SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
October 12, 2007
By KATHY MULADY
"Carol Clarke believes in second chances. It's part of the reason she allows sex offenders who have served their prison time -- and have a plan for turning their lives around -- to live in the five houses she manages ...near the University of Washington. Clarke is mystified why suddenly, after seven years without problems, 13 sex offenders under state Department of Corrections supervision, who rent rooms in her homes along 18th Avenue Northeast, may have to find new places to live. ... Clarke suspects that the growing university wants to buy her houses. When she complained about her tenants being forced to move, she said, Godfrey told her, "There is a solution to our problem. We can buy a couple of your houses, and you can go set your program up somewhere else."" full story
University of Washington wants sex offenders moved, Property Owner Suspects Ulterior Motives
Sex Offender Laws May Do More Harm Than Good
Sarah Tofte, for the Huffington Post
October 12, 2007
"It's not surprising that those who know something about the nature of sexual violence in the United States have started to criticize the way the laws treat former sex offenders. But it's a shame that politicians don't seem to be listening to the experts who could help to craft laws that might actually prevent sexual violence." read story
State defies high court over sex offenders: Hundreds will be sent back to prison for violating Jessica's Law
Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times
October 12, 2007
SACRAMENTO -- — Vowing to fight an order from the state's highest court, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and corrections officials Thursday defiantly began sending hundreds of freed sex offenders back to prison for violating strict residency requirements imposed by voters last year. full story
Sex offenders' rights defended
Thursday, October 11, 2007 4:02 AM
By Mary Beth Lane, The Columbus Dispatch
"Forcing a registered sex offender to leave a home that he bought before a residence-restriction law went into effect in 2003 violates his constitutional property rights, a lawyer for an offender told the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday". full story
Mob beat up paedo slur victim
Christopher Peters was so terrified after locals on his estate falsely called him a pervert that he put in CCTV. Mr Peters - cowering indoors after an earlier assault - answered his door, expecting police. But James Nicholson, 19, ex-soldier dad James Snr, 52, and Andrew Smith, 23, rushed in to attack him and son Anthony late at night in Hythe, Hants, in March. Nicholson Snr, of Hythe, got 42 months for GBH and burglary and his son 28 months for ABH, GBH and two other offences. Smith, 23, got 32 months for ABH and GBH. All had previous convictions. Southampton crown court judge John Boggis QC stressed Mr Peters was "not and has never been a paedophile".A vigilante mob have been jailed after storming the home of a man wrongly branded a paedophile and battering him and his son.
Ordinance would restrict where sex offenders could go
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
BRIAN ECKHOUSE, THE CALIFORNIAN
" CANYON LAKE -- A proposed ordinance favored by the City Council would prohibit sex offenders from being within 500 feet of parks, beaches and bus stops. The ordinance would further restrict how close a sex offender could live -- and visit -- to these public places". full story
Judge strikes sex offense commitment law
By Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. government cannot keep sex offenders in custody beyond the end of their prison sentences, a federal judge has ruled, striking down a law aimed at holding some in mental hospitals. full story
Counterpunch Urges Support for Reform of Sex Offender Laws
By PAUL SHANNON, Counterpunch Magazine
July 10, 2007
You can sign this public statement at Reform Sex Offender Laws website to support the reform of existing sex offender laws.
"There is today in our country a growing threat to our legal system, to the rights of all of us, to the quality of life of children, and to common sense. This threat has been fanned by prosecutors, nurtured by the media, and ignored by those who usually speak out against such dangers. In its most narrow sense this threat can be defined as the particular approach to sexual deviance embodied in ever-more-draconian laws against all behaviors labeled "sex offenses" -- including those committed by minors -- and in the sex offender registries of every state and the Federal government. In this approach to sex offenses slander, hysteria and demonization often replace reason, solid research and proportionality". full story
Reform Sex Offender Laws: A Call to Protect American Society, our Children and our Liberties
(Sign the Petition! at reformsexoffenderlaws.org website)
"This is the statement of a group of concerned Americans, including educators, health workers, and community activists, based on a similar Call issued in Boston in 1999. We urge others to join us in this campaign". go to Reform Sex Offender Laws to read petition
Letter Writing Suggestions:
You can use this format to write a personal letter to show your concern for the Detainees in Coalinga Hospital. If you can, try to personalize this letter as you might write it so that it to distinguish it from the rest. See the list below for ideas of other possible concerns you may way wish to express to the Directors. Also, don't be discouraged if you don't get through to them on the first attempt and don't hesitate to communicate your concerns through letters, phone calls and emails (preferably, all three).
Please Note: Under privacy regulations, the Hospital is forbidden from discussing patient information until you have contacted your friend or family member and a release of Patient Information form is signed by them. Therefore, have them fill out and submit a CSH Release Form No. DMH 5671, REV. 3/04 granting you access to their records.
SAMPLE LETTERS TO COALINGA STATE HOSPITAL: (You can highlight and copy all text below (CTL+C) and then paste (CTL+V) into Word or some other text program (
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Date]
Mr. Norman Kramer, Executive Director
Coalinga State Hospital
24511 West Jayne Avenue
P.O. Box 5000
Coalinga, CA 93210-5000
Dear Mr. Kramer,
I am a [friend, parent, brother, etc.] of (name of patient), who is a patient at Coalinga State Hospital. I have received some news about problems in your facility and am very concerned. I want assurance that he is receiving fair evaluations and proper treatment.
In addition to my questions about the medical care he receives, I would also like to confirm that his legal and civil rights are being upheld. I would like to schedule a conference with you and tour your facility to help answer my questions and allay my concerns.
Sincerely,
[Name
Address
Phone
Email]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
to send this message by email or to call Norm Kramer on the phone:
Tel: (559) 935-4300
Email: nkramer@dmh.ca.gov (this is unverified but you can try it)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stephen W. Mayberg, Ph.D. Director,
California Department of Mental Health
1600 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Sacramento, CA
Dear Mr. Mayberg,
I am a [friend, parent, brother, etc.] of [name of Detainee], who is a patient at Coalinga State Hospital. I have received some news about problems in your facility and am very concerned. I want assurance that he is receiving fair evaluations and proper treatment.
In addition to my questions about the medical care he receives, I would also like to confirm that his legal and civil rights are being upheld. I would like to schedule a conference with you, either in person or by telephone, and tour the Coalinga facility to help answer my questions and allay my concerns.
Sincerely,
[Name, Address, Phone, Email]
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
to send this message by email or to call Steven Mayberg on the phone:
Email: stephen.mayberg@dmh.ca.gov
Tel: (916) 654-2309
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Other Areas of Concern that you may wish to convey in your letters to Kramer and Mayberg:
- Lack of Professionally Administered Diagnostic Tests and Assessments
- Detainee rules for conduct and rights of appeal are in violation of their civil liberties under the law.
- Staff are not held to a standard of accountability and are allowed to make arbitrary, capricious and inconsistent rules.
- Staff or Police assault on Detainees and other misconduct or abuse.
- Insufficient contact between Patients and yourself due to visiting restrictions and lack of telephones.
- Lack of exercise opportunities.
- Problems sending and receiving mail. Mail is frequently lost or unlawfully opened.
- Ridiculous package restrictions and inability to easily send shoes, medical necessities and many other items that they should be able to have and that pose no threat to the safety and security of the institution.
- Inability to send books directly from publishers or legitimate vendors (why must these items be purchased from only two administration-selected vendors who also have a very limited selection?). Neither of these vendors have a reasonable selection of titles. -One of them sells only Christian-themed books while the other only sells unpopular remainders.
- Censorship. If books, movies and games are legal and allowed in the community at large and even in prison, why is it that Civil -Detainees (who, after all, are not be held for reasons of "punishment") are not allowed these same titles?
- Money sent to or from Detainees is frequently lost or delayed. A system of conservatorship is unlawfully imposed on Detainees.
- Educational and treatment materials are frequently prevented from reaching Detainees.
Sex-offender ghettos: Get-tough laws force predators to move but do little to make kids safer
Sunday, October 7, 2007
By Mary Beth Lane
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
"There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that the laws do anything to protect children," he said. "There is a growing consensus in the treatment, law-enforcement and victim's-rights communities that these laws are feel-good, fear-driven political measures that actually make the community less safe."
full story
Posts
