Judge: "Jessica's Law" unconstitutional

[patric]

"Judge blocks voter-approved law against sex offenders"
http://www.tulsaworld.com/newsStory.asp?ID=061109_Ne_A10_Judge43989

(AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday blocked enforcement of a ballot measure designed to crack down on sex offenders, ruling the law was unconstitutional just a day after voters overwhelmingly approved it.

The so-called Jessica's Law prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, effectively banning parolees from many California cities.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that the measure "is punitive by design and effect" and probably unconstitutional. She issued a temporary restraining order, saying the plaintiff was likely to prevail, and ordered a Nov. 27 hearing.


...And in today's Whirled:

"Experts say new sex-offender rules are too tough"
http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=061110_Ne_A16_Exper23003

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- More convicted sex offenders are failing to register with the state since a new law went into effect banning offenders from living in most residential areas.

Since the law went into effect in July, nearly 200 offenders have dropped off the registry that keeps track of people who have committed sex crimes, the Department of Corrections said Wednesday.

"We recognize that's directly attributable to these laws," said Mark Pursley, a senior probation officer with DOC who specializes in the supervision of sex offenders. "They've raised the bar too high."

The new law prohibits any sex offender from living within 2,000 feet of a playground, park or licensed day-care facility. Sex offenders already were prohibited from living within 2,000 feet of any school. It also toughens the penalties for those convicted of certain sex crimes.

Under the new law, less than 16 percent of the Oklahoma City area is available for sex offenders to live in, and most of that includes land surrounding the airport and other industrial areas without residential housing. In Tulsa, the halos leave about 8 percent of the community available for offenders to live in.

As a result, experts say sex offenders are being pushed into rural
areas, where there are fewer options for treatment, housing and jobs.

That's not a concern to state Rep. Randy Terrill, who co-wrote the bill to toughen the penalties and restrictions on sex offenders.

"If we could constitutionally put a buffer zone around the entire state of Oklahoma, I'd be the first one to authorize the legislation to do it," said Terrill, R-Moore.

Now, 5,225 registered sex offenders are living in Oklahoma. In July, before the new living restrictions took effect, there were 769 offenders who were unaccounted for. That number has since increased to 964, Pursley said.

"This is a crisis," Pursley said. "We've taken stable people who have committed a sex crime and cast them out of their homes, away from their jobs, away from treatment, and away from public transportation.

"It is just absolutely absurd what these laws have done, and the communities are at greater risk because of it."

Dr. Richard Kishur, who provides treatment to sex offenders at his Oklahoma City practice, agrees that the new living restrictions actually make it more likely sex offenders will reoffend.

"There's absolutely no scientific or clinical basis for restricting where they live. It's something that's just based on emotion," Kishur said. "It tends to break down the social support of these fellows -- their friends, family, church and so on.

"The ability to be connected with other people and have other people keeping an eye on the offender is a helpful intervention tool that helps keep the community safe and reduce the potential to reoffend."

Experts say another problem with the new law is that it groups all sex offenders together, from rapists and repeat child molesters to the college student who may have been streaking or planting an unwanted kiss on a coed.

State Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, said he would like to alleviate that problem by implementing DOC assessments of offenders and creating a registry that assigns them to different levels, based on the risk they may pose to the community.

"If we have someone arrested for indecent exposure versus a child molester, there's a big difference," he said.

Kiesel's bill was introduced last year, but never made it to the House floor for a vote.

[sgrizzle]

My primary problem with sex offender laws is what they mentioned before. Peeing beside the road could get you banished as a sex offender. Eliminating 92% of the city of Tulsa is pretty ridiculous. The sex offender registry is an end-run around sentencing by extending an offenders punishment indefinitely.

A 18yo who had a 15yo GF 20 years ago doesn't scare me and make me run in doors. Just like the streaker or any other ridiculous things like that.  The "banishing from the state" comment did little more than to demonstrate ignorance.

[papaspot]

Laws like this one serve one purpose-they pander to the voters. Not only is there no evidence that this kind of law makes our children any safer but common sense has to ask how controlling where they LIVE makes children any safer. I'm sure that the politicians knew when they proposed the law that it wouldn't help anything. But making our children safer isn't really the objective here. Making it SEEM like they're safer is the REAL objective. I'm not a criminologist or a psychologist but it seems to me that STABILITY in the lives of the former offenders would go a long way in reducing the chance of repeat offenses. But this law would have pretty much eliminated any possibility of THAT.

[RecycleMichael]

I think we should build some islands in the river where the offenders could live.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I think we should build some islands in the river where the offenders could live.

But then anytime we need something off the island, we would have to call "snake."

[papaspot]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I think we should build some islands in the river where the offenders could live.

That would work as long as they couldn't get off the islands. But then you get back to the point that sgrizzle made. Do you think it's fair to keep someone sequestered on an island river for their whole life because they had a little bit too much to drink at a frat party fifteen years ago and took a whiz  in the dean's yard? Sexual predators--ESPECIALLY child molesters probably invoke more emotion than just about any other kind of criminal. Now I'm all for taking whatever EFFECTIVE steps that may be necessary to protect defenseless people from them but I think what we have now is just a lot of randomly thrown together stuff that probably doesn't do anything except make us FEEL that our children are safe. Is the guy that wizzed in the dean's yard fifteen years ago a threat to our children? Probably not. Ever moon anybody in your younger days? Ever step into an alley to take a leak because you just couldn't make it any farther? If you did either one of these things, the only reason you're not labeled a sex offender for the rest of your life is the fact that you didn't get caught. I think we should be targeting the REAL threats and let the mooners and the whizzers do some community service.

[snopes]

One of the things that banishment of sex offenders does from certain cities is forces them to rural areas where they can not be tracked and just puts the problem in jurisdictions that aren't ready to cope with them.

And I totally agree that streakers and young guys who do their girlfriend two years younger are NOT sex offenders and shouldn't even be treated as such.

One more thing. Although a "real" sex offense, especially one against a child, is a HORRIBLE thing, does anyone know of another crime where a person is pretty much branded with a scarlet letter for the rest of their lives, even when they have supposedly "paid their debt to society - at least in terms of the legal system?

And I'm strictly talking in the legal sense. If something like that happened to my daughter I'd probably hunt the f*cker down and cut his tallywhacker off and staple it to his forehead.

[papaspot]

quote:Originally posted by snopes

If something like that happened to my daughter I'd probably hunt the f*cker down and cut his tallywhacker off and staple it to his forehead.

And I'd swear that you and me were having lunch in Atlanta when it happened! [!]

[snopes]

quote:Originally posted by papaspot

quote:Originally posted by snopes

If something like that happened to my daughter I'd probably hunt the f*cker down and cut his tallywhacker off and staple it to his forehead.

And I'd swear that you and me were having lunch in Atlanta when it happened! [!]

Thanks for the backup Papaspot! []

[patric]

(OKLAHOMA CITY)  March 5 - A bill to require sex offenders be identified on their driver licenses passed the Oklahoma Senate today.

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f2999977-676e-4b5d-832f-3d35e79b8a76

When you're driving your car and your tires are low, you dont fix it by putting more gas in the tank.  
Unless the drivers licenses say something like "caught peeing on a tree behind a turnpike rest stop" we still have work to do before bills like this pass.

[patric]

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6650

[Trams]

It should be noted that, while Judge Eagan (from the federal court in Tulsa) did not rule on the constitutionality of the sex offender statute, she indicated it was probably constitutional.

http://tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=060915_Ne_A11_Sexof38578

[patric]

Interestingly, TPD has been ahead of the curve on this problem:

For nearly two months, Nancy Phipps and her 16-year-old daughter lived in fear at a Sapulpa motel surrounded by dozens of violent sex offenders.

That was the only way Phipps could find to comply with Oklahoma law.

Phipps, a working mother, is a registered sex offender. She received a deferred sentence for flashing and soliciting an undercover officer in 2002, court records show. She was battling a drug problem with Xanax at the time and it was her only sex-related offense, she said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070520_238_A1_hSexo41508

"Unfortunately, there are not many places where she can live," Sgt. Gary Stansill said. "Here is a perfect example of someone who wants to comply and is having a difficult time doing so. There are probably hundreds of cases like that."

Police say research has shown that where sex offenders live is not a factor -- that most of them know their victims and that attacks occur in the victims' own homes.