Man tired of spending time in prison for failure to register seeks DNA to prove actual innocence
Don Johnson (not of Miami Vice fame), like some people, are on the registry not because of actual guilt but because they accepted a plea years ago to avoid the risk of trial and because they thought it would put an unpleasant experience behind them, not knowing a registry scheme would eventually be enacted that would make their lives hell.
Don plead guilty to a sexual assault in 1994 (his sentence was one year vs. potential life if he had gone to trial), before the enactment of the registry and he’s since been struggling with registration requirements, being imprisoned for technical registration violations. While in prison, Don sought to take advantage of a 2012 law that provided, “A person may file a motion for forensic or scientific analysis under this chapter if that person: (1) has been convicted of a criminal offense in a court of the commonwealth; (2) is incarcerated in a state prison, house of correction, is on parole or probation or whose liberty has been otherwise restrained as the result of a conviction; and (3) asserts factual innocence of the crime for which the person has been convicted.”
The District Attorney argued that Don wasn’t entitled to a DNA test because he was not in prison for the sexual offense, but for failing to register as a sex offender. The Massachusetts supreme court held otherwise!
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The other important question is whether or not a a felony for the strict liability crime of failure to register violates the 8th amendment, particularly because of the reduced due process of strict liability offenses and that they punish conduct that is not in and of itself criminal.
FAC’s ex post facto plus challenge argues that position, among others.
Wondering what the status is of that lately, not sure i’ve seen an update
Most recent update, including latest filing, was three weeks ago on this site.
In any sexual case, the Constitution is thrown out the window. This is the one class of people in which civil liberty’s do not matter. You can scream from the mountain tops and everyone looks the other way.
In my case my lawyer basically said a lot of the rules would not apply to me. Boy was he wrong
DOE v. DEPT. OF PUB. SAFETY & CORR. SERVS.
I belive this the case i was refering to abo e out of Maryland
This is the place where my blood starts to boil..instead of looking for Justice and seeing if he’s innoncent. The district attorney wants to just leave him stuck as a SO for life on a technicality.
I don’t think the results of the DNA have come in yet to determine if he’s guilty or innocent.
Please keep us updated.
My blood boils, too.
I am dealing right now with family members of two cases where the incarcerated individuals have been found innocent either by a retraction from the only witness involved or very old autopsy results that showed a death was caused by a rare brain disease. Even after the prosecutors involved have acknowledged that there is no longer any proof of guilt, both individuals are having to remain in prison for 4 to 6 months before being released. Authorities are quick to lock people up, but releasing the innocent is not so quick.
In these new laws that have been passed recently either making certain acts no longer illegal or the time spent in prison has been shortened, my local paper stated that law enforcement and prosecutors have been against the changes. One of the reasons given for why prosecutors opposed the changes was that prosecution offices do not have the manpower to open up all of the cases that would be involved. So prosecutors want people to sit in prison simply because they do not want to find a way to deal with the extra work involved, while other people who now commit the same acts can either walk away free or at least have their sentences shortened?
I sat in County jail after my sentencing for almost 6 months before the Prison picked me up and I never got a bit of credit or gain time. then sat another 4 months at the reception center for processing and assignment, also without any gain time. I was cheated out of almost a year of gain time due to this.This was also back when we actually got gain time unlike now where they do a large part of the sentence which gives no one any incentive to behave while locked up.
So sorry to hear about this. If it were not for the Donald Smith case, my husband would be released in less than 2 months. He always receives the maximum gain time, but of course none of it counts. He thanks the guards for their service, salutes them, sends them thank you notes, and gets upset when others are rude to the guards. As retired military, my husband has the highest respect for authority, but my husband is considered violent, dangerous, and highly likely to escape. There seems to be very little common sense in our society anymore.
This is not at all an issue which has just come to light. For many many years many innocent individuals have spent years even after innocence has been established. Since the system failed the individuals as well as their family’s. To seek and correct their errors should be a priority period.. After all are not they sworn to protect the rights of the people. Are not the the wrongly accused and convicted part of the people? The fact more is spent to convict and less to protect the innocent . Is discusting.
Good for him. Also there is case law out of Maryland where a RSO who took a plea before the registry took SORNA to court and the MD high court found that a plea is a plea and he was removed. The case escapes me but I have considered it. My Judge said I would have to register as an SO but that was before Florida had a Registry so it could o ly be referring to the Jacob Weltering Act.
My husband’s alleged crime was in 1993. Long before any registry. He accepted a plea for the same reason. Did his 4 months time . His crime was non violent, no one was physically hurt or mistreated he just wanted it past him. 26 years later he is still paying the price when it makes it impossible for him to participate in simple things like his sons sports. If he had known there would be a registry, he wouldn’t have taken a plea, he would have gone to trial especially since his crime wasn’t that horrible. It truly isn’t fair what has happened to people whose crime was before the registry. Their informed choices were robbed from them.
Yeah I had a specialist ( Doctor ) I waited 6 months to see only to be told I should pick another doctor as they were going to pass on me as a patient. They never came out and said why but 100% know once they got a copy of my driver’s license why they rejected me as a patient. And my DL only has the Statue not anything else but they knew something was up so they must have looked up the statue
Are doctors allowed to reject a patient because they are on the registry?
My hubby says the same thing. He wouldnt have taken a plea….