• Wasteful and Counterproductive Policies Based in Fear.

    An appellate court decision saying Michigan can’t impose its sex offender registration law on people retroactively will not be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, meaning the law may have to be changed. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said the decision by the Supreme Court not to take up the case “effectively requires the Michigan legislature to replace the existing law, thus creating an opportunity to reform Michigan’s registry.” Anna Heaton, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said Snyder’s office will “work with the attorney general and Michigan State Police on next steps.”

    In its appeal, the state argued that the registration law should be allowed to stand and imposed no more than “minor and indirect” effects on past offenders. The Sixth Circuit, in a three-judge decision, found otherwise, saying the registration law “brands registrants as moral lepers solely on the basis of a prior conviction” and “consigns them to years, if not a lifetime, of existence on the margins, not only of society, but often, as the record in this case makes painfully evident, from their own families, with whom, due to school-zone restrictions, they may not even live.”

    “Courts have repeatedly recognized that Michigan’s sex offender registry is not just unconstitutional, but it’s an abject failure,” said Miriam Aukerman, ACLU of Michigan senior staff attorney. “Our communities deserve effective public-safety measures that are based in facts and research, not wasteful and counterproductive policies based in fear. We look forward to working with the legislature on a common-sense approach that serves our communities.” MORE:

    http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/02/sex-offender-registry-law-united-states-supreme-court/723447001/

    Categories: Civil Rights, Court Findings, Legislating Morality, News

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    2 thoughts on “Wasteful and Counterproductive Policies Based in Fear.

    • Gerald Trudell says:

      I am a registered sex offender in Michigan. I have just completed my two year parole. I have applied for every dirty job around, only to be rejected when the sex offense comes up.The only firm job offer fell through when it was discovered that the business was 900 feet from a school rather than the required 1000 feet. It is horrible.

    • Larry says:

      Gerald, Thanks for your vigilance on the MI front. Many of us ‘registrants’ have a tough time getting work. This is what WAR is all about: Fighting the Destruction of Families ( being a productive member of society ).

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