When Prison Is A Better Option
From the Blog of Scott H Greenfield, comes an interesting but horrifyingly disturbing real-life story of a person required to register as a sexual offender who was released on probation, only to request to be voluntarily violated so that he can go back to prison. Why, you ask? Because probation sent him to go live in the woods!
Even though he could have had a home with his mother or his sister, both addresses were off limits because of residency restrictions, so he had to sleep in the woods on the ground, like an animal. The conditions were so bad and aggravating to his medical conditions, that he decided he was better off in prison… so he voluntarily violated and went back.
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The individual referred to in the blog post is on probation. Any and all of his conditions of probation are considered to be part of his punishment. Including his residency restriction.
Once he is released from all penal sanctions, including the residency restriction, he will likely fall under the purview of 775.215 formerly 794.065.
Considering statutory construction of 775.215 along with a safeguard against an Ex Post Facto violation (prospective application) suggests the intention of its makers in 2004 was to impose a punishment.
Lets start this conversation understanding the nature of the Constitution and Rights in the Bill of Rights. They are LIBERTIES, not RIGHTS. They say congress shall make no law……things the government may not do and what they can not interfere with.
We are at LIBERTY to act on one’s own inclination. To travel, to change jobs and residencies without government interference or restraints unless for the PUNISHMENT of a crime.
This liberty interest, the FREEDOM to change residencies is so deeply embedded in our nations history and traditions, that any attempt to impose such restriction retroactively without question violates the ex post facto clause. So why do we continue to fail in the Courts?
The argument.
It’s not about a “RIGHT” to live where you want. It’s about whether the act of changing residency is protected conduct.
The restriction on the liberty to change ones residence is intrinsically penal. The use of words such as “Regulation” does not change the nature and character of the enactment. It is PUNISHMENT.
Hopefully all the negative results from when the registry began; will come up in the arguments when the season starts back in Tallahassee for all the Legislative to hear!. And hopefully the positive side of the board if there is any, will listen and have respect and empathy if there is any. If a registered citizen, happen to hear that; say went hiking and got lost and had to stay the night in the woods with no blanket or pillow?. Normally of course there would be empathy towards that person no matter who they were. Because that is what normal human beings do!. They are supposed to care for one another and hope they are alright!. And just like the possible family member that would have to stay the night in the woods because they got lost. I am sure they would rather spend that one or two nights in jail if they could!. The only difference would be that that person wouldn’t be in jail because of some sort of ” PUNISHMENT” Just like the guy that volunteered to violate just to have a place to sleep!!.
No longer is America is perceived as a fair country and admired around the world as the land of the free. Instances such as this one and YES sex offender registries themselves dispel that myth and are one of the reasons that America IS failing.
When a country and its citizens allow this sort of inhuman treatment of other citizens then the values have been lost. The current “leaders” on both the state and federal level simply do not care about individuals.
What is even sadder is, the registries were started here but almost every other country in the World has followed our lead and now have some sort of registry. Will they ship us all off to Anartica to start a new country like they did with Australia ?
Yes. This happens quite often that a sex offender is released as “homeless”. It happened to me, but I was fortunate to have housing offered to me by a place that was not in an exclusion zone. But I have seen plenty who are living in the woods.
It is inhumane to deny shelter to any human.
The sex offender residency restrictions MUST BE STOPPED (by ANY means!)
If it were not for my elderly parents helping me out, I would be living in the woods myself. I spent all my savings on useless attorneys who lied to me and never offered me the chance to get a public defender when I ran out of money. I did not want to plead guilty but the lawyer said if I did not have the $ for a trial, that was my only recourse. I appealed from prison with the judge and she wrote back with a denial for an appeal.
When released I tried to fight it but was told the statue of limitations had expired and there was nothing I could do.
Let’s remain aware that even judges can be sued. And may that time come when registrants perform that liberty en masse.
Nearly 20 years ago I was sentenced to probation with a prison sentence hanging over my head. Each time i was violated on probation, the probation was increased by 1 year, plus any time I spent in jail “stopped the clock”, meaning that when I got out, i would have lost time and had to make it up by them adding it to the end of my probation term legth. This is effectively how these people hold you forever.
Then if they violate you and the courts impose the sentence that was held off, then this probation time and jail time does not count towards the prison sentence, even though it is supposed to. What this means is this poor soul will be on probation for a very, very, very long time and then when they cannot extend it any further, he will be on parole. If that does happen, he should simply refuse to accept the terms of parole and stay in prison and finish out his sentence in prison.
Knowing what I know now, I would have gone straight to prison instead of accepting probation option, then refusing terms of parole and stay in prison. Instead of spending 12 years between probation, prison and parole, i would have only done 4 years in prison and saved myself 8 years of hell and been a free man, or at least as free as I could be, as the registry still seems to have a stranglehold on my success in life.
He should be filing a motion to the court to revolk his probation and impose the original sentence, then refuse parole and stay until he is finally and truly done with no supervision after.
Every sentence carries a statutory maximum. When you get violated, the time you spent on probation does not count as time toward a sentence BUT it does count toward the statutory maximum. I did 10 in prison (6 plus a violation) and 13 on probation in between. My statutory maximum is 23 years and some months. Basically, they could not give me any more time on probation (well, a few months, but a violation of that would’ve meant nothing because there wouldn’t have been time to get me back in the system without exceeding the statutory max. )
I just want to maskew sure everyone is aware of that. I wasn’t and when I found our, if saved me from more time when I brought it up. To be clear, my public defender was clueless about this.
Dear Jim, thanks for pointing out the issue of statutory maximums. I have raised this issue in federal court. My argument is essentially that I have exceeded the maximum statutory penalty of ten years for a porn offense bc it’s now been almost twelve years of punishment between prison on supervised release. Federal defenders were clueless about it but my paid defense attorney is not.
Well if the Expo facto case ever moves forward and we can get relief from the Retroactiveness of the registry, many of us can live with just having a criminal record but no other sanctions. From what Florida action committee said in one of their post, the case can be delayed for many years or the court can decide to not hear it at all.
(at least that is how I interpreted the wording, correct me if I am wrong)
You are wrong.
The case is proceeding as it should. If you check the docket on PACER you will see regular activity.
The case may take years – that’s how long these cases take.
Only the SCOTUS can decide not to consider a case, not a district court.
So #1 I was correct on the first part, it can take years
#2 I said correct me if I am wrong on the 2nd part so thank you for a quick update and correction 🙂
How do we access Pacer and what is the Case Number?
https://www.pacer.gov/
1:18-cv-24145
it says I need to create an account view ??
Yes, you need to create an account to view the cases. It’s not a free service.
.31 cents a page to view? Help me out with a job first! Lol
Any updates on 1:14-cv-23933-PCH.? It was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit? New case #?
Court of Appeals Docket #: 19-10254