimes. Where is their justice as long as Smith V Doe fiction stands as fact?
Something is very very EVIL about this sex offender registration, I have a real good theory as to the REAL reason why politicians and other proponents of these laws want to maintain this but just can’t prove it without certain people at the top willing to come forth with certain type of information. In other words, something else is going on with these laws that is hidden or behind the scenes. I say this because of the rational used by proponents to justify these laws, i.e., a pandemic of sex crimes, high recidivism rate, sex fiend zombies out there with razor sharp claws, blood shot eyes and fanged teeth slobbering at the mouth, naked and hiding in the bushes next to an elementary school waiting to snatch 200 or 300 kids—at the same time. Seriously, I know people (at work) who actually think all this to be the case. Anyway, this rational has been shot down like a Japanese Zero in the Pacific during WWII. These is over 15 years of solid, empirical research by some of the most respected clinicians in the country that disprove this high recidivism—-LIE! And I have yet to read any empirical evidence from proponents of sex offender laws to support their position. What is going on is this, people find sex crimes very repulsive, and they are, and it is an EMOTIONAL issue so they are more then willing to believe any negative press on this. Statistics, logic, reasoning be damned! Proponents of these laws wouldn’t care if the recidivism rate was 0.00001%! Even this percentage makes for a pandemic! So it doesn’t matter what these reputable professors, clinicians and other say about this issue—proponents of sex offender laws don’t give a damn!
The federal government is behind a campaign to demonize someone who may have a photo of a naked teenager as someone more dangerous than the armed robber who may have committed murder. The sex offender registry and highly restrictive laws are vital to the United States government so that the FBI can silence those that have information on corruption and government lies. It is easy for government forensic experts to hack into a computer, then use tools such as “Attribute Magic Pro” to make alter dates of files on a computer. Once you tell the public defender of a murder trial you have pictures of the crime scene that conflict with the staged pictures taken by police, your computer is confiscated, and a single picture of a naked 12 year old girl is found. It does not matter to the judge that the picture was never opened or that the date of the picture that was downloaded has a date seven months before you even acquired the computer. From that point on you are not able to get on Facebook to expose the government fraud.
Indeed another good one to add to the list here in FL.
This part right here and once again, the lack of individualized risk assessments is at the crux of some or all the Federal court decisions.
” the court made another interesting observation and looked at the characteristics of the Defendant. As opposed to taking a “one size fits all” approach, it recognized that “sex offenders” are not homogeneous and should therefore not be all treated the same. It found, “Defendant is simply not the person at whom the sex offender statutes’ purposes are aimed. Its statutes are not tailored to regulate only dangerous offenders, those likely to recidivate, or those with little or no potential for rehabilitation”
a lifetime on the registry is excessive and a violation of the eighth amendment. “
@FAC – Specific to FL:
In an internet sex sting where there was no real victim only a make-believe one….could this help in getting off the registry for a first timer in FL??
Hopefully this question will help the thousands displaced by these stings…