Registries are totally ineffective at protecting the public from harm
By Sandy Rozek, board member and communications director for NARSOL
NARSOL, the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws, was the first to publish this article.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, a 10-year-old girl was kidnapped and murdered by a registrant on the Illinois Sexual Offender Registry.
We are all appalled at this heinous crime, but is the answer to add more ineffective, insane laws that do nothing to protect society, yet continue to punish many people who have paid for their crimes?
Read what Sandy has to say here.
The world has known that they are ineffective for years yet they keep defending it like its the bible and adding more and more restrictions for people that are on it. Nothing will change as i said more than 10 years ago it will only get worse. every time we see an article that we think is a win for us it only gets struck down later in a higher court. We get happy when we stop another regulation from being added only for it to be added by another politician down the road. The solution is pooling the money from all advocacy groups throughout the U.S. and hire a killer attorney that will sue the pants off of every city/town/state that has and makes new restrictions. Hit them in the pockets and they will back down
I plan on doing just that. BIG TIME!!! They can’t grant “Due Process” have a judgement on the Civil side of the ACT then L.E. use the “Register” part but then refuse the “Not for Public Notification” part making it public record. Their “Our Laws Constitutional” can only go back so far. 9/13/1994 to be exact when the V.C.C. was signed into law by a [moderated]! “Public Registry” was signed into law on 5/17/1996 Finding an Attorney who will work with us is almost impossible an the ones who do rip us off.
Our excellent attorneys are already challenging the registry in court at no cost to us in legal fees.
It’s the expert witness fees (not to mention deposition costs, hearing transcripts) that require donations. Without them, no attorney can clearly prove in court that the entire registry scheme has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with punishment.
You mean with the Ex Post Facto case? Then they should learn about me… Funny with the Expert Witness crap I know. Yes, the donations are greatly needed for a better tomorrow for people who are on the registry. They have gone way overboard from what it started out as. I’m as much an expert as any of them as I’ve been on this crap from the start. I’m one of the first 1,172 to be put on New Jersey’s Megans Law retroactive. We fought in court from the NJSC to the 3rd Circuit. I promise when I hit back the are gonna feel it. They messed with a Retro B52 Tier 1. When the NJ prosecutors office saw it they FREAKED! Know what they were told by L.E. Well Our Laws Constitutional. They are so screwed… Congress can’t make laws Ex Post Facto so L.E. can’t enforce Constitutional Law Ex Post Facto. But just wait it gets better and better.
i was not saying that our attorneys are not effective or doing anything to help us. What i was suggesting is that we pool our resources and get a well know attorney like an Allen Dershowitz or somebody of his caliber to tear the registry apart before the supreme court. RSO’s problem is we all have attorneys working for us nationwide but they may not have the experience of a world wide well known attorney. Who if he wins at the highest level will make it easier on all of us nationwide
I wish I could agree that that hitting them in the pockets would have an effect. But the government is spending tax money, so their funds are virtually unlimited. They don’t care how long a case drags on. In fact it is to their benefit to stretch it out as long as possible. As the saying goes, “delay, deny, hope they die”.
I recently read an article on history that to me seems to mirror the SOR. In the 1930s Hitler instituted a law requiring all homosexual men to register and their names were published to warn the public of their presence in society. This was done to assure all Germany was an upright and decent society with high morals . Also to help curb the decline in population and encourage the having of more children. Being married or not was not an issue. Also homosexual women were not included in the list. Then during WWII they decided to just go one step further , round up All these men, put them in concentration camps , starve them and start sending them to gas chambers.
So if you were wondering what the purpose of the Registry is now you know. Interesting how history repeats itself.
No one is going to send sex offenders to the gas chambers. Don’t even worry about that.
I don’t think that sending registrants en mass to the gas chambers is in the cards, but people are seeing more emotional laws that will have a negative impact on registrants. We already face multiple years in prison for failure to register one of the fifty plus restrictions placed on us. The state legislature lowered the bar for executions in this state, and have threatened people’s livelihood for speaking their minds. We have to continue to do our best to stand up to the forces that wish us, or anyone harm
Jacob
Probably not but history shows that when government is allowed to publicly mark a certain group as undesirables and worse that any other group it opens the door to unlimited array of more oppressive and dangerous laws and rules that have no end.
This story is a double edge sword. No the registry didn’t stop him from doing what he did, but will that make more people think that they should increase the protection? Such as more laws? I did not research the whole case, was he a person with multiple convictions? If not the future could be more strict for persons with our past. I only hope that there could be a better process to distinguish a person that may have a sex conviction in their past, and may never repeat that offense, and those that have trouble figuring out why the things they do continue to do hurt other people.
Tragic story it is and I hope that it never happens again, However,……
Placer County California plans to release to the community as a transient a tier level 4 recent graduate of Civil commitment.
This man by all accounts from the media is practically guaranteed to re-offend.
I hope he doesn’t.
I hope this time he has learned his lesson and never harms anyone again, but…….
This thing smells to high heaven like a set-up.
I think the nation will be hearing about how oh so unexpectedly this guy just couldn’t hold back the urge or whatever else tagline the consortium of they will most assuredly ascribe.
I’m on the side of Narsol and FAC in my distaste for the registry but damn it ain’t lookin good.
Has anyone ever re-offended after release from civil commitment?
Michael Pierce:
You can’t rely on the media to determine if a person is likely to reoffend or not. Sex offenders released from civil commitment have a very low reoffense rate. Like all former offenders, this man deserves the chance to reintegrate back into society.
I don’t know how my comment can help , however, my Prison ” psychologist”, was adamant about understanding how and why I gave myself ” permission” to commit my sexual offence. And if I can’t find and understand the circumstances behind giving myself permission…then I may not be strong enough or able to remove myself from those circumstances…and possibly give my self permission a second time.
With all due respect to the prison psychologist, that sounds like just so much psycho-babble.
It may be ” babbling” but it made sense to me , and I believe the theory.
From all these comments about suing the pants off of government to putting sex offenders in the gas chamber sounds like the problem is still under construction after of so many years of brain storming the registry.
Suing the pants off of government would be a get rich scheme and well the gas chamber would he a solution to eliminate those unwanted in society. Seems like this two edged sword has its limits when government use there understanding wrong.
Guess government standards in this registry usurp jazz does have its ineffective goals at preventing wrong doing. What a catcher in the rye.
I have a question not related to this article didn’t know where else to post.
All insight would be appreciated. I have a fenced in yard with posted Private Property No Trespassing sign. Its also locked. I do this not to be bothered and as a deterrent to would be vigilantes. in a in person home verification or registry compliance sting can officers jump the fence? They normally call me to let me know they are there but I had one threatened me with jumping my fence if I hadn’t picked up phone.
Thank you.
I had a similar problem with the Alachua county sheriffs department. My property is marked no trespassing in several places, and my gate is always locked. While I was at work two deputies jumped the fence and knocked on my door so loud it scared my wife. She called their supervisor and said she is going to press charges for trespassing if it happens again. Now they always call me to see if I’m home.
TY. I also have video cameras that are visible, so hopefully that helps everyone do the right thing.
No, LE may not jump the fence on a compliance check. King v KY and Jardines v FLA are two cases that say a fence with a lock are acceptable to protect your curtilage from efforts like this.
The LEO who says they can, can jump it with the ramifications of a lawsuit aimed at them and the dept for violating settled law. The LEO can also lie to you by saying they can jump it as SCOTUS has said they can lie with impunity. LE would be best to not attempt this type of invasion.
Thank you for that citation. I just read Scalia’s majority opinion in Florida v. Jardines. It’s a reassuring boost to the privacy rights of homeowners.
If others would like to read it (it’s rather short for a SCOTUS opinion), you can find it here: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/569/1/#tab-opinion-1970609
RM
Thank you for this. It also raises other questions. Is it legal for LE to come on your private property to check vehicles license plates and vin numbers if they can’t do so from the street. The way I read it they must stay on the sidewalk that leads to your front door . Also they can’t peek in your widows from your property , unless it’s from your front porch.
From what I understand if you are not on probation or parole, they must have a warrant or be investigating a crime to come ontoyourpropertywithoutpermission. I am not a lawyer. But even though you may be a registered citizen, you have the same privacy rights as anyone else. They just need to be reminded. If this is not true please let me know, because thats how I live now.
These compliance checks put police in a very precarious position. They are asking them to do things that unless the registrar willingly agrees he cannot force or do anything about. Unless he is willing to break laws which he could be legally shot for and be liable. The requirements are unconstitutional to begin with unenforceable totally useless and a waste of taxpayer resources.
Thank you all.
Very much.
I am replying to Davidm on a string that is getting difficult to read on a cell phone. Local law enforcement is being asked to enforce difficult laws. But how they choose to to do so is still up to them. They can choose to follow the law, or take a chance and trespass. They have my number and follow the law recently. It is their job to enforce the law, therefore they should know how to follow it. I only hope some common sense starts to develop as the studies show the registry doesn’t work.
Craig, I feel your pain my friend I do. I’ve been on this from day one. They can do all the studies in the world none are going to show that a registry doesn’t work. It just may stop a person from recommitting. [moderator’s note: studies of registries’ efficacy agree that they are ineffective. See our research page for details]. We need FACTS… It’s like a lock, locks are to keep honest people honest. We do need a big change in the registry that I’m for a will fight till the end for it. What started out as Megans Law turned into Helter Skelter. I’m gonna show this for a fact. We need to show they are abusing our constitutional rights with FACTS. I need to find people who were convicted before 9/13/1994 That is what and who I need from here.
Allan, your post reminds me of the joke where a bartender noticed that every time a certain customer took a sip of beer, he snapped his fingers. Finally the bartender asked why, and the customer replied that it keeps the pink elephants away. The bartender replied that there were not pink elephants. The customer said, “it works doesn’t it?” The registry is very similar. If a crime does not occur it is impossible to know why.
I agree that data and facts should drive the conversation. I also might agree with those who argue that “if it saves one child” the registry is worth it. That can never be demonstrated, but is a useful red herring for those who are pro-registry. What can be demonstrated is that the registry actually harms the children of registrants. Finding people who were convicted prior to the registry’s implementation is not difficult. The problem is that as long as the courts won’t concede that the registry constitutes punishment (some have), any ex post facto argument is dead in the water.
Well pink elephants didn’t commit a crime either but I get your point. As for the moderator’s note YOUR RIGHT! They don’t work because if they did there wouldn’t be a million of us on it 28 years later now would there be? The Registry is not a deterrent as the facts show. We need to build a case that helps stop this madness against us. Flordaa took the Federal law to the extreme and used the 5/17/96 Amendment to enforce public notification on EVERYONE… Anyone convicted before then “might have a case” unless they try an use it retroactive to 9/13/94 which is legal as it is just an amendment to the Federal law. I’m looking for others who are old school retroactive like me who were convicted before 9/13/94. We were granted “Due Process” under state and Federal Constitutional Laws. I have a Civil judgement that states “Not For Public Notification” that FDLE and LCSO took the registry part but refused the rest of it and made it public. It’s coming I’m gonna show that it is punishment. BIG TIME! Finding people who were convicted before the law maybe easy but finding one who is a Tier 1 who has the Civil Judgement on the public registry is hard.
Allen I probably am not among those you are looking for. My supposed crime was Dec. 1996. I plead out in September 1997. At the time I had never heard or a SOR. My attorney never said anything nor did the prosecutor nor the Judge. Nobody till they booked me and told me I had to enlist for 10 years as a misdemeanor offense. There was no tier rating at that time in Kansas. No jail time 6 mo. Probation. Not all States adopted the full Federal way of handling it right away. Many took years to initiate. I requested to be removed in Kansas in 2008 and so was removed. But then I moved to Missouri a few miles away and was required to sign up again for Missouri this time. Since then they have changed the way they classify several times so now they say I must register for life. Why is the government allowed to lie to you when you make a plea agreement with them? Why isn’t a signed agreement binding for them ? I
DavidM I’m sorry you had to go through this. I’d get with Kansas laws an see if MO. was wrong. Florida has it that if you had to register in another state you have to register here. I know people who were convicted in other states before this but didn’t register. They hauled ass to Florida because they were convicted before 10/01/97 but were released after the laws an didn’t have to register as they were leaving the state. I don’t think they allow anyone who has been removed to not register either. Your conviction was after 9/13/94 which was the date of the Federal law. Anyone convicted before this date was granted Due Process. Then it had to be a Tier Level 1 at that. I know there was 528 of us when the Federal law went into effect on 12/10/97 Don’t worry I’m gonna give them a Mike Tyson left hook cause they done screwed the pooch with me. It’s being handled now but damn 39 lawyers turned their backs on it.
Allan
Yeah, that’s the problem I have. No attorney wants to touch it. I think they’re afraid it’ll give them a bad name if they win.
Oral arguments for Motion Summary Judgement on the Ex Post Facto II case were heard last month and we are awaiting the judge’s opinion. Trial date originally scheduled for 7/17/2023 was postponed. We should have more information on the both Ex Post Facto cases next week.
Maybe we need another lawsuit https://youtu.be/n_cpmKJ93Uo
Pay attention to mark 5:20 since most of not all registrants are on probation it’s considered under sentence, since sending them someplace with out shelter, would violate administrative code. So they could be forced to roll back some of the 2500 foot rolls since maybe they’re legally required to provide housing since we’re under senates. It seems. maybe FAC should contact the news station for more exposure to this crisis.
Actually Sandy is a bit off balance in this registry issue. Are many looking at this registry as a double standard or in the principal of truth in this issue. It would seem that many of the advocates that fight against this registry don’t seem to look at the big picture.
Correcting is good if the right method is applied or who intrudes on another to weaken them whether its an argument or some other disagreement. Should warnings be of any merit or who is standing up for correction in the right manner or is much of this registry a conjecture of evil intent. The truth is still truth or should one look at a double standard for deception in government or even a redress of grievance.
https://news.yahoo.com/public-not-warned-sex-offender-005700534.html
Horrifying on many levels.