Washington state proposing to add a “sex offender” to management board
A bill has been introduced in Washington that would extend membership to the Washington State’s Sex Offender Policy Board (SOPB) to people who served time in jail for sex offenses. The group would be extended to include a member of a sex offender advocacy group and “a representative with lived experience with incarceration for a sex offense,” among others.
SOPB “is responsible for creating policies regarding sex offenders and navigating state and federal laws regarding them.”
The board is trying to facilitate as many diverse voices as possible, with people having a past sex offense being able to share invaluable information with the board in its policy-decision process.
That is a great idea. I hope they will be able to look past the previous offender and see his heart and the damage they are doing. We all paid a penalty for what we did. As people who were damaged going in to this crime, it seems counter intuitive that the way to address this issue is more damage to already broken lives.
A defense lawyer recently advised me to move out of Florida to Washington state because of the draconian registration laws in Florida. The fact that Washington authorities would even consider taking advice from a PFR regarding changes to sex offender laws and policies really says a lot. I can’t see that happening in Florida.
WOW!!!!
That is quite interesting.
Of course, any opinion(s)/suggestion(s) offered by the PFS on the board would be mired in supposed bias and irrational opposition. I wouldn’t want his job. Godspeed.
Pretty please stop turning good news into bad news all the time. We have an uphill fight as it is, no reason to self-defeat.
This is a step in the right direction. Having a presence on the board at all is huge. I wish we had such a voice here in FL. We would be so better off.
Too bad that I don’t live in Washington. I would like to apply for this position.
This is progress. Many won’t agree but if change is going to come, someone from our side has to have a say.
Reminds me of episodes of Star trek where those who are different and even hated from opposing sides served aboard the USS Enterprise to learn new experiences, expand on language skills and see that we are not so different after all.
I’ve been a registered citizen since 2003 from Florida and moved to Washington state in 2015. My life is a lot better here. I’m considered a level 1 i do not appear on any Washington state registry nor is my address shown. I do however STILL appear on Florida registry even though were closing in on a decade since I’ve been there.
I own a home here and do not move around so once a year an officer knocks on my door asks me to sign a piece of paper and that’s pretty much it. I don’t have to go into any offices, i don’t report any email address or anything they just see where I’m living and that’s it.
When i moved here i spoke to an officer over the phone regarding what happened back in 2003 he was nice and polite. My case was a teenage girl lied to me about her age back when i was 23 years old.(did not fall under Romeo and Juliet laws) I received a withheld of adjudication but Florida placed me on the registry even though i don’t have a felony record. He asked me if appearing on the registry is important to me i explained its the entire reason i moved here so that i could live a somewhat normal life and he placed me as a tier 1 here. Not sure if this helps anybody that is considering moving here.
I have another 2 years left before i can challenge to get off Florida registry already have the 10k saved up in a savings account waiting for the day to go hire the lawyer that was recommended here.
Save your money. Florida will not remove you. You can die and Fl will not remove you. You have to wiat 25 years to be removed from Florida Registry. Also if you had any other felonies or misdemeanors your not eligible for removal from FL.
@Tired of it.
You can be removed in 20 years if that was your original sentence. I personally have never had anything else before or after this incident and i never even intended to commit this crime to begin with. I will post an paragraph from this site that i have saved on one of the articles
“Prior to 2007, 943.0435(11) provided an opportunity to petition for relief after 20 years without subsequent arrest. In 2007, the State moved the finish line to 25 years and added a bunch of offenses that would render someone never able to petition for removal.
Today, a Circuit Court Judge ruled that the state can’t move the finish line. That alone, was a decision that is consistent with the same ruling judges in several other Florida Circuits have made, but what makes this one extra special is that the Judge expressly found the “2007 amendment to be punitive in nature”!”
I fall directly into this category as my thing happened in 2003. I will be using attorney Ron Kleiner (https://ronkleinerlaw.com/) as recommended from this site as he has been successful a number of times for removal.
I know there was some talk of the 20 year thing up in the air around November but i havnt seen anything about it since so until i do i will stick to the 20 year ruling.
@Mike
It is being challenged in the courts and I had to drop my petition because the judge was not comfortable making a decision while it is being appealed. I drew the same judge that someone on here got that got denied.
I am waiting until the case is decided but it has been under review now for almost a year. I was told by an attorney that the courts can sit on it and not rule either way for the end of time. My one chance to be removed may never happen now if that happens. Many of those in power in Florida are just mean and hate filled, punishing people until they die, then keeping them on the registry after death and punishing their families.
I will add that depending on the judge and where you live, you might find a judge willing to give you relief but you do not get to pick your judge. I already knew the name of the one judge we did NOT want to draw on my case, and that was exactly who I was assigned. I withdrew so I did not lose my deposit.
Like I said, it depends on the judge you get but in some places they are so short of judges, you have no rotation of judges. I saw one judge had a daily docket of 100 cases. How can you fairly hear someone’s case by giving each person 5 minutes of your time?
Thank you Mike for The information and recommendation I have not been able to find anyone to help (1997).
Go ahead and give Ron your 10k and see what happens. Been there done that. If you haven’t done 25 years. Don’t bother. Also if the state has deemed you a lifetime offender. Also don’t bother. If you have had any other charges, even technical violations, they will not remove you. Most attorneys will tell you whatever you like for 10k pay day for one day of work. Iv already wasted 10k on this.
Used to be 10 years according to the 2001 statues
“ (l) A sexual predator must maintain registration with the department for the duration of his or her life, unless the sexual predator has received a full pardon or has had a conviction set aside in a postconviction proceeding for any offense that met the criteria for the sexual predator designation. However, a sexual predator who was designated as a sexual predator by a court before October 1, 1998, and who has been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or sanction, whichever is later, for at least 10 years and has not been arrested for any felony or misdemeanor offense since release, may petition the criminal division of the circuit court in the circuit in which the sexual predator resides for the purpose of removing the sexual predator designation. A sexual predator who was designated a sexual predator by a court on or after October 1, 1998, who has been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or sanction, whichever is later, for at least 20 years, and who has not been arrested for any felony or misdemeanor offense since release may petition the criminal division of the circuit court in the circuit in which the sexual predator resides for the purpose of removing the sexual predator designation.”
https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2001/775.21
I went to live in Washington State for the summer and moved back in October. Washington was honestly paradise in regards to registration laws compared to Florida. Just wish it was not so expensive to live there. I could live anywhere i want. and depending on your crime many including myself are not listed publicly in Washington States database (but you are in the national one). Registration was nice and simple and they didn’t charge you fees like they do here. no branding on my drivers licensee,
Walter
I still do not understand how they cannot not only retroactively apply the registry, but then say it is not punishment, all the while charging you a fee to register for something that did not exist when many of us were arrested. PROBATION requires fees, registry fees seem about as punitive as can be.
Force us onto a registry then charge us a fee to register. Many of us do not work and are barely squeaking by then you are going to add a registration fee on top of the other punishments we adhere to?
So far my place doesn’t charge. If they start they will just have to arrest me because that would be the final straw for me. Getting locked up for not paying a fee that shouldn’t exist sounds like hatred bogus punitive actions in my worthless opinion.