Sex offender law takes beating in court
April 3, 2007 at 2:05 pm by Scott Henry in NewsLast week, opponents of Georgia’s harsh new sex offender law got a boost in the form of a federal judge’s ruling that will allow a court challenge of the law to go forward. But it’s the unusually strong wording of the opinion by U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper that makes lawyers with the Southern Center for Human Rights most optimistic.
In pointing out that ex post facto laws are unconstitutional, Cooper writes: “Ex post facto laws impose retroactive punishment; in other words, they increase the punishment for criminal acts after they have been committed. Defendants [the state of Georgia] argue that the act [the sex offender law] is regulatory rather than punitive, precluding a finding that the act is an unconstitutional ex post facto law. This Court disagrees.â€
Later on, the judge considers whether the law would have the effect of forcing sex offenders to leave Georgia – a process called banishment, and also illegal. “The act may be found to sufficiently resemble banishment so as to support a finding that it is punitive in effect,†he says.
Finally, Cooper acknowledges the criticism that the law may do more harm than good because sex offenders who are forced to move from their homes and families often slide into recidivism. “The Court finds that the act’s failure to … identify those sex offenders who are most likely to reoffend, when coupled with the fact that the instability created by the act may be harmful to the public, could support a finding that the act is excessive,†he writes.
During initial hearings on the law last summer, Cooper was particularly interested in hearing the state defend a provision that bans registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. Given the tone of his opinion last week, it’s probably safe to assume that the death of the bus-stop provision will be the starting point when the legal challenge of the law begins in earnest.
For more information, see the related article in the upcoming issue of Creative Loafing.
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April 4th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Christopher Barrios did not have to die, but he did, why? If we look at the events of the 2006 Georgia legislative session, we can find answers.
1. Had the Georgia Representatives (led by Jerry Keen) and Senators (led by Eric Johnson) listened to Dr. Gene Able or Dr. James E Stark, and the other experts who spoke at the hearings last year, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
2. Had they listened to the RSO’s (Registered Sex Offenders) who spoke at the hearings last year, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
3. Had they implemented and funded RISK ASSESSMENT and a risk level system for ALL the current RSO’s and not just the new registrants after July 1, 2006, as was recommended to them, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
4. Had they listened to the experts in Law Enforcement, and not forced Law Enforcement to spend all their resources on chasing LOW RISK offenders away from churches and employment, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
5. ALL the Laws and Restrictions in the WORLD will NOT STOP someone who wants to offend, the Sex Offender Registry does not make children safer, and neither do SAFETY ZONES; however, THERAPY DOES. Offenders in therapy have the lowest recidivism rate. Had the legislators used common sense in place of political posturing, Christopher Barrios might still be alive today.
6. Because they FAILED to LISTEN to the experts, because they FAILED to LISTEN to Law Enforcement, because they were looking for election year sound bites, they are JUST AS RESPONSIBLE for the death of Christopher Barrios as the perpetrator is.
Again, I ask the people of Georgia to LISTEN to the experts, and force their elected representatives to do the same. Within the past year, these experts have voiced their concern about the new laws, well-intentioned lawmakers are enacting. Here is what they are saying.
“What you’re doing is pushing people more underground, pushing them away from treatment and pushing them away from monitoring, you’re really not improving the safety, but you are giving people a false sense of safety.†— John Gruber, Executive Director of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
“It may be time to do away with sex offender registration laws altogether. At the very least, the federal government should commission research to study the laws’ effectiveness. In the meantime, several changes should be made. States should differentiate between serious and non-serious offenders and only require registration of the most serious offenders. Next, public access to online sites should be dismantled, and registries should be kept at the local police stations. This would provide at least a minimal screening process to those seeking inquiries… Lastly, we should experiment with restorative justice models such as what has happened in Canada where sex offenders moving into a community meet with members of the community in a public forum facilitated by a trained mediator. This type of forum gives the community an opportunity to meet the offender face to face and express their concerns and for the offender to show the community that he is earnestly seeking to change his life.†— Rachel King, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C.
“Though laudable in their intent, there is little evidence that recently enacted housing policies achieve their stated goals of reducing recidivistic sexual violence. In fact, there is little research at all evaluating the effectiveness of these policies. Furthermore, these policies are not evidence-based in their development or implementation, as they tend to capture the widely heterogeneous group of sex offenders rather than utilize risk assessment technology to identify those who pose a high danger to public safety.†— Jill S. Levenson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Human Services, Lynn University
“I would rather have someone who has committed a sex offense be going to work every day, come home tired, have a sense of well-being that comes from having a regular paycheck and a safe home, as opposed to having a sex offender who has a lot of free time on his hands.†— Richard Hamill, President, New York State Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers
“We’re not aware of any evidence that residency restrictions have prevented a child from being victimized.†— Carolyn Atwell-Davis, Director of Legislative Affairs, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
“Therapy works for these people. Let them be punished for their crimes, let them out and let them get on with their lives. Let them work. Let them have stable homes and families and let them live in peace. Harassing them, making them move and continually punishing them does far more harm than good. A sex offender in therapy with a job and a place to live is less of a threat than one that is constantly harassed.†— Robert Shilling, Detective, Crimes Against Children Division, Seattle, WA
There is not a shred of evidence tough laws and residency restrictions have saved one child. There is however, corroboration from the experts, that Sex Offender Registries and “safety zones†are doing nothing more than giving the public a false sense of security.
Again, I call for a National Sex Offender Policy Forum. Georgia can pave the way by holding a Georgia Sex Offender Policy Forum. These forums would be comprised of treatment providers, law enforcement, jurists, victims, offenders, and their families. With the recommendations from this forum, legislators will know what laws need to be written, or amended to insure the safety of our children.
Why are we all in deep denial about this problem? As long as citizens rely on uninformed politicians, the misinformed media and myths about sex offenders, all children remain at risk. We need to come to terms with our denial and seek real solutions, and we need to do it today. How many more Christopher’s, Jessica’s, Dylan’s, Megan’s, Polly’s, and Jacob’s have to die before we WAKE UP?
At the end of the day, we are all responsible; we are all involved in the safety of our families and have an investment in the outcome of this discussion.
April 4th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
There is no dought that there is blood on the hands of Georgia Law makers. They picked a highly public topic in an effort to get quick votes. Because who in the world would stand up for a sex offender. Only there family ,friends the church and decent law makers and courts.There should be a legal way to go after these mad men who make laws and do not perform the research to see what they may harm. They public was told untruths to sell there laws . Someone neede to put a stop to this. Someone needs to legaly go after these legal demons. We can not count on voting them out of office we have seen how much damage they can do before it happens.
June 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
When sex offenders get on these open forums and say things like “We need to come to terms with our denial and seek real solutionsâ€, it only shows that they are the ones in denial and are continuing to deceive the people who trust them. The victims and the families of those sex offenders that have pled guilty in court have to live with the trauma of what was done to them for the rest of their lives. They do not get to just move on with life and the accusers should have to suffer the same fate. I hope that the person that abused my nephew will one day put as much effort into apologizing to our family as he does posting to these forums and writting petitions. I have never once seen him go onto one of these forums and write an apology for the damage he has caused or offer to pay for the therapy that the child will have to have for the rest of his life. All I read from him is how unfair he is being treated. If was is so innocent then he should not have pled guilty in court.