Poll Result: Had you known that sex offender registration requirements would be expanded to where they are today, would you have taken a plea?
Last month we invited registrants to answer the question, “Had you known that sex offender registration requirements would be expanded to where they are today, would you have taken a plea?”
The results are in and 92.2% of the respondents said NO, they would NOT have plead guilty had they known that the sex offender registration requirements would have been expanded to where they are today. That left 7.8% who said they still would have taken the plea.
The Supreme Court of the United States held that a guilty plea is valid only if done voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently, ‘with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.’” Bradshaw v. Stumpf, 545 U.S. 175, 183 (2005).
If certain consequences, such as residency restrictions, didn’t even exist at the time we took the plea, how could we have had “sufficient awareness” of them?
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It may somehow matter legally but I didn’t take any plea, exhausted the apellate process, moved to Florida, served the 10 year sentence to hell on registry & been constantly shuffled from every stable home I have had, less the current one, by Florida Redneck Politicians & local boards of idiodicy. I took no plea but am stuck in the same Hell. Once the label is applied, not much else will ever matter. Dumbass Fl. Legislators & lobyists will ensure we have an unnavigable miine field to always prevent social reinegration or stability. Perverted justice cares not of Constitutional, civil or even basic human rights. I am a Veteran, Federal Civil Servant & hold a Public Trust Position in the Federal Government but a dog is allowed in an emergency shelter during a hurricane & I am left to my own without. I don’t ferl that this outrage deserves any further deleniation. I wish Thomas Jefferson were reincarnated for these people to deal with!
At least you would know where they live now just tell them no for residency tell them which street to be from what time to what time the country has ones on for urinating in public so stay along street under bridges where u think they urinate at beside no one ever says that the crime happens between 7 pm and 7 am or 10 pm to 6 am nothing about happening at schools daycare parks play grounds how many government officials did sex crime and nothing done to them no prision no registery they live at home go on with there business
Keep in mind that this survey tends not to capture (or under-counts) those who committed their offenses within the past decade. Many such people— future FAC members— remain under judicial sanction, including internet restrictions, and have been unable to respond to to this survey unless their loved ones have done so.
This matters because by the time THEY pled— and even by 2006, the passage of AWA— it was quite clear what sort of beast the registry was. But they went ahead and pled anyway, as there seemed to be no viable alternative. This is particularly true of computer crimes, which tend to be more recent and which are so easy for the government to prove (and to coerce a plea).
Speaking to that ,
I am amazed that some people who actually physically harmed a child in a sex act, got less time than some of the internet sting accused where no real person was actually harmed.
At the time I took a plea it was only so I could get this event behind me and move on with my life and the life of my family. My daughter was already in Michigan staying with her aunt and uncle. I was staying in a motel because I could not live in my Virginia Beach home due to a ‘friend’s’ daughters staying with her there. Her daughters had already made a swore statement that I have never bothered them. I was tired of disrupting family and friend live’s and I just wanted to ‘take my medicine’ so we could all move on. I knew I would be on the Virginia registry for a time but did not know what that meant. Since moving to Florida I am no longer on the Virginia registry. My move to Florida was to help my mother with my dad. At the time the impact of the Florida registry was of no concern. I had no idea that Florida’s policy was of no forgiveness. However, I built my retirement home and made the decision that no ‘two-bit’ politician is going to run me out. I didn’t serve in the Navy for 29 years to receive such treatment. My daughter, the victim, has moved to Florida and we get along just fine…as most families would if the politicians would just get their nose out of where it doesn’t belong.
If there truly were some rational people in office, and we didn’t have so many different entities creating so many different changes of their own to these laws, than we might actually have some form of stable registration requirements. However our country allows way to many people to make changes including our own Federal government, that we may never face a single standard of requirements, and most likely never any relief. Humanity can and will shows just how cruel they can actually be, all while hiding under some form or another to make it appear ritous and virtue. Only true humans worth their grain of salt, can show any real signs of compassion and intelligence in matters such as these. Unfortunately our world is becoming overrun by the unritouse and cruel, who play themselves off as helpful saviors.
Add to that local cities etc that make up their own “Added” and additional rules about where you can live, If anywhere, in “Their” city. No going to parks, schools, playgrounds. I am surprised we are not banned from walmart since they have a toy section and we might all lurk around there to kidnap an unsuspecting child even.
Also we are all thrown into one box. Some homeless guy who peed in pubic and got an exposure charge is basically viewed on the registry by the viewing public as the same as John Wayne Gacy would have been if he were on the registry ( He raped and killed over 33 kids that they know of ). Sorry that is just the worst offender I could think of.
No. When I took a plea, my lawyer did not explain anything about the registry or community supervision. Prison is bad, and you expect that the harshness will end when you pay your debt to society, but with the registry and community supervision, life just keeps getting harder and harder.
What doesn’t make any sense is, many of us took a plea YEARS before the registry even existed. It would be one thing if the registry existed when we went to court but how do you apply it onto citizens who already cooperated with the courts?
AND who the Hell cares if it is punishment. It sill shouldn’t be retroactive. I remember when I was 19 and they raised the drinking age to 21, guess what, we still got to drink. They did not make it retro active.