Public stocks, public dunkings. These were the fates of those shamefully accused of witchcraft in the 1600’s. Scarlet Letter A’s for adulterers in the 17th century. A way of publicly humiliating and shaming those who went outside of their church…
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“M” 87 years later
1931 That’s the year Fritz Lang’s movie “M” was produced. It’s an oldy for sure, starring soft spoken, bulgy eyed Peter Lorre and Ellen Widman. “M” is the story of Berlin’s police and underworld trying to trackdown a “loathsome child…
Sex Offender Group Therapy: The Never-Ending Story
When does your court required “sex offender group therapy” end? Who knows? There seems to be no clear cut answer to what I think is a pretty straight forward question. When you begin group sessions and ask how long treatment…
Sex Offenders Take Over Island of Oahu !
Now that I’ve got your attention- The current population of Hawaii’s 3rd largest island, Oahu, is approximately 992,605 as of a 2016 census. The population of registered sex offenders in the United States (and I use the term “United” loosely)…
HUD Bans Housing for Lifetime Registrants
In June 2001 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, now headed up by Secretary Ben Carson, banned lifetime registered sex offenders from subsidized public housing. (Only those tenants who were in subsidized housing before the law went into…
A History of Suffering and Misunderstanding
The first reference to the disease was in 1550 B.C., by 4000 B.C. many were infected. Those afflicted were made to wear clothing that identified them- Some were made to wear bells so as to announce their presence- Historically, Biblical…
Child or Adult, Age Just Doesn’t Matter On The Registry
Recently I read a study from Johns Hopkins/Bloomberg School of Public Health/Dec.6, 2017 titled “Children on Sex Offender Registries at Greater Risk for Suicide Attempts, Study Suggests.” The article discussed how children who are legally required to register as sex…
Scammers Targeting Registrants
Scammers- They come in all shapes and sizes and use any means possible first to scare and intimidate you and then to separate you from your hard earned money. There are email scams that inform you that you’ve won big…
Sex Offender, Registrant or Registered Citizen: Does Society Care About The Label?
First I struggled with the label “sex offender”. The words sit in the mouth like a heavy after-taste. Then “registrant” became the catch-all phrase. It sounded less ominous, not quite as frightening but few outside our circle even knew what…
Witch Hunt Mentality Equals A Win For Registrants
Because of a hysteria driven, over-zealous mother, the New York State Senate recently passed legislation that prohibits placing school bus stops in front of the homes of registrants. Some may call it a “win” for this witch-hunting mother and others…
The Dating Debacle for Registrants
Who do you tell, what do you say and when do you say it? That’s just one of the many dilemmas facing single registrants trying to reintegrate back into the dating world. Getting out there an socializing is risky business…
West Virginia’s Fake News Regarding Sex Offenders
I thought it started out as a good news article from The Exponent Telegram in West Virginia. A judge was reading sex offender rules to a defendant at a sentencing hearing. The author of the article correctly noted that defendants…
A Heartless Man Without A Soul
CBS/ South Florida recently had Ron Book/Chairman of Miami-Dade Homeless Trust debating with host and investigative reporter Jim DeFede about the Miami-Dade homeless encampment that has recently been shut down. You would think someone who’s chairman of something called the…
Check Your State’s Sex Offender Treatment Board For Conflicts of Interest
A few weeks ago I wrote about registrants being used as what amounts to “uncompensated lab rats” for VASI/Visual Assessment of Sexual Interest screening in Tennessee. My concern was not only that registrants are being forced to take visual assessment…
Taxpayer’s Money Wasted on Duplicate Registry Compliance Checks
For those registrants that are out on parole, home visits by a parole officer come with the territory. Let’s just say there are good P.O.’s and bad P.O.’s. Some arrive on your doorstep inconspicuously, badges slightly hidden so as not…
Registry Restrictions VS Parental Rights
Recently I wrote a piece on Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s denying and then limiting a father who also happens to be a registrant, access to visit his ill child in the hospital. A father who was doing right by his…
Registrants: Uncompensated Research Subjects
Are registrants uncompensated lab rats? TN sex offender treatment includes the use of VASI/Visual Assessment of Sexual Interest screening. From the little amount of information available online regarding VASI, it’s similar to the AASI/Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest developed by…
Do Conditions of Parole Violate the First Amendment?
For those registrants under parole, commonly referred to as “supervision”, it comes as quite a shock when you are first informed that you can’t have a smartphone or access to the internet, all violations of parole for most registrants. Access…
TN Sex Offender Treatment: A Conflict of Interest
When TN registrants are court mandated to attend sex offender therapy, you would assume that therapy is being delievered by a professional, unbiased counselor or therapist. But, no, if you read the “Philosophy of Sex Offender Treatment” put out by…
Aging on the Registry Can Be Hazardous To Your Health and Freedom
One of the hazards of aging is memory lapses. If we’re fortunate enough to make it into our 50’s,60’s and beyond, we may start noticing that we forget little things, where you left the car keys, where you put your…