The Dobbs Wire: UPDATE on that MN banishment story – residency restrictions
UPDATE: Patty Wetterling gave a presentation last week at a Birchwood Village, MN city council meeting—and may have convinced some to set down their pitchforks. It was a timely visit as Birchwood has been wracked with controversy–whether to reintegrate individuals who are on the sex offense registry or legally banish them from living in the town; similar controversies rage around the country. A family there, the Jeffersons, had offered a helping hand and a place to live to their grandson upon his release from prison, touching off a firestorm (see the story at the end of this post). Here’s a link to a streaming video and a news story about the unusual session featuring Wetterling. Wetterling, of course, has a very personal connection to these issues, the kidnapping and disappearance of her son many years ago was a high profile matter; she successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Jacob Wetterling Act. –Bill Dobbs
Birchwood Village City Council Meeting with guest Patty Wetterling
Streaming VIDEO:
http://www.cityofbirchwood.com/index.asp?SEC=04F1A0DF-9816-4BEC-BEEF-BC1B4CD9DC92&Type=B_BASIC
White Bear Press | Nov. 9, 2016
Wetterling offers hope to other parents
By Sara Marie Moore
Excerpts: Less than two months after the Wetterling family’s worst imaginable scenario came true — that Jacob was in fact sexually assaulted and killed — Patty Wetterling is telling other parents not to be afraid. Fear is what gripped Birchwood about a year ago when the community faced the prospect of a Level 3 sex offender moving into the village to live with family members. At the notification meeting last fall, fear reigned.
Wetterling was invited to speak in Birchwood to offer her perspective to the community divided over where Level 3 sex offenders should be able to live. “People were terrified, bona fide scared,” said a resident, who saw the community become divided over the issue. “We have to open our hearts and get to know each other.”
MORE:
http://www.presspubs.com/white_bear/article_ef0a3800-a6a8-11e6-8cbf-07e04cfb16e2.html
Minneapolis Star Tribune | Oct. 1, 2016
Well-meaning family takes in sex offender, inciting fear and outrage
The debate in Birchwood Village shows a problem that state leaders still have not figured out how to address: How to integrate sex offenders into a community.
By Brandon Stahl
Excerpts: For 50 years, the Jefferson family has lived in the same home in Birchwood Village on southwestern White Bear Lake. What they thought would be a gesture of compassion outraged their community. The Jeffersons wanted to take in Tom’s grandson, Joseph Zacher, a Level III sex offender, considered the highest risk to reoffend.
That has put the family and Birchwood Village at the center of a dilemma that state leaders still have not figured out how to address: How to integrate sex offenders into a community. Studies show it’s better for offenders to live in stable communities to minimize their risk of reoffending, but many places reject them.
Alison Feigh, a program manager at the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, said the laws do little to keep kids safe. Though it may seem counterintuitive, she said, putting Level III offenders into a neighborhood might make it safer for children if the community comes together, learns more about the offender and becomes more vigilant to prevent sex assaults.
But hundreds of Birchwood residents saw a threat to their children.
MORE: