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REASON: ‘Sex Offenders Are Not Second-Class Citizens,’ Says Judge While Nixing Alabama Rules on First Amendment Grounds
“Sex offenders are not second-class citizens,” writes U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins in a recent decision overturning two provisions of the Alabama Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act (ASORCNA) on First Amendment grounds. “The Constitution protects their liberty and dignity just as it protects everyone else’s.”
Those points, which should be obvious, are a sadly necessary corrective to the hysteria that has driven legislators in one state after another to enact indiscriminate, mindlessly restrictive, and covertly punitive laws aimed at sex offenders. ASORCNA, which Watkins calls “the most comprehensive and debilitating sex-offender scheme in the nation,” is a prime example.
The lead plaintiff in this case, dubbed John Doe 1, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure in the early 1990s, when he was living in Wisconsin. He received a six-month suspended sentence for each charge and was not required to register as a sex offender, even after moving to Alabama in 1994. But 14 years later, Alabama expanded its registry, forcing Doe to comply with ASORCNA’s numerous demands and restrictions under threat of imprisonment. Among other things, that meant his driver’s license was marked with the phrase “CRIMINAL SEX OFFENDER” in bold red letters. Here is how Doe describes the consequences of that notation:
I have never felt so embarrassed and ashamed in all of my life. I would not wish showing this on my worst enemy. It makes me not want to go places where I have to show it, and I try not to go places where I know I will have to. But every week, there is some places that ask me to show it, and every time, I get them evil looks from people—like I’m a murderer or something. I done paid for what I did over 25 years ago. Nobody should have to carry this. It ain’t right, but I don’t have a way out.
We have talked and made great points, yet we have placed emotion with them. The fact that others are taking these cases to court and changes are happening, we must come together and faces these issues in our state. Freedom only comes when we stand up to address them in courts, I known that many opinions on that matter too. Yet, have we become a people that speak out on other people verdict. Is this not why we have this organization to help us address these kinds of issues in our our states and in this country. But, we need brave souls to come forward to questions these thing and the help of this organization to guide us through the courts. If anything else our own families are also carrying these burdens. If, I’m wrong here, I’m truly sorry, but just like you I’m only voicing a opinion.
The residency restrictions are senseless. For example: A sex offender can’t live near a park. If he did, the children in his neighborhood might go to the park where other parents are supervising them. The children that live in the neighborhood where there are no parks nearby play unsupervised in the parking lot where all of sex offenders live. Sex offenders who would rather live alone can’t find there own apartment because of background checks end up moving in with single, cash-strapped moms. Sex offenders who would rather live in a big city in the commercial district, away from kids can’t live there because of all of the large churches in the commercial zone. The sex offenders instead live far away from any school with the prying eyes of watchful parents. The children in the sex offender’s neighborhood gather at the most remote bus stops farthest from school, on the outskirts of town with the longest response times for law enforcement.
Keep in my mind that registered citizens are not restricted during the day and can go anywhere and work anywhere other than parks and schools – specially post probation, but the thing is that you can find kids pretty much anywhere during the day and evening, the mall, the movies, fast food restaurants just hanging out, parking lots of Walmarts and other big box stores, pretty much anywhere…. yet, a residence is where you put your head at night at 10pm where basically kids of all ages are already asleep with their parents in the house…especially during the work week/school days. Senseless indeed. It’s crazy that I thought that residence restrictions or SORR laws would be the easiest of the sex offender laws to be stricken down because of that. Some states I believe don’t have them and others have stricken them down already. Florida is indeed special…. and I mean insanity special.
why is this stuff not equal protection under the law. if convicted drunk drivers don’t have any of this bs on their lic. no driving while school is in session, etc… then why should convicted SO’s have this BS?
Why…I have detailed why and what the registry is/has become. The facts speak for themselves. I have detailed the real reason that the registry exists and exactly how shady politicians like Senator Lauren Book exploit emotions for their personal gain at the expense of other’s very lives!
Find out the truth and help spread the facts about sex offender registries because exposing the truth is the only way to make change.
It is not an equal protection issue because DWI and sex offenses are different laws. If two people convicted of the same offense were treated differently, then there could be an equal protection issue. It is mere ignorance, fear and loathing, not a question of unequal protection.
I recently looked on Truthfinder website to see what kind of wrong information they had on me that they are spreading to the world. There was a lot but what they had in the sex offender list section was upsetting . Among other things ,it warned “ Sex Offenders are dangerous criminals who can pose immediate threat to you and your loved ones.”
With hysteria causing rederik like this it’s no wonder things are going the way they are. This is no different than what is printed on drivers licenses . Action must be taken to remove all such lies from pubic sources.
Amen
If there are any Attorneys that read this and you think we can have a class action law suit out of this please let us know what we need to do this company is nation wide serving all states. Everyone on the registry is in danger because of things like this.
There are other companies like this who sell information off of public records to everyone . Finances , criminal history, web sites. Phone numbers , all relatives ,parents , children, ex-spouses, addresses , work places, and more. They make money by exposing the person and all there relatives to thieves, scams, and violence. They try to do this by using hysteria they drum up using the registry as there tool ,as to why you need there service. Their lies are unconscionable and they know they can get away with it because of what crooked politicians and others have been able to say. They are inciting to violence in order to make money off of public records.