Florida Supreme Court makes it risky for a defendant to tell a judge ‘I’m innocent’

The Florida Supreme Court is sending this message to criminal defendants: If you think you were wrongly convicted, keep it to yourself. Ignoring long-standing law, the justices decided that when defendants dare to dispute their guilt instead of owning the crime, state trial judges may pile on extra prison time. With that, the justices normalized a penalty for defendants who

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NC: Phone scam targeting persons required to register as sex offenders

[FAC NOTE: We will keep sharing these as a reminder]   A phone scam in Orange County has been targeting registered sex offenders, prompting the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to warn the community about the risks of these calls. On Nov. 17, the sheriff’s office received two calls alerting them about the scam. “The person would answer the phone and

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TN: Huge win as Tennessee District Court slams the state for it’s registry violating ex post facto provisions.

Even though it had the benefit of relying on 6th circuit precedent, a Tennessee Middle District Court judge yesterday slammed the state for violating the Ex Post Facto provision of the Constitution by applying registry restrictions and conditions to people whose offenses predate those restrictions and conditions. In the Order, the Court stated, “Under the Constitution, a backward-looking sexual offender

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Plantation man arrested on charges of extorting, harassing state Sen. Lauren Book

Florida police have arrested 19-year-old XXXX of Plantation on cyber stalking and extortion charges after he allegedly faked sexually-explicit photos of state Sen. Lauren Book and threatened to distribute them to news media outlets. Book, a Plantation Democrat who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus, is a widely known advocate for victims of child abuse and sexual abuse. According to the

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Compensation denied for man wrongfully incarcerated for 37 years

A man who spent 37 years in state prison for a rape and murder he didn’t commit is also being barred from being compensated for his wrongful conviction. Efforts are underway to eliminate or bypass the so-called “clean hands” provision that bars compensation if there had been previous convictions. Robert Duboise, 55, has been walking the halls of the state

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Pakistan: Op-ed points out flaws in Chemical Castration

Using hormonal drugs to reduce sexual violence recidivism is known as chemical castration. In 1996, California became the first state in the United States to authorize the use of either chemical or surgical castration for certain sex offenders who were being released from prison into the community. This legislation was extremely controversial at the time; however, eight additional states have

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ACTION NEEDED: There are some discrepancies in the Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board’s comments

Derek Logue recently pointed out that Colorado’s SOMB’s changing of the term “sex offender” to “adults who commit sexual offenses” only makes it sound as though that is what people with a past sex offense do:  continue to commit sex offenses.   Research shows this is false.  That is why it is so surprising to me that the Colorado Springs Gazette

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Alachua County is doing it the right way: Guaranteed income for some formerly incarcerated people, with no excluded groups

The Alligator at the University of Florida recently printed an article on a new program in Alachua County called Just Income GNV.  “This privately funded program, designed by formerly incarcerated individuals, assists formerly incarcerated people re-enter society with a guaranteed income.” Just Income GNV is still in the application process, which ends Dec. 1.  A group of 115 people will

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