Linkfest: Sex Offender Mania Updates
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I mostly gave up blogging about the Sex Offender Mania for lack of time and no lack of other blawgs covering the topic in greater detail than I ever could.
Nevertheless, here are some updates:
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ITEM: Yet another study, this one in Tennessee, debunks the myth that sex offenders are "incurable recidivists" and indeed shows that they may actually be less likely to repeat-offend. This myth, along with the refusal to acknowledge that most child molesters know the child and are not strangers, are the main justifications for the registry and residency restriction mania that is sweeping the country. Previous post here. (Via Sex Crimes Blog.)
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ITEM: Meanwhile: "More than 2,700 recently paroled sex offenders in California have been told they have to move because they are violating a new law that bars them from living near schools and parks." Sweeping residency restrictions can easily become de facto banishment, which is a constitutionally suspect penalty.
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ITEM: A federal judge in North Carolina has struck down the civil commitment provision of the federal Adam Walsh Act as a violation of the commerce clause (i.e., in the spirit of U.S. v. Lopez and U.S. v. Morrison). That's a bold approach given recent retrenchments away from such jurisprudence (e.g., Gonzales v. Raich). The case is U.S. v. Comstock, No. 5:06-HC-02195-BR (E.D.N.C. Sept. 7, 2007) (PDF - 59 pages). Coverage at Sentencing Law & Policy and Sex Crimes Blawg.
Nevertheless, here are some updates:
---
ITEM: Yet another study, this one in Tennessee, debunks the myth that sex offenders are "incurable recidivists" and indeed shows that they may actually be less likely to repeat-offend. This myth, along with the refusal to acknowledge that most child molesters know the child and are not strangers, are the main justifications for the registry and residency restriction mania that is sweeping the country. Previous post here. (Via Sex Crimes Blog.)
---
ITEM: Meanwhile: "More than 2,700 recently paroled sex offenders in California have been told they have to move because they are violating a new law that bars them from living near schools and parks." Sweeping residency restrictions can easily become de facto banishment, which is a constitutionally suspect penalty.
---
ITEM: A federal judge in North Carolina has struck down the civil commitment provision of the federal Adam Walsh Act as a violation of the commerce clause (i.e., in the spirit of U.S. v. Lopez and U.S. v. Morrison). That's a bold approach given recent retrenchments away from such jurisprudence (e.g., Gonzales v. Raich). The case is U.S. v. Comstock, No. 5:06-HC-02195-BR (E.D.N.C. Sept. 7, 2007) (PDF - 59 pages). Coverage at Sentencing Law & Policy and Sex Crimes Blawg.
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
- Sex Offender Mania: Lethal for Children?
- My First and Last Post on Genarlow Wilson
- Linkfest: Sex Offender Mania Updates
- Linkfest: Sex Offender Mania Updates
- Sex Offender Mania: Sex_Offender@gmail.com?...
- Redlining Sex Offenders -- Update
- Miami Beach Effectively Bans Child Molesters
- Redlining Sex Offenders?
Posted by Kip on
9 September 2007
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