AL: Sex offenders at a popular Huntsville homeless camp find it difficult to relocate
“All of these organizations that have come out here don’t help sex offenders. They do not help sex offenders. They have came out here many times and I’ve offered to help the folks to get them and housing. All except for sex offenders because there is no help for housing for sex offenders in the state that they can get us into,” said homeless sex offender Lawrence Azbell. “It’s against the violation of the Alabama sex offender registry requirements. It requires you to be 2000 feet away from any school or day care or any place where children congregate,”
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW AND CONSIDER HOW BIG A DIFFERENCE PERSON FIRST LANGUAGE WOULD HAVE MADE
Hmm. Residence restrictions have been in place for around 15 years now and discussions of where registrants are supposed to go are only now in “early stages”?
Where was the concern about residency of a person convicted of a sex crime PRIOR to Megan’s Law? Oh yeah…. there wasn’t any. So where did this concern suddenly come from? Oh yeah…. wanting votes! Fear mongering. As if no sex offenders existed prior to the Kanka and Wetterling cases. Right on!
Alabama has a unique housing issue that is only now coming to the surface. Registrants cannot live OR WORK within 2000 feet of a school or day care, and this work restriction extends to even temporary labor. Make a work delivery within 2000 feet of a school? That’s a crime.
Not only that, but I’ve seen efforts to shut down any program that tries to help them. I can make the argument that Alabama’s laws are actually WORSE than Florida’s.
It also pretty much prevents registrants from construction jobs. Kind of odd, since construction involves very little contact with women and no contact with kids.
For all its flaws, Florida at least seems to want registrants to be able to work. No employment restrictions, and the employers aren’t listed on the registry either.
That sounds like a perfect reason why every PFR in Alabama should be automatically eligible for welfare for life. If the scumbags in Alabama want to harass people so badly then they should be forced to support them. There should be more consequences also.
This news clip was a wee bit much to sit through. For those who would like to contact the news station, julie@waff.com will get you to the News Director. I am contacting her but could use some support to let her know that I am not the only one a little taken aback by the way this story was covered. Their news coverage of this story just made it a little more difficult for these men to get much needed help, and this station needs to know that. Alabama prides itself as being in the Bible Belt of the South — we sure did not see any evidence of that by what is happening in Huntsville and at WAFF NBC.
I do not fault these people for what they have done, but know they need some educating seasoned with a little grace.
Remember “person required to register”, not “sex offender”. These are not people who are going out and sexually offending.
I don’t think this can be emphasized enough or too often.
I find it pretty crazy that due to the heinous murders of the Asians in Atlanta that people are suddenly supposedly all so worried about hate and not labelling people. Really? Give me a f’ing break. The Hit Lists are nothing but hate and name-calling. No one should ever wonder why America is such a hateful place. It is a core feature.
I really do not like “required to register” however. To me, that sounds way, way too nice, acceptable, and legitimate. It sounds like “oh, this is just a little regulation that people are required to follow”. It’s not that. The Hit Lists are war. The people who are listed on them are forced to register. At the point of guns. To the point of imprisonment and death. It’s war. Everyone who thinks it is acceptable is a mortal enemy.
FAC
I do not think I have ever seen a story where the news interviewed a group of Murderers, Thieves, robbers, druggies, car jackers, bail jumpers etc for something they did 10,15, 20 or more years ago. And if they did, they were not continually being refered to their crime as their moniker.
A large portion of society believes “Once a sex offender, always a sex offender” and that is the life time label they want us to wear.
No other group of crimes is treated as such.
Media
I am a strong Christian. I did not get saved in prison, I gave myself to God in the Early 1970s. I have all but stopped going to church because of the hypocrites. Going to church is not a requirement to go to Heaven.
I am not trying to bash churches, and the Bible states to congregate with other believers to lift each other up. Just funny when they ask an “EX” murderer up on stage to give a testimony, everyone claps and cries and gathers around with hugs.
On the other hand, I volunteered for 3 years at a Christian organization that I will not name. The third year they found out about my past and I was asked to never return. Did I do something wrong in 3 years time there? Nope. My past apparently is who I am I guess.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Even livestock is herded with more respect, empathy and grace.
The media will always be on the side of public sentiment, promoting the lucrative fear and hate mongering narrative until it’s no longer viable or “cool” for them to do it. Funny how they’re covering Asian hate to humanize “awareness,” but PROMOTING hate against those forced to register in the same week. Very telling of how biased things are with the selective outrage in this country.
Especially how we’re already at the endgame of tolerance.
https://www.facebook.com/100056838076065/videos/222740992963835/
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Barney Bishop has gotten the local government to serve City Walk with court papers to shut them down.
This isn’t the kind of Alabama-Florida rivalry I want to see — a race to the bottom in the abuse of their homeless population.