How Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry Traps People in Debt and Homelessness
It’s well known that police target sex workers, criminalizing their means of survival and contributing to sex offense-related convictions and statistics. In particular, police target BIPOC and LGBTQ sex workers—especially the many disenfranchised, ostracized, and homeless teens and young people engaged in the trade for survival. These sorts of arrest patterns by law enforcement only act to control bodies, cater to the public’s hunger for spectacle, and pad conviction rates, all while furthering a general rhetoric of perversion and predation.
But I do unfortunately know one thing now: Sex offender registries are debt traps that cause mass homelessness and mass incarceration. After years estranged from society and divorced from a solid employment history, the cost of rebuilding a life from rubble and debris is exorbitant (housing, furniture, vehicle, insurance, food, clothing, medications and medical expenses, etc). And that’s without factoring in registry and parole/probation-related costs.
Beautiful piece. I hope that she will keep writing. This is very moving and gently paints some reality for those who don’t get it.
So as a registrant in California, and reading the insanity of the registry in Florida. A state I used to love and now will never set foot in. Seems Georgia is nearly as bad. In California, we have none of these burdens for most of us. Call in once a year, that’s it, no residency restrictions, no providing any info on coming and going other than 21 day international travel notice, no registering others cars. We have many states without any of that. Strap on a pair and get the hell out of those nightmare states. You would simply have to be insane to put up with all that garbage if you don’t have to. Clearly they want you gone, so even if your on parole, you can find a good reason to leave they may let you. I run a successful business and have even during my 3.5 years in prison for over 30 years. The registry only interferes in my international travel desires as it restricts me from most countries. Other than that, I am not bothered at all. It’s how I carry myself, I respect myself and others show me respect at least to my face. Best of luck folks!
You can flee FL, or you can stay and fight injustice head-on.
They can’t make me leave. If they don’t like my being here, THEY can leave. It’s my state as much as it is theirs.
My pops didn’t wait around for Hitler to kill our family in Vienna back in 1938. When the Nazi’s are in control, get the f out. I have no attachment to any land. I go where I am most welcome and free. You are not going to change s**t in those states, if you want to suffer for years when you can easily move, don’t complain, just comply or go back to prison, not that your situation is any better then prison as is!
“Strap on a pair and get the hell out of those nightmare states. You would simply have to be insane to put up with all that garbage if you don’t have to.”
Sir, many of us have to put up with this garbage because of our family obligations or other responsibilities. Frankly, your post was a offensive because I for one have a pair. No need to strap on anything.
So as a registered in California, you should know that registrants have had to fight to fang and claw against cities and counties regarding the residency restrictions. I’m sure that you also know that even though California has a law that says you cannot deny a registrant access to, business services” or housing, people find other ways to get around that such as saying, they’re denying you housing just because of a generic criminal conviction, or they just ignore the law and the state ignores their violations. Case in point Facebook and Instagram. They are denying access to valuable business services yet not a peep out of California about Facebook banning any and all sex offenders.
Ivan
What you said sounds like good advice but if everyone did that these draconian laws would just follow you as more and more politicians grab ahold of the easy money provided by the registry for corrupt politicians. The only way it’s going to change is to stay and fight them, with whatever means possible.
Ivan, I am in total agreement with you. Unfortunately, it is the majority of states that treat the registry as a life sentence. Here in Pennsylvania, as a tier 2, I have 5 restrictions that I must adhere to. That’s all. I will forward those restrictions to FAC, both, for their knowledge and if they so choose to post and/or send to Tallahassee to show there ARE RESPONSABLE states that use the registry as mostly informative and less punitive
The problem with leaving if on parole or probation is that the state you want to go to has to agree to accept you living there through the Interstate Compact. 99 times out of 100, they will refuse, most often by making up rules such as additional residence restrictions that aren’t in the statutes.
The thing with the compact is that states entered it hoping to dump off some of their parolees and probationers with no intention of bringing in others. They’ll fight tooth and claw to keep those on paper from coming in.
Georgia is a good news bad news state. The good news is if you were convicted before 2003, you have virtually no restrictions other than the public registry, including, as best as I can tell, the requirement to register your Internet information. Bad news is that the farther away you get from 2003 the worst things get. When you get to the point of being convicted in like 2008 or later, Georgia is one of the worst states in the country to live in you apparently can’t even work within 1000 feet of a restricted child use area, school, nursery, parks, etc. Now back to the good news, you can actually get off of the registry, and from what I’ve heard it actually happens. There are a number of criminal defense lawyers, who advertise removal services. I’ve talked to a couple of them. Let’s just say that the perceived quality of counsel very greatly among them and the ones that actually sounded pretty competent were a fair bit more expensive than the ones who didn’t exactly know what they were talking about. Lol. I am trying to possibly move to Georgia. I think you actually have to petition to get off the registry up there and if you lose, you have to wait another two years. But Vermont, the most lenient state in this part of the world, is now too expensive all over. Ad to that the fact that New York now has a court saying that you don’t get off the registry after 20 years, but after you’ve been on the New York registry for 20 years, says that the options are more limited than they were a couple of years ago.
JoeM,
How much longer do you have on the registry in your current state? I’d wait to complete your time on the registry where you are. It doesn’t make sense to move while still on a state’s registry only to have to potentially fight the new state to let you come off of theirs when your time would be finished.
If you don’t have too much longer and you can stick it out financially for now, just ride out your registry obligations where you are. When you are finally released from your state registry, then come to GA.
Yes, I’m in GA for over a year now. It’s great! Rents are cheap and in nice areas. I’m renting a 3 bedroom house (not apartment) for $1100 per month. I started in an apartment of only 2 bedrooms for $1280. Go figure.
At least in GA you don’t have to go back on the registry if you’ve completed your obligations to it in your original state (if your original state isn’t lifetime).
So, I at least give GA that.
Below, you see someone invoking the tired Holocaust analogy, implying that its victims were passive suckers just waiting around to be killed, and comparing them Florida registered families.
We relatives of Holocaust survivors should know better. If you can’t tell the difference between Nazi Germany and the State of Florida, then you are of little use to this movement, because you are the sort of person who will always be afraid, no matter where you go.
I’ll admit I’m wrong about this once the FDLE starts rounding up registrants’ families, shooting those families into mass graves, gassing those families with zyklon-b, and cremating millions of bodies. If that’s where you think we’re headed, then you got worse problems than this movement and should consider starting your own.
I recognize that I am likely to offend some people on here, but I feel like we all could use a reminder.
I will say, however, that PRE-Holocaust, during the first several years of Hitler’s reign (circa 1933), lots of burdens were placed on Jews that remind me of my own miseries under the registry. Jews were forbidden to travel to many places, to live in various neighborhoods, and to work at many locations. They were required to submit personal information, including their names and addresses, etc. to a central registry. They were required to have their passports stamped, and were required to wear markers on their clothing while in public. They were shamed and beaten up or killed by members of the community and by soldiers. Their neighbors wanted them gone! Does any of this sound familiar?
Rayo
Good point . The registry is just a different name for divisive actions preemptive of attempts at genocide . You can call it whatever you want but that doesn’t change what it is.
Some Jews were saying the same thing during Hitler’s rise to power.
https://forward.com/opinion/157832/jews-failed-to-spot-hitlers-menace/
The problem with such thinking is that, by the time your family is rounded up, it’s too late. While we have the Constitution as a force of restraint against such madness, we have had a history of preventative detentions during times of war and societal unrest that provide a precedent for future injustices. Once out of sight and behind fences, any number of individual atrocities are possible (as are going on today in our prisons). Could they exterminate all of us? I certainly hope not. I myself won’t go down quietly, that’s for sure.
When I was incarcerated, I personally saw military fighter jets encircle our prison routinely. Some conjectured that these were exercises intended to sharpen their skills should the US deem it necessary to eliminate prisoners during times of martial law. I have no other reasonable alternate explanation other than perhaps sheer curiosity on the part of the pilots. Either that, or they felt sorry for us and gave us a free show every now and then.
When people make such references, it is to make the point of what is POSSIBLE. We have already crossed a number of parallel milestones in our conduct toward those with sexual criminal histories. It is already happening. The purpose is to inform and prepare our population, not to win points with a hostile government and society. That would be a pointless endeavor.
Maybe this comment doesn’t belong here, but I was having hard time finding a place for it. Has anyone else noticed the S.O.L.L. (Sex offender living locator) has vanished off the PBSO website ? I was thinking of selling my home now that it’s value has skyrocketed and was hoping to find a decent condo in an accepting neighborhood. Without the SOLL this task is extremely difficult. Does anyone know of a similar app that can accomplish the same thing ? I’m getting to old for this really big house and the thought of downsizing is looking pretty good to me.