Movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States

The movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States describes the efforts of individuals and organizations to change state laws requiring Sex offender registries in the United States. Efforts fall into two main categories, advocacy for reform of statutory rape laws that may require a teenager to register as a sex offender for consensual sexual acts involving a younger teen,[1][2][3] and broader efforts to modify sex offender registration laws based upon their sometimes dramatic impact on a convicted sex offender and belief that they provide little benefit for public safety.[4][5]

This article is part of a series on the
Sex offender registries in the United States
Legislation
  • Federal
  • International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking
  • State
  • Other
Constitutionality

Constitutionality of sex offender registries in the United States

  • Supreme Court decisions
Effectiveness
Social issues
  • Homelessness
  • Controversial designations as offender
Reform activism

The reform movement involves more than 50 state level organizations, with at least one group operating in each state.[1] The movement includes Human Rights Watch,[6][7] the ACLU[8] and some of its state-level affiliates,[9][10][11] and some child safety advocates, some of whom argue for restrictions on who may be placed upon a list of registered sex offenders, and when the public should have access to sex offender registries.[12][13]

Arguments
Child protesting the strict sex offender policies at Lauren Book's Rally in Tally, at Tallahassee, Florida on April 22, 2015[14]

The participants in the movement argue that indiscriminate placement of offenders in the sex offender registry may undermine their ability to rehabilitate because of the social stigma and other hardship related to sex offender registration.[15] They assert that sex offender registries are overly broad as they reach to non-violent offenses, such as sexting or consensual teen sex and target people who are not sexual predators but who have rather made a mistake, and keep unfairly punishing the offender even decades after serving their sentences.[13][16][17][18][19]

They say that registries should be available for law enforcement only and that officials should be more judicious in deciding who poses a risk instead of the current policies applied to all offenders indiscriminately, as every case and defendant's story is different.[15][20] The movement points to lack of evidence to support effectiveness of sex offender registries or residency restrictions, and notes that collateral consequences of sex offender registration, such as social stigma, unemployment, homelessness and vigilante attacks extend also to the families of registrants.[21][22]

Vigilantism against registered sex offenders

A primary argument for the reform of sex offender laws is that sex offender registration inherently encourages vigilante action by those who use sex offender lists to locate, harass, attack, and even murder registered sex offenders.[23] Due to widespread access to the Internet, many sex offender lists are easily located by those wishing to intimidate or otherwise harm registered offenders. Even though law enforcement officials strongly condemn using the sex offender registries for the purposes of harm and harassment, dozens of recorded cases occur each year of crimes against registered offenders.[24]

Documented abuses of the registered sex offender list include:

  • Repeated and false reports to police regarding sex offenders living in a residential area[25]
  • Posting public signs drawing attention to a registered offender's address or otherwise advertising to others where the registered offender lives
  • Verbal threats either in person or through the phone or e-mail[26]
  • Repeated acts of trespassing or deliberately damaging property belonging to the registered sex offender[27]
  • Physical assault
  • Murder

Among the most serious crimes against registered offenders include the case of Patrick Drum, who shot and killed two men in 2012 because they were listed on the state of Washington's sex offender registry.[28] Jeremy and Christine Moody, two self professed neo-Nazis, were convicted in 2014 of kidnapping and murder when they forced a registered sex offender and his wife into their home at gunpoint and then executed them.[29] Stephen Marshall, after killing two registered offenders in Maine, committed suicide when he was cornered on a bus by police.

Activism

Movements activism consist of peaceful demonstrations, challenging the laws in courts and educating the public and legislators about facts of sexual offending and the consequences of current legislation.[14][30][31] The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws arranges yearly national conferences to discuss sex offender legislation,[18][32][33] and makes its presence known at conferences of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Their state affiliates have challenged ordinances governing sex offenders in federal court.[34][35][36] During 2014 over 20 municipalities in California were sued by RSOL.[37] Their efforts in California culminated, in March 2015, when Supreme Court of California declared residency restrictions unconstitutional citing their unfairness and counterproductive effects.[38] Similar lawsuits by the activists have forced some Texas towns to ease their residency restrictions.[39]

In April 2015 Women Against Registry announced that it has begun gathering information and participants for two class action lawsuits to be filed in United States federal court. One of the lawsuits is intended to be on behalf of registered sex offenders, and the second on behalf of families of registered sex offenders.[14][40] In 2016 Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws sued the government for the unique identifier planned to be printed on passports of some registrants.[41]

See also

References
  1. "High School Sweethearts -- Or Sex Offenders?". The Huffington Post. July 25, 2011.
  2. "Laws Gone Wild: As Teen Sweethearts Go to Prison for Sex, Mothers Rebel". The Daily Beast. January 25, 2012.
  3. "Teen Has Sex With Girl, 14, Gets Punishment on 'Steroids'". Newser. July 5, 2015.
  4. "Sex-offender laws are ineffective and unfair, critics say". Al Jazeera America. October 17, 2014.
  5. "Patty Wetterling questions sex offender laws". Archived from the original on November 13, 2014.
  6. "No Easy Answers: Sex Offender Laws in the US". Human Rights Watch. September 11, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  7. Raised on the Registry: The Irreparable Harm of Placing Children on Sex Offender Registries in the US (2012) Human Rights Watch ISBN 978-1-62313-0084
  8. Hardenbergh, John (March 16, 2009). "Sex Offender Law Violates Rights, Puts Kids at Risk". ACLU. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  9. Jacobs, Deborah. "Why Sex Offender Laws Do More Harm Than Good". ACLU New Jersey. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  10. "The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry: What the Research Shows". ACLU Massachusetts. October 25, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  11. Hunter, George (March 16, 2009). "ACLU suit seeks changes to Michigan sex offender registry". Detroit News. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  12. "The Accidental Sex Offender". Marie Claire. July 28, 2011.
  13. "My Son, the Sex Offender: One Mother's Mission to Fight the Law". NBC. May 8, 2014.
  14. "Advocates Fight for Sex Offender Rights With Lawsuit". Broward Palm Beach New Times. April 17, 2015.
  15. Vandenack, Tim (June 9, 2015). "Campaign for Elkhart 19-year-old underscores broader concerns about sex offender registries". The Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  16. "Teenager's Jailing Brings a Call to Fix Sex Offender Registries". The New York Times. July 4, 2015.
  17. "The Today Show Weighs In on Our "Accidental Sex Offender" Story". Marie Claire. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  18. "National conference aims to soften, reform sex offender laws". KOAT Albuquerque. August 29, 2012.
  19. "No Justice: Sex Offenses, No Matter How Minor or Understandable, Can Ruin You for Life". AlterNet. July 23, 2013.
  20. "Women seek to dissolve sex offender registry". News-Press Now. May 2, 2015.
  21. "Collateral damage: Harsh sex offender laws may put whole families at risk". AlJazeera America. August 27, 2015.
  22. "Missouri Sex Offenders: "Women Against Registry" Says Labels Unfairly Destroy Lives". Riverfront Times. September 5, 2015.
  23. "Consequences of Registration and Community Notification Laws for Registrants and Their Loved Ones". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  24. "US: Sex Offender Laws May Do More Harm Than Good". Human Rights Watch. September 11, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  25. "Area woman convicted for harassing sex offender". The Northern Virginia Daily. March 13, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  26. McQuiston, John T. (June 20, 1997). "Sex Offender Is Suing His Neighbors Over Protests". New York Times.
  27. Yoder, Steven (April 4, 2011). "Life on the List". The American Prospect. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  28. McLaughlin, Michael (September 19, 2012). "Patrick Drum Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murdering Sex Offenders Gary Blanton, Jerry Ray". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  29. Limon, Janice (May 6, 2014). "Sex offender's killers kiss after verdict, would have 'killed more". WYFF News. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  30. "Convicted sex offenders seeking more rights in Carson". Daily Breeze. July 25, 2015.
  31. "Florida group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules". Orlando Sentinel. September 29, 2015.
  32. "We can do better on sex offender laws". The Dallas Morning News. July 16, 2014.
  33. "Restricted Group Speaks Up, Saying Sex Crime Measures Go Too Far". The New York Times. October 1, 2013.
  34. Blow, Steve (July 17, 2014). "We can do better on sex offender laws". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  35. Belluci, Janice (July 21, 2013). "CA RSOL Challenges El Dorado County Sex Offender Ordinance". In Eldorado County News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  36. Howes, Rebecca (April 24, 2014). "Attorney files sex offender lawsuit against Lompoc". Lompoc Record. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  37. Johnson, Shea (October 21, 2014). "County sued over sex offender ordinance". Daily Press. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  38. "Housing Restrictions For Sex Offenders Unconstitutional, California Court Rules". The Huffington Post.
  39. "20 Texas towns ease restrictions on sex offenders". KFOR.com. February 7, 2016.
  40. "Women seek to dissolve sex offender registry". News-PressNow. May 17, 2015.
  41. Chokshi, Niraj (November 2, 2017). "U.S. Passports of Child Sex Offenders Will Note Their Convictions". The New York Times.
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