Our courts’ inhumane treatment of people with cognitive impairment or intellectual disabilities on the sex offender registry
Lenore Skenazy with Reason.com recently had an article published, “Disabled Man on Sex Offense Registry Pardoned by Illinois Governor.” An intellectually disabled man was placed on the sex offense registry when he had no idea what he had done wrong. After just over a decade, the governor of Illinois recently gave him a full pardon along with having his record expunged. You can read the article here.
Florida has similar situations, whether it is an individual who is intellectually disabled or suffering from dementia or brain damage.
As an FAC member, I have been advocating on behalf of some of these individuals in Florida. I recently mailed a letter through the USPS to all 160 Florida legislators and Governor DeSantis, telling them my story. I have also emailed all 160 legislators with additional information. Nothing might change in Tallahassee, but our government leaders are not going to be able to say that “no one told them.”
After seven years of cognitive decline, the offense occurred for my family member. Even with a brain MRI showing atrophy of the brain cells in the frontal lobe and a neuropsychologist willing to testify that judgment would be a problem for any person with this type of damage, I was told that Florida statutes do not allow for dementia to be considered by the courts.
In my family member’s case, dementia was not allowed to be considered for the offense, for placement in the Florida prison system, by probation, or for re-registration. Even though my family member is in the last stage of dementia, has been declared incapacitated by a civil court, is enrolled with hospice, has been given 100% disability by the VA, has no idea what his offense was, cannot drive a car, understands nothing about the registry and its accompanying statutes, and cannot tell the registration office if any of his information has changed, law enforcement has told me that he must still re-register in person
This problem goes far beyond my family member who has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. It also encompasses people with any form of dementia, autism, or any condition that causes the individual to become intellectually disabled, whether being genetically predisposed or developing the condition later in life.
I am asking the legislators to change the wording in the statutes so that judges and prosecutors can consider dementia (or any form of intellectual disability). Expecting these people to be able to do anything that a person who has no cognitive limitations is inhumane.
In most cases, the burden falls upon family members who have not broken any laws. They are the ones who must study the applicable state statutes, take care of all the draconian sex offender probation rules, make sure that all registry requirements are met, take the family member to re-registration, take care of meeting the residency requirements, and so on.
Punishing mentally and intellectually impaired individuals and their family members violates our human rights that this country claims to be protecting.
For those of you who are in a situation similar to mine, I encourage you to contact some of our legislators to tell them your story. Ask them how justice is being served by not allowing for consideration of cognitive impairment or intellectual disabilities.
Contact information for our legislators can be found in the Call to Action for long-term healthcare that is posted above.
Just due to the fact there are dead registrants on the sex offender registry, should speak to the battle you are facing. A friend of our church died on the registry and it took his mother 3 years and untold funds, that she could not well afford, for lawyers to find a judge who agreed.
Having a passed away relative on the registry is like keeping a passed away person in prison. Although the passed away person moves onto to their spiritual future, the family and loved ones still suffer the effects of those remaining on the registry after death because the state does not want to part with that extra funding. That folks is the classic definition of mental illness in my book, punishing a deceased person, like you are some god, able to punish people in the afterlife.
Prayers, hope and love towards this family facing the registration of a person who appears to not be able to harm an ant. remember, it has nothing to do with safety and all about extra funding for special tactical units to beef up law enforcement and buy things like armored vehicles.
Keeping dead people on the registry along with those that have it bad enough as it is with dementia and autism just proves that the registry is a spiteful, hate-filled revenge weapon.
You heard me right. The registry is a a petty revenge weapon.
Especially with Florida listing the last know adress of the registrant. So if that address is a family memebers, it still looks like there is a registered person is living at that address. Even tho they are dead. Seems insane to me..
@Pariah
Yes and that could very well cause that family to be attacked, or killed by thinking they are going after an offender and instead taking out their family. AND, what if someone unrelated buys that house, does that stigma stay attached to it because of a former offender as attached to last address for that registered citizen?
I cannot see any justifiable reason why they would keep someone on the registry after they pass away.
It could only be for a continuation of the shame and/or to keep the registry inflated.
After all, if the numbers go down then people might become less worried and the scare factor wear off, and then no more funding.
The federal government could abolish the registry and order states to do the same and Florida would still try and squeeze money out of it.
I know one gentleman (known for decades) that falls into this category- it is shameful
I have never heard of a legislature legislating what evidence can be brought forth to a case. That is beyond their scope of legislating and can be stricken down by the judicial side of the gov’t triad.
It is usually between the presiding official and the adversarial lawyers to decide if it is appropriate. If the presiding official cannot find anything that expressly prohibits it, then it is usually allowed to be discussed to be introduced for discovery, etc.
However, in help to your situation, I did find this which would put the guvnah in a corner if questioned on it related to the situation above:
Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Record Breaking Alzheimer’s Funding and Innovative Florida Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence (https://www.flgov.com/2022/06/23/governor-ron-desantis-announces-record-breaking-alzheimers-funding-and-innovative-florida-alzheimers-center-of-excellence/)
Dead on the registry? Is this not fraud due to the fact that states receive Federal funds based on the number of registrants reported. Also can denial of proper care, treatment and access to nessary treatment be a violation of the American with Disabilities Act ADA?
Seams to be a misappropriation of Federal Funds, basically fraud, and should be made known to the public. Unless there Christ or there’s a zombie uprising I can’t see anyone returning after pronounced dead.
I have a neighbor 2 houses down, or I did have, that is on the registry. He’s currently listed as non-compliant for failing to verify his information. Funny thing is, he died 15 months ago.
This is from the national sex offender registry:
Some, but not all, jurisdictions require sex offender registration information to remain on their public registry website even after the offender has died. This allows sexual abuse and assault survivors and victims’ families to track where a perpetrator is, including if the person has died.
DVC
That is like a cartoon I watched on tv one time. The character said “I will kill you until you are dead, then kill you some more.” It was a cartoon, so it was funny but made about as much sense as staying on the registry after you are dead. If they want the victims to feel less afraid, law enforcement can maybe not be lazy and maybe contact the victims and say the person is no longer a threat. GOOD LORD, what is going on in the World these days????
Its so a victim can check on the grave to make sure the dead person didn’t turn into a zombie and crawl out of the coffin.
Didn’t you know that?
Disgusted
That only applies on Halloween lol
I agree, Cherokee Jack, and how long does a victim need to track their perpetrator once they are dead anyways?
This is just laziness on the part of LE and perpetual shaming.
DVC
This proves the registry is a form of custody and containment. Because even after death, you’re STILL in custody under the false guide of “it’s just publicly available info” which is BS.
Even AFTER death, you’re not a free man.
CUSTODY!
Facts
Personally, I do not care what they do once I am dead, however this then continues to punish your family and anyone who lives at that “Last known address”.
Wow there is that crazy punishment word again we are not allowed to say.
I’d like to ask how you think adoption is looked at by the courts with respect to trying to be removed from the registry? Thoughs?