SC lawmakers looking to modify state sex offender registry laws
State lawmakers continue their work to make changes to the state’s sex offender registry laws.
Last year, the state Supreme Court ordered South Carolina’s lifelong registry was unconstitutional. Lawmakers have until June to create a way for offenders who are at low-risk to re-offend to petition to be removed from the registry.
Looking to modify? No. Forced to modify? Maybe. Let’s see if they care as much as the Michigan legislature when it comes to obeying court orders. I won’t be holding my breath.
The issue I have with this is the (Low Risk) part. I’ve been offence free for 33 years in Fl and I still go 4 times a year for registration. And I’m not deemed a predator. It won’t suprise me at at if they make 99% of the registratrants high risk just to avoid letting any off.
Pariah1
At what moment will Florida realize you aren’t a threat since it’s been 33 years since your arrest. I can’t imagine having to give information to the government when it wasn’t a law 33 years ago. Florida’s law are harsh it’s time to ebb away from the overreached lifetime punishment. Hopefully it’ll happen sooner than later.
If only this applied to Flori-duh.
So, lawmakers, explain again how this is all somehow worth the cost to your constituents? Where is the cost benefit analyses? Tell us who you are actually protecting with your registry and these new procedures you want to implement? Give us the actual number of people, age ranges, general data to show having a special department with specific funding with more bureaucracy will be better than allowing for a data proven time limit of registration for those forced to register. Show your constituents how having these extra personnel on the state roll will be more efficient and safer than just adding a sensible time limit to registration. I doubt it can be done. But you are making it sound as if these extra processes are the only options. You need to recognize the actual data that is out there that shows exactly how long after an offense a person is likely to reoffend, and use it. For that matter, let people do the actual punitive time required by judgment and let them at least attempt to move on with their lives. If they mess up again, let the court judge them again just like any other “crime”. Legal judgment needs to end at some point, what better time than when the supposed punishment is over?
Would this have any effect on our state S.O. laws?
If by “our state” you mean, Florida. No. This is from South Carolina. Occasionally we report on what’s going on in other states because we have readers from around the world and so we know what other states are doing.
WHENNN will our Supreme Court do the right thing and at the very least curtail Florida’s draconian registry laws??!
There was a comment by one lawmaker criticizing the new SC appointee K. Brown because, according to him, she reflects leniency towards SOs. If that is the case, that could be very favorable to us in future litigations if of gets upthere.
The SC lawmaker has put himself in the fear mongering camp occupied by the likes of Senator Josh Hawley, Missouri’s equivalent of Lauren Book. This week, the White House via Jen Psaki took Hawley to task over his Twitter rant claiming Judge Jackson was unqualified for the Supreme Court because she had an “alarming pattern” in her treatment of sex offenders. He has already played the moral panic card, which will surely come up again in the Senate hearings.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10624869/White-House-slams-Republican-Josh-Hawleys-toxic-claim-Bidens-SCOTUS-nominee.html
Senator Josh Hawley is running for President in 2024, so of course his tough on crime card comes out.
Here’s what she wrote in a law journal article in 1995-96ish, right around the time that registries were beginning:
https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1504221933046534146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1504221934434799624%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanthinker.com%2Fblog%2F2022%2F03%2Fjudge_ketanji_brown_jackson_has_a_soft_spot_for_child_predators.html
Doesn’t really seem that extreme to me (it’s not like she called for registry abolition or anything), but Hawley’s trying to push it.
Her child porn sentences are usually below sentencing guidelines, but the same is true of about 75% of federal child porn sentences. (Since most judges realize how ridiculous those sentencing guidelines are.)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-hawley-ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court_n_6234b708e4b019fd812d8aab