The petition
In that the Notification (Sex Offender Registry) and Proximity Laws have evolved into a system that does not protect children from sex offenders and have created a false sense of security for society we seek the following:
We advocate returning the Sex Offender Registry to its original intent, tracking the most dangerous and predatory offenders and absconders. We can accomplish this by the immediate removal of low risk intra-familial offenders - including former offenders who have paid their debt to society and have not re-offended, Romeo and Juliet (teen-age consensual sex) lovers, juvenile offenders, and non-sexual (urinating in public, mooning, etc.) offenders from the sex offender registries to make them a more effective monitoring program for law enforcement.
We ask for the rights of all; victims, offenders and their families are first and foremost in the ensuing dialogue. We enjoin our elected representatives to immediately begin using known facts in place of myths, lies, and misconceptions when addressing this issue. We call for restorative justice and Constitutional protection in place of retributive justice and Unconstitutional banishment for offenders, former offenders and their families.
We do not condone, in any way, abuse, especially the sexual abuse of children. We do not, and will never make excuses for former offenders or their offenses. We believe that repeat offenders need to be separated from society, and released conditionally on proof of reform. We do acknowledge the fact that false accusations are made, people make mistakes (even stupid ones) and believe each case should be judged on its own merits, using empirical evidence and not hearsay. We know that people can change, improve themselves, and accomplish their own human revolution. We encourage society to approach this issue with an open mind and value the essence of every person’s humanity.
As citizens, we demand a National Sex Offender Public Policy Forum to address this issue. This forum should include mental health professionals, jurist, law enforcement and corrections personnel, victims and their families, offenders and their families. The offender’s families are the primary casualties of ill-conceived laws. Dialogue should include recidivism facts, risk level standardization, therapy programs for victims and offenders, educational programs for young people to teach appropriate boundaries and educational programs for parents. Then state and local governments can better formulate workable, cost effective laws that protect the rights of all citizens.
We are strongly in favor of a standardized Five Tiered system of risk assessment. A five-tiered risk level system allows offenders to earn the right to return to society. It separates risk level in an understandable fashion, making enforcement highly efficient and community notification more understandable. It allows jurist to consider the merits of each individual case and rule appropriately. Additionally, parents will know how safe their neighborhood is and are better able to educate their children who to avoid. The following are a description of proposed risk levels:
PREDATOR - someone convicted with multiple victims, or someone who is not responding to therapy, or has exhibited themselves to be a danger to society or has had a second offense. The predator is put in civil commitment until they prove they are no longer a threat. Predator is required to wear a GPS monitor if released. Must pass four polygraphs per year, is on Registry, and included in banned locations for life.
HIGH-RISK - someone on probation, or parole or someone who is just being released from prison with aggravated charges, or has red flags to therapist, and has had an extra-familial victim or multiple victims. Required to wear a GPS monitor until risk level is determined to be LOW-RISK. Must pass three polygraphs per year, is on Registry, and included in banned locations for up to 15 years after successful completion of therapy.
MEDIUM-RISK - someone who is on probation, or parole, has passed polygraphs, but may continue to exhibit red flags to therapist, or someone who has had a technical violation within the past two years, or someone who has been granted probation or released from prison with a non-aggravated charge and intra-familial victim. Must pass two polygraphs per year. May be required to wear GPS monitor if deemed a higher risk to re-offend based on assessment tests, can be removed from GPS when determined risk level is lowered to LOW-RISK. Is on Registry and included in banned locations until risk level is lowered. Primary level for offenders entering the system, allows for lowering risk based on initial psychological assessment or positive results in therapy.
LOW-RISK - someone who is on probation, or parole, or supervision, with a single count non-aggravated charge and intra-familial victim, is in good standing in therapy, no failed polygraphs, and no technical violations for two years. Not required to be on Registry or included in banned locations or proximity laws.
NO-RISK - (can also be termed negligible-risk) someone who has completed their sentence and therapy successfully, had no technical violations, and is waiting for the required time on the statue to expire. Not required to be on Registry or included in banned locations or proximity laws.
These risk levels will insure a improved level of community safety, they will give jurist the ability to fairly adjudicate – removing untrained, overzealous prosecutors from the equation, therapist the ability to better evaluate and law enforcement the capacity to more effectively monitor each case on its own merits.
We also need to increase the penalties for using the registries to harass or intimidate offenders. Registries are most effective when individuals use them to educate their children of where offenders are living in a neighborhood. We favor having a user register prior to access of the database. Individuals who use the registry to notify others of an offender’s presence in a neighborhood should be charged with felony reckless endangerment. The following statement should be mandatory on all SOR web sties, "Any person who uses information contained in or accessed through this Website to threaten, intimidate, or harass any individual, including registrants or family members, or who otherwise misuses this information, will be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability under federal and/or state law."
We are placing our elected representatives on notice, stop pandering fear for votes and fix this mess.
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