PA: Lifetime requirements for Sexually Violent Predators not punishment
Yesterday, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court found a distinction between Sexually Violent Predators and others required to register. The court ruled that lifetime probation, counseling and other restrictions do not constitute punishment when applied to somebody deemed a “Sexually Violent Predator”. The court, “recognize[d] there are heightened public safety concerns applicable to SVPs.” A copy of their decision is below.
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Registration isn’t punishment as long as your not on it. I live in fear every day and especially when I go in to physically register quarterly. Which by the way, I do in a suit and tie. The one time I showed up in work dungarees, I was treated like dirt. The suit throws them off a bit. I hate the fear of not if, but when.
Vincent,
i do the opposite, i go in wearing torn up clothes, not having taken a shower and no deoderant. They want me out of there so bad most people let me go ahead of them LOL maybe just for fun, next visit I will roll around in some doggie doo doo before going in.
I hate suits. I do not even wear one to church. Jeans and a clean shirt
All this legal mumbo jumbo just to say it’s not punishment in order to keep it from being unconstitutional. What a bunch baloney just to keep the Registry going…
I’m a little lost on how it is punishment for one but not another. To say, for example, residence restrictions are punishment for a tier one registrant but not SVPs is like saying a bullet is less deadly when fired at a wolf than at a deer. To me at least.
Still on probation
An attorney recently told me that regular probation in Florida is not that bad: don’t break the law, obey a few other rules, and you are going to be okay.
He said that sex offender probation is a whole different ball game, being much more difficult to follow. This might not apply to those who were on sex offender probation years ago, but with “strict liability”, it is now easier to get violated.