The Miami-Herald is reporting that homeless sex offenders living under a bridge in Miami are being forced to leave. And, yes, this is the same group of homeless sex offenders that received national attention a while back.
The Boston Globe has an article which mentions that between July 2006 and June 2007, Massachusetts judges and juries have released 37 convicted sex offenders over the objections of prosecutors. One judge released a convicted sex offender even though prosecutors and two court-appointed psychologists argued that he posed a threat to children.
The Wisconsin Radio Network spoke to a psychologist who said "efforts by local governments to restrict where they [sex offenders] can live are misguided." According to Dr. Salter, these laws are "based on the faulty premise the proximity to a victim will increase the chances of recidivism." You can also listen to the story here (mp3).
Elsewhere in Wisconsin, state officials are looking to close a loophole that "allowed a sex offender living in a state-run treatment facility to wrongly receive financial aid for room and board."
A Florida fugitive has been wrongly reported as a sex offender. As the man states, "I am not wanted for sexual assault on a victim under 12 years of age. I am wanted for violation of probation because of a cocaine possession arrest." Given the stigma of the "sex offender" label, states really need to do their best to make sure they apply it properly (and this is especially true for the registries).
Crime and Consequences reports that Washington lawmakers are proposing new legislation targeting sex offenders. One law would make it criminal to view (even accidentally) child pornography. Apparently, people who do accidentally view the child pornography are urged to report it to authorities in the hopes of being granted immunity. The Seattle Post–Intelligencer has more information. I'd have to see the bill, but this bizarre strict liability standard for viewing child pornography seems crazy.
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