The Dobbs Wire: New price – LIFETIME ankle bracelet or a felony
The new price is a lifetime ankle bracelet or get hit with a felony: For those who thought they had âpaid the priceâ for their wrongdoing â Missouri just tore up the deal. Now some with sex offense records are learning they must wear and pay for (current price $30/month) GPS âankle braceletsâ for *life* — under threat of felony prosecution and prison time. Will the state get away with exacting a higher price â retrospectively? A legal challenge is already underway, stay tuned. Jesse Bogan has a report for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. âBill Dobbs, The Dobbs WireÂ
St. Louis Post-Dispatch | May 16, 2017
Hundreds of Missouri sex offenders now required to wear GPS monitoring devices for life
By Jesse Bogan
Excerpts:Â A sex offender from St. Charles County thought he had moved on with his life after successfully completing five years probation for sending web cam photographs of his genitals to an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Now heâs among hundreds of people in Missouri who are learning they must attach GPS monitoring systems to their ankles for life, even though such a requirement wasnât part of their sentencing agreement. The retroactive requirements are part of a revised state criminal code that went into effect Jan. 1.  âLifetime. For the rest of your life. I canât even comprehend it,â said the man, who didnât want to be identified to avoid bringing more unwanted attention to himself.
The St. Charles man is among several sex offenders who are suing and challenging the state. In the lawsuit, in which he is named only as D.G., the 40-year-old argues that the law didnât exist when he pleaded guilty. He claims heâs no longer âlegally subjectâ to the jurisdiction of state prison authorities. He argues that he shouldnât be required to pay monthly supervision fees for decades, nor have travel restricted for life and have to live in Missouri.
A March 29 âDear Sir/Madamâ letter from chief state supervisor Julie Kempker lays out the law, including threat of a class D felony if conditions are violated. âWe understand that this change may be unexpected,â Kempker said in the letter. âRather than being detracted by the lifetime supervision requirements, you are encouraged to remain focused on your daily supervision responsibilities and to do those things that improve your life and positively impact your family and the community in which you live.â
Many sex offenders panicked and started calling lawyers. Some are confused, for instance, those no longer on supervision who moved away from Missouri. MORE:
This canât continue..Lifetime parole-probation, lifetime shackles, lifetime reporting and contact with police, lifetime restrictions of all sorts, castration, civil commitment, travel bans, no right to bear arms to protect ourselves and our families, itâs got to end..help me end it..
Does this apply to those recently arrested, currently incarcerated and soon to be released in Florida? Does Florida have the three levels or Tiers for SO? This question would apply to a Liver one or Their I type offender/offense. Thanks P
Florida does not mandate life ankle monitoring.
YET
Senator Lauren Book is sure to have that at the top of her “To Do” list right – after she and her daddy Ron decide on which ankle monitor manufacturer to do “business” with…Stay Tuned!
If the Books introduce a bill that would mandate lifetime GPS monitoring, it will be up to us to slow the bill down and stop it in its tracks. We need to stay on top of pending legislation.
Thanks Jacob. How about any sort of Ankle Monitoring ( requirements) for Level/Tier I Sex Offenders? He is getting out soon and cannot seem to ID where to go to find out the correct answer to this Question?
Unless his judgement order calls specifically for ankle monitoring upon release (in which case it wouldnât matter what state heâs being released to), I canât think of a reason why heâd be subject to it.
Note that Florida does not have a âTier 1â classification specifically. Just âoffenderâ and âpredatorâ (the latter being Floridaâs closest equivalent to Tier 3)
I think at this point, I would rather take my chances and live in Venezuela than be a sex offender in this country right now. Hell, it’s probably nicer in Syria right now then it is in Florida and Missouri for us……
Now is not the time to let the uneducated bureaucrats score a win. We must come together as a unified front. One thing we can do is to live an exemplary life style in our communities. I know for some that this is extremely difficult to do under very trying conditions but we must do it to bring about a revision to the false attitudes that have been cultivated over many years. I ask God everyday for strength to live a life that is found faultless by society. I still find fault in myself but God has given us a way to find forgiveness. RSO’s must show the community that they are not what they have been professed to be. I find it offensive every time I hear on the news that a sex offense has been committed. By today’s standards that one offense is reflected by many in society to represent all RSO’s. We must find ways to present ourselves in a different light to society. It is not going to be an easy battle but one well worth winning for our own self-worth, and the well-being of our families. We must be willing to help each other.