Hello everyone… Suffice it to say, Thursday and Friday (June 30 & July 1) were an emotional roller-coaster with a pit-stop in ‘airport delay’ hell. However, the outcome was spectacular…!!!
We went to Las Vegas to show our support for the valiant efforts being made by Maggie McLetchie, who with her law partner, Alina Shell, is challenging Nevada’s implementation of the Adam Walsh Act.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/sex-crimes/amended-lawsuit-challenges-nevada-law-governing-registration-sex-offenders
McLetchie is representing ‘unnamed plaintiffs’ in efforts to put the brakes on a law that imposes new requirements on registered sex offenders, and her day in court before Clark County District Judge Douglas Smith, who denied her petition for relief, was a let-down for all of us.

http://m.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/last-minute-hearing-called-halt-nevada-sex-offender-notification-change
But then suddenly, thanks to McLetchie’s quick efforts, the Supreme Court issued a stay and implementation of the new law was halted in its tracks.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/nevada-supreme-court-stops-sex-offender-law-being-implemented

 

Can we get a hip-hip-hooray!!!!
Throughout this process, our advocates have provided to media, legislators and all interested parties, statistical findings, corroborating data, and reliable ‘first person accounts’ of the very real harm and damage being done to hundreds of thousands of children and families by laws that are meant to protect everyone. And beyond the injustice done to our constituents, we are outraged that we continue to waste millions and millions (and millions) of taxpayer dollars enforcing laws which have been conclusively proven (by the very agency tasked to enforce them) to be ineffective in the mitigation of child sexual abuse!!!
This, as we all know, is a harmful and damaging  perversion.
And the GOOD NEWS is that people are listening. Legislators, attorneys, judges, prosecutors… they are hearing what we have to say and taking our issue to heart.
A most spectacular example of this is self-evident in comments attributed to James Wright, Nevada DPS director, who was responsible for implementing the new law and then, within a few hours because of the Supreme Court decision, also held the reigns of pulling it back. He is reported as saying that he ‘hoped no harm was done’ during the law’s brief implementation.
Ahem… did you hear that…??? He ‘hoped no harm was done…’ He gets it…!!! And we say bravo to all who are hearing the ‘safety for all’ call to civic duty.
Thus we extend the invitation to all who can to join us in Nevada on July 12 when there is to be another round of hearings on this issue that is near and dear to all of us. If you cannot personally join us, please consider making a financial contribution. If it is not within your power to donate, please pass this email along to a friend.
Contact me personally, 800-311-3764, for details about how to join our next Las Vegas advocacy caucus. And thanks for everything you are doing to make things better for us all…
~Vicki Henry, President, Women Against Registry
http://www.womenagainstregistry.org/

9 thoughts on “NV stay and Participation Update

  1. For many of us in Nevada this has been a very personal roller-coaster. On June 31st there were 276 tier 3 (supposedly high risk ) Registrants on the NV Department of Public Safety “Search Page”. Then a few hours later when the court denied the ACLU stay, after several contentious years, the NV Dept of “Public Safety” set aside tested law enforcement assessment practices and ignored the good sense of NV citizens in choosing to assess “offenders” using risk management tools developed and used successfully for years and instead go with what many of us refer to as “the original sin system’ basing a Registrant’s continuing ‘dangerousness’ only upon the persons ‘original conviction’ no matter the present circumstances, no matter the age at which the offense was committed or the age of the “offender’ at present….and no matter how many years of good conduct since prison the years on the registry represented.

    So…based only on original sin, Nevada’s Registry went from 276 high risk tier 3 offenders to well over 3000 suddenly dangerous high risk offenders at the mere stroke of midnight and the push of a computer button!).Then when the court once again granted the ACLU a “stay’ of implementation…all those high risk old guys (like my husband and 3000 others) migrated back DOWN TO LESS DANGEROUSNESS… at about 8:45 a.m. July 1st.

    LOL? Well, no not really because during those 5-6 hours of full compliance with SB579 AWA/SORNA “compliance”

    1) Nevada’s children were no safer with the lumping together of dangerous and not dangerous offenders (and Nevada Nevadans might arguably have been less safe since Law Enforcement tasked with stopping sex offenses was suddenly faced with all those old guys now lumped together on the highest most dangerous tier and left to sort it all out as best they could willy-nilly!)

    AND 2) the the whole inefficient dangerous charade cost NV Tax payers $545,000 because in that shot time the head of the NV Department of Safety went before NV’s Interim Finance Committee where she requested and received the first installment of the $4-5 million of NV Tax-payer’s money in order to hire more state employees to keep up with all the new and nonsensical reporting requirements of the lumped together as high risk, low risk ‘offenders’

    Go figure…and all along NV has had a pre-Adam Walsh SORNA Sex Offender registry based on good sense and Child safety but now Nevada Tax Payers (and I am also one of them) are at some point going to have to pay for this “original sin” registry where good sense and risk management count for nothing. Just Saying, JanetM

    How about Nevada returns to a Registry that emphasizes actual danger of actual re-offense, real recidivism rates and ensures what one and all Nevadans desire: CHILD SAFETY!

  2. My Post is in regard to the futility of trashing risk management and “dangerousness’ as criteria for deciding continuing tier assignment and going to full compliance using “original sin/original conviction” to decide which ‘offender’ should use up the most Law enforcement resources when CHILD SAFETY is everyone’s main concern…Janet Mackie

  3. Many Nevadans recently arrested and charged with a crime ‘which includes a sexual component’ (to quote the Adam Walsh Act/ AWA) have no idea that the end result will be a life time as a Registrant involving untold collateral damage to themselves and their Families, restriction on travel and residence which prevent even living with family.

    In Nevada and elsewhere, Prosecutors often offer ‘plea deals’ (otherwise Prosecutors would have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt AND if every arrest ending in a trial, the courts would be overwhelmed) Plus, given the rampant prejudice against the Label “Sex Offender” as soon as the ‘news of arrest hits the media, many are families and accused are afraid of harassment, of almost ‘automatic convictions’ and attendant stiffer charges and long sentences which the prosecutors make all too clear will be the result of choosing ‘trial by jury.’ instead of accepting ‘a plea.’

    Before people ‘take a plea’ they need to be advised as to the ramifications of such a plea ‘deal’ including NV’s ‘life time supervision’ of anyone who finally makes parole off a sexual offense and then there is the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) Life on the Registry, which seems to be an inevitable “consequence’ plea or no plea deal.
    If an accused person is not fully informed of ramifications of accepting a plea before he ‘accepts’ or if these full ramifications are not mentioned as part of a full Boynkin canvass by the sentencing judge, the accused may be saying ‘Yes’ to a plead deal which will almost certainly turn out to be an unwelcome and very lengthy surprise later on as he moves through the ‘justice’ system. .

    This is lack of prior ‘education’ is especially concerning to me, since as family members of Nevada Registrants we too experience these ‘surprises’ first hand.The Road to the Registry is long and ‘twisted’ As family members we are often as prejudiced against sex offenders as the next person. Then we hear the Knock at the door. We and our loved one don’t understand the journey that begins with the first offer of a plea bargain (the ramifications of which are often never fully explained). Just one more reason that those of us still experiencing collateral damage The knock on the door, want to educate not only the ‘general public’ but hope to help support and enlighten others who have just begun this long journey into harms way.

    1. Every Registrant who was 1st alerted by letter that they would be ‘upped’ a tier(or two) when the AWA went into full ‘compliance’ July 1st 2016, (but was only upped for 5 hours) has since received another letter (about 6 weeks later) that the AWA has again been put on hold by the court… but, like the last stay, this is merely a ‘stay’ before ‘full implementation” of 579. Once again no one knows how long this court stay will hold before we all go through this same charade one again…unless of course we all band together (Registrants and family members alike) to bring about change (an perhaps sanity) in the NV Sex Offender Registration laws during the 79th NV Legislative session. (So… if you too want to help bring about positive change, join NV WAR by click on the “JOIN US” button above on this NV WAR website!)

  4. With Justice for All

    ——————————————————————————–
    What drives Ron Book?

    Posted: 19 Sep 2016 01:33 PM PDT

    I watched the film Untouchable through live streaming as it was shown at the RSOL National Conference that has just concluded in Atlanta, Georgia.

    This film could well have been named, “Portrait of a bitter, angry man.”

    Ron Book’s daughter Lauren was sexually assaulted by a nanny the family had hired for Lauren. The abuse went on for many years. She kept Lauren from revealing the truth to her parents through threats and intimidation.

    Of course he was angry to learn the truth – devastated, actually. Any parent would be. Of course he is bitter that his little girl suffered pain and horror for so many years.

    Rob Book, as an outlet for his anger and his bitterness, has made himself a juggernaut whose purpose is to destroy every sex offender in the state. Involved even then in Florida’s political scene, he has become arguably one of the most powerful men in the state.

    He is responsible for legislation that created the Julia Tuttle Bridge scandal. He is almost single-handedly responsible for law after law whose sole purposes are to punish everyone on the Florida sex offer registry to the furthest degree possible. He openly and proudly announced that Florida was
    “scorched earth” to any registered sex offender.

    He revealed that he is closely watching the progress of Lauren’s abuser toward a release date and that he will be there to hound her every second he can.

    He cites unrealistically high sexual recidivism rates and makes outlandish statements about the surety of registrants to commit new crimes and their extreme danger to society. When questioned about research study after research study all showing the opposite of everything he has said, he brushes it aside like an annoying gnat. All lies, he said, trumped up figures, nonsense.

    It is not until the last few minutes of the film that another motive for all of his actions, all of his hatred, emerges. He is seated behind his desk, and an off-camera interviewer asks him which, if any, of all the laws on Florida’s books today, laws whose existence he is responsible for, would have, had they existed years ago, saved Lauren.

    He stumbles only a little when he says no, most likely none of them would have made a difference. None would have protected Lauren from her abuser. And then he says something remarkable.

    He says, stumbling a bit more, that the only thing that would have saved her is if he and her mother had, when she was young, educated her about what to do in such a situation. Told her that she could tell them anything. Told her that secrets are not forever. Told her what to say to them, her parents, if anyone hurt her or scared her. He said that she might not have told them the first time it happened, or maybe not even the second, but that he is sure she would have told them soon — if only they had taught her that she could.

    And with those words, the truth about what motivates Ron Book was revealed. Yes, he is angry. And bitter. And vengeful. But that is not what drives him.

    What drives him is guilt.

    And just who else do we all know who is driven by guilt but making a career out of the aftermath?

  5. The Justice system itself is skewed in favor of unjust outcomes especially in cases where people are charged with sexual misconduct (from sexting and peeing in public to actual criminal conduct endangering others)

    http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2007/06/juries.html

    Seems 90% of people plead out/ plead guilty to some lesser charge and go to prison rather than risk trial-by-jury. And of the 10% who do go to trial, 90% of them are convicted but study finds about 1 in 8 of those who do go to trial have incorrect verdicts. I’d like to see how many of those with wrongful convictions were actually accused of a sex crime? I suspect that most of the people accused of sexual misconduct plead out for fear of implicit (and explicit) jury bias toward anyone labeled “sex offender.’ They are also threatened that prosecutors will ‘enhance the charges’ so the time in prison will amount to ‘life.’ during the ‘plea bargaining process which is often used as an opportunity for prosecutors to threaten and bully the defendant.

    Hence, the plea bargain ignores guilt/ innocence and becomes simply an attempt by the accused to cut down the sentence/ time served without mentioning that in many if not most cases Life on the Registry follows you around for the rest of your life whatever you plead. Even with laws saying people have access to evidence and appeals later, there is no punishment for the prosecutorial misconduct exposed and therefore nothing prevents repetition of the same prosecutorial misbehavior in case after case. Plea deals erase most grounds for appeal.
    I doubt that the general public realize that when they hear a prosecutor/politician brag about his conviction rate those numbers are skewed due to the legal system itself already having it’s heavy thumb on the scales of justice. .

    And if 1 in 8 of those 90% who plead out are innocent also? That’s 12.5% overall. And the authors only compared judges ‘verdicts’ to the jury verdict in each case, as though the judges themselves didn’t come up through the same skewed system and weren’t themselves more often than not guilty of implicit biased against defendants, especially in cases where the charges involve any sort of sexual misconduct.

    If you apply the 12.5% to the 883,000 names on the sex offender registry, 12.5% of 883,000 = 70,640 110,375 persons who ( just possibly) are actually innocent but for one reason or other find themselves on the AWA Sex Offender Registry for life due to an original sin they once were charged with but just possibly did not even commit?

  6. 883,000 X 12.5% =110,375 and that number turns out to be about 40,000 more people than I originally calculated. (anyone else want to do the math and calculate the scope of actual injustice, never mind the collateral consequences to all Registrants and their families?)

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