Why is the Registry Punishment?
I can’t believe that we are still having to answer this common sense question. Isn’t it obvious?
Apparently to the judges of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, who recently overturned a lower court’s decision that the registry was cruel and unusual punishment, it’s not so clear. Neither was it clear to the judge in the Southern District of Florida who felt that forcing people into homelessness due to Miami-Dade county’s harsh residency restrictions isn’t punishment either. Incredible given that two of the original defendants on that case had died homeless on the streets of Miami by the time the Court heard the case. How is this possible?
Well what is common sense to us isn’t necessarily common sense to a judge. We must remember that judges, like all of us, live in their own world, socialize with their own friends and exist in their own preconceived notions about society, crime and the law. In other words, they have no clue what’s it like to live one day in our shoes. If, just for a week, one judge could have his name, photo and information listed on the Florida Sex Offender Registry, make him go out and find a job, a place to live while raising two kids or try to find a partner to spend life with, then have him come back and make the decision as to whether or not the registry is punishment. Wouldn’t that be glorious?
Residency restrictions, going to our kid’s schools, having a shot at keeping a job, finding a place to live, going to church, all of these things can continue to be denied us because our presence on the registry isn’t punishment. This is hogwash. You know it but the Court’s don’t see it because apparently we have yet to make our case crystal clear.
In an effort to do that we want to compile a list describing in detail the punitive effects on a registrant, their family, friends, employers and others in their lives, experienced living a lawful everyday life. Please include your experience in the comments below. Be specific and we will compile your comments for a “master list” of the punitive effects of the registry. Also remember that this is specific to our presence on the registry, not the criminal conviction itself nor any hardships as a result of probation requirements. PLEASE only list events that happened to you, not commentary.
Judges don’t know what they don’t know, so we have to tell them. We look forward to your comments.
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God, where to begin? We couldn’t keep our house due to residency restrictions, we would have owned it outright by now. Lost job, of course. Got job, eventually, for MUCH less money, and when a disgruntled employee found husband on the registry slid a mug shot pic under boss’s door. The employee then called the news stations,who swarmed the business and our house, where my 84 year old dad in a wheelchair answered the door. The business owner has no choice but to fire him, that kind of news is bad for business. Our credit is in disrepair, my car has been egged routinely, we both live in constant fear, and every night there’s another news story about horrible sex offenders, are they in your neighborhood? We’ve also had the now expected scam phone call trying to get money and threatening immediate arrest. We know better now, and thank heaven knew an attorney, but those few hours terror were indescribable. Husband got another job, for even less money, where they take advantage because they know the situation, and where else is he going to go? We’re well into our fifties and the realization that this is never going to be over makes it hard to even face the next day sometimes.
To transfer to a larger company, I must pass a background check. I’ve been given acceptance letters from companies making $100,000+ a year, but once a background check is done, they’ve pulled the offer.
I have worked very hard to rebuild my life many times now. When I first was released from state custody I spent time under an overpass. I found legal housing at a hotel, but when a TV News Crew put the hotel on blast for allowing Sex Offenders to live there I was kicked out. I was a lucky one, they gave me a week to find something else. I had the support of family and friends and found an apartment in a legal zone that was 2-3 times as expensive as comparable housing in other areas not approved. Finding a job was a major hurdle, because I not only had to identify as a felon, but as a sex offender. Most recently I was accepted by a Social Organization- trying to do some good in this world, and when it was found out my past I was immediately suspended and pending banishment. I have to take unpaid days off whenever I need to register something with the Sheriff. I finished my sentence. I finished Probation. Shouldn’t there be an end to the registration as well?
Trying to rent a room/share an apartment or house (not only does your new roomie find out that they are now a public target, so is their vehicle.)
Mysteriously getting a flat tire (nail/screw puncture) about twice a month for more than a year (It happened to me until I moved.)
Having to piss off your boss by taking time off from work several times a year to make a trip downtown.
Having a police car at your home
Having to report to the county jail several times each year
(Just for starters)
By sharing my worst moments online for the world to see and publishing my face and my address, my punishment was not just mine–my family was also punished. My wife was kicked off of non-profit volunteer opportunities. My daughters were excluded from groups when they were in school.
A few years ago, I was doing quite well. It was a decade after my arrest and I was the president of the board of a religious congregation. Although many people knew of my conviction, some didn’t. One of those who didn’t saw my name on the registry and decided to make an issue of it publicly. At the same time, I was a negotiating a lease deal for the building for an after-school care program to solve a shortage problem in my town. The organization pulled out of the deal because of my placement on the registry. The town suffered. The religious community suffered. The media picked up the story and I was shamed and humiliated once again – both locally and nationally.
I live in constant fear that someone will use my information published on the public registry to cause me or my family harm such as a physical attack or even murder. How do we know this can happen? Just ask federal Judge Esther Salas. Her son was murdered and her husband was seriously wounded by a gunman who targeted her and her family just because she is a judge. That can happen to anyone who is on the public registry just because of being on the public registry.
People who are listed on the registry have been murdered just because they were listed on the Hit Lists. At least one spouse has been murdered because of the Hit Lists. Beyond that, definitely most families are harmed. I’ve yet to see a Person Forced to Register whose children are not bullied or worse. I think that is a given. The Hit Lists harm children every day.
I remember in the past F.A.C even posted someone was killed because of the registry that was NOT even the person they thought they were but just LOOKED like the registered person.
Read about the sex offender panic in Britain in the summer of 2000. Lead by the now defunct News of the World tabloid. The News of the World somehow got ahold of a list of sex offenders who were being released from prison. A whole lot of vigilantism occurred. And in a country where a lot of people share the same name, many if not most of the vigilante victims weren’t even sex offenders. This is probably the main reason why the UK’s sex offender list hasn’t been made public.
DOESN’T THE SUICIDES ALONE PROVE IT IS PUNISHMENT?