Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Should child sex offenders receive rehabilitation in prison?

The answer should be yes, but the victim industry and the "good ole boys" in Montgomery are our biggest barriers to reform. They are far too interested in money and about harmful punishments like the Hitching Post and chain gangs to care about things that are beneficial. But they merely repeat the cycle of victimhood and violence by their actions.

This article is better than Sherri Jackson's Halloween fearmongering article on "protecting children from sex offenders," which included an interview from ReFORM-AL founder Derek Logue, which could have been more informative and insightful, but ended up being a typical fluff piece. But I digress.

http://wiat.com/2014/11/24/should-child-sex-offenders-receive-rehabilitation-in-prison/

Should child sex offenders receive rehabilitation in prison?
By Sherri Jackson
Published: November 24, 2014, 5:00 pm

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – In early November, WIAT 42 ran an investigative report that featured collected letters from sex offenders to see what they would tell parents to protect their children from abusers. That report caused us to take a closer look at what’s going on behind bars in Alabama.


It turns out Alabama is one of a few states that does not offer treatment programs for sex offenders who are in prison.


“If they leave and they are untreated they are two to three times more likely to re-offend than if they are treated and if they are treated re-offense rates are spectacularly low,” says Dr. Barry Burkart, a psychology professor at Auburn University.


Burkhart has spent 40 years studying sexual violence in society. At first he treated victims, but then he decided to tackle the source of the crimes, the offenders themselves.


“I had this kind of epiphany where I realized I could treat all the victims for the rest of my life and not make a dent but if I could treat offenders and prevent victimization,” he said.


His epiphany led him to the Alabama Department of Corrections where he sat on the board and helped develop the only sex offender treatment program at Bullock Correctional Facility. It was a state of the art program at the time ,says Burkhart.


“We were 10 years ahead of the rest of the country, when can you say that Alabama was ahead of anything except football?” added Burkhart.


Alabama had a program that addressed treating sex offenders who had been incarcerated, but got rid of it. So why remove the program?


Burkhart says the state’s administration did not believe the program to be necessary, “It was done during the administration of Fob James…he never talked to me but what I read in the newspapers [was] he did not believe the treatment programs were necessary and, coincidentally to closing the treatment programs, he reintroduced two old style ‘rehabilitation’ methods. He reinstated the chain-gang and the hitching posts.”


That was in 1995, now in 2014, State Senator Cam Ward says he has people asking to bring those methods back, “I have people today who say we should go back to chain gangs we should go back to how Fob did it.”


Ward heads the Alabama Prison Reform Task Force. He says prison reform is a hard push, “So prison reform just the slogan itself is a hard push. But if the face of prison reform becomes how do we help child molesters…the mama and daddy of that [victim] is going to say I don’t care about that.”


He says what they care about is where the money will come from and is the legislature taking it away from victims to treat criminals.


Dr. Burkhart says, “the rehabilitation side is not coming into the discussion, maybe it should, what’s coming into the discussion when I go these task force meetings unanimously is if this is anything about helping sex offenders we are not supporting anything with that going on.”


The discussion is clear for those working on the front lines to end child sexual abuse, “we want criminal justice to do two things, provide justice to the citizens of this state, which includes safety, and also deter, prevent, preclude criminal conduct, and nobody can tell anybody in this state that prisons in Alabama do any of those. They just don’t.”


Right now youth in DYS custody do receive treatment for illegal sex crimes they commit. The governor’s office says if Alabama is to treat adult sex offenders in prison that money needs to come from the legislature.


Copyright 2014 WIAT 42 News

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Madison Co. Schools try to set up an entrapment sting but ends up setting up an alleged rape

What do you do when the people entrusted to educate your kids are blithering idiots? I wonder if these "edumacators" got the idea from that idiotic Dateline NBC show, TCAP. If you can't trust police with conducting a proper sting, then how reasonable is a plot where school officials hire a mentally handicapped girl to be bait for a potential rapist? It is more fodder for feminist legal groups, which no doubt will attribute the incident to "patriarchy." Groan. 


Plan to use teen as bait leads to rape at school in Alabama, lawsuit alleges
POSTED 7:37 PM, SEPTEMBER 20, 2014, BY CNN WIRE, UPDATED AT 07:41PM, SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
By Victor Blackwell
CNN

(CNN) — It’s an unimaginable horror. A 14-year-old girl with special needs allegedly was raped at school after a teacher’s aide persuaded her to act as bait to catch an accused sexual predator, a fellow student.

“It has essentially devastated her life,” attorney Eric Artrip — who represents the girl and her father — said of the alleged January 2010 incident.

The Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education filed an amicus brief Wednesday supporting her family’s federal lawsuit against the Madison County School Board in Alabama.

An amicus brief is a legal argument offered to the court by someone who is not a party to the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta will decide whether to accept the argument.

“School administrators knew the student’s extensive history of sexual and violent misconduct and were alerted to the substantial risk he posed” to other students, according to the brief.

About a week before the alleged rape, Sparkman Middle School vice principals Jeanne Dunaway and Teresa Terrell received a complaint that the boy had touched a female student inappropriately and was assigned in-school suspension, according to federal attorneys.

A few days later, June Simpson, a teacher’s aide at the Huntsville-area school, told the principal, Ronnie Blair, that the boy had “repeatedly tried to convince girls to have sex with him in the boys’ bathroom on the special needs students’ corridor” and had actually had sex with one student, according to the brief.

The boy and his alleged sexual partner denied having sex in the bathroom, but Simpson recommended the boy be “constantly monitored,” according to the brief. Blair said the boy could not be punished because he had not been “caught in the act,” the brief reads.

School policy requires allegations of student-on-student misconduct be substantiated.

Trying to “catch him in the act”

On January 22, 2010, the boy approached a 14-year-old girl with special needs who had already declined his “recent, repeated propositions” for sex, according to the brief.

“She was not physically or mentally handicapped, although she does qualify for special education classes,” Artrip told CNN.

When the girl told Simpson, she encouraged the girl to “meet (the boy) in the bathroom where teachers could be positioned to ‘catch him in the act’ before anything happened,” according to the brief.

The girl initially refused, but then agreed, according to Artrip.

Simpson and the girl went to Dunaway’s office to explain the plan. Dunaway “did not respond with any advice or directive,” according to the brief.

“If this was problematic for the administration it would have been better to express that on the front end instead of the back end,” said attorney McGriff Belser III, who represents Simpson.

The girl left Dunaway’s office, found the boy in the hallway, and “agreed to meet for sex,” according to the brief.

“Something went wrong,” said Artrip.

Instead of meeting in the boys’ bathroom on the special needs students’ corridor, the boy told the girl to meet him in the sixth-grade boys’ bathroom, in another part of the school, according to the brief.

“No teachers were in the bathroom to intervene,” the brief reads.

“She stalled for time. She continually tried to fight him off but ultimately was anally raped by this young man,” Artrip told CNN.

“It was evident that this had been a severe trauma for her,” said Artrip.

Police were called and the girl was taken to the National Children’s’ Advocacy Center in Huntsville, where a rape kit was taken, Artrip told CNN.

Medical personnel found evidence of trauma “consistent with (the girl) being sodomized.” The boy claimed he had only kissed her, according to the brief.

Attorneys: Boy had a long history of serious misconduct

The girl was uncommunicative after the incident, Artrip said. The district attorney in Madison County investigated the incident, but with a victim who was unable or unwilling to talk about the incident, the office didn’t think they had a good case, and did not pursue it.

Even after viewing photographs of the girl’s injuries, vice principal Terrell “testified that she didn’t know whether (the girl) had consented to the assault,” according to the brief.

The school listed the alleged rape as “inappropriate touching a female in boys’ bathroom,” on the student’s computerized disciplinary report. He was suspended for five days and sent to an alternative school, but later returned to Sparkman after about 20 days, according to the brief.

Vice principal Dunaway testified that the girl was responsible for herself once she entered the bathroom, according the brief.

DoJ and DoE attorneys claim the boy had a long history of sexual and other misconduct in school and Sparkman Middle School administrators knew it. Several pages of the 126-page brief detail years of disciplinary problems.

The boy had been involved in 15 violent or sex-related proven incidents of misconduct before the alleged rape, according to the brief.

Federal attorneys say details about the severity of the incidents are unavailable because school administrators shredded the boy’s disciplinary files.

The girl’s father filed the federal lawsuit in October 2010 against the boy, the three administrators, the teacher’s aide and the Madison County School Board.

“We felt, (that) the teacher putting her into this position, because of the policy as interpreted by the school board and the principal, violated Title IX,” Artrip told CNN.

Title IX is a federal law aimed at ending sexual discrimination in education. In part, it dictates how schools that receive federal funds must respond to claims of sexual harassment.

In 2010, a district court judge allowed the father’s claims of state violations, including negligence, against Simpson and Dunaway, while dropping the boy from the lawsuit because he was a minor. The judge tossed out the federal claims — that the school district violated Title IX and that Simpson and school administrators deprived the girl of her civil rights.

Both sides have appealed.

Fighting for a jury trial

According to the rare amicus brief, written in part by an attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the school, in its capacity as a recipient of federal funds is “liable for [its] deliberate indifference to known acts of peer sexual harassment.”

On the same day the federal brief was submitted, the Women’s Law Center, joined by 32 national and local organizations, submitted a joint brief supporting the family’s lawsuit. Earlier this month, the National Women’s Law Center and Artrip submitted a joint brief to the Eleventh Circuit.

Artrip told CNN his client deserves her day in court and a jury should weigh in on the Madison County District’s requirement of substantiation of allegations of student-on-student misconduct.

“We hope that the attention that this case is getting will spur a movement on these kinds of policies so that a girl can simply report sexual harassment without having a need to bring a witness with her or roll up her shirt and show bruises,” Artrip told CNN.

The girl was withdrawn from Sparkman Middle School and underwent extensive counseling. She went to live with her mother in North Carolina, but her mother died soon after. Instead of moving back to Huntsville, she and her brother were placed with Child Protective Services in North Carolina, the attorney said.

Geraldine Tibbs, the head of public relations for the Madison County Board of Education, said the board and school officials “are confident that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule in favor of the Board and the administrators.”

“Our attorneys recommend that we not discuss ongoing litigation,” she said.

Ronnie Blair and Teresa Terrell are still principal and vice principal at Sparkman Middle School.

Jeanne Dunaway is now principal at Madison County Elementary School.

June Simpson resigned shortly after the incident.

“My client has gone from being a teacher’s aide to being a scapegoat,” said Simpson’s attorney.

When asked why his client thought it was a good idea to use a special needs teen as bait to catch a suspected attacker, Besler told CNN, “I don’t personally think it is a good idea. The events of this case have shown us that it was not.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2014 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

AP: Alabama pastor sues over closure of sex offender camp

I knew it was coming, I just didn't know when. Kurt Wallace's segregationist anti-clustering law comes

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/alabama/2014/08/28/alabama-pastor-sues-closure-sex-offender-camp/14723591/

Alabama pastor sues over closure of sex offender camp
Jay Reeves 12:02 a.m. CDT August 28, 2014

BIRMINGHAM – An Alabama pastor who let convicted sex offenders live in a camp behind his rural church filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming a state law that forced him to shut down the operation violated his religious rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the complaint on behalf of Ricky Martin, pastor of Triumph Church in rural Chilton County south of Clanton.

The lawsuit claims Martin believes it is his Christian duty to help people, including sex offenders being released from prison. The suit cites scripture in saying Martin's act of letting the former inmates live in campers behind the church was a ministry.

The suit seeks to overturn a law passed this year to shut down the camp following complaints from area residents.

The law, passed by the Alabama Legislature but only affecting Chilton County, bars convicted sex offenders from living within 300 feet of each other on the same piece of property.

The law took effect July 1, forcing Martin to make the men leave the property where some had lived for more than three years.

"All I am trying to do is follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and care for those who are in need of assistance," Martin said in a statement released by the ACLU. "But now the government is prohibiting me from doing what the Lord is asking of me."

The suit names the sheriff and district attorney in Chilton County, where officials said the camp posed a threat to public safety.

Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson, who spearheaded work to pass the law, said he had not seen the complaint and declined comment. Sheriff Kevin Davis did not return a message seeking comment.

Martin, in a June interview with The Associated Press, said he opened the camp in 2010 after meeting inmates while working as a volunteer chaplain in state prisons. Many had nowhere to live after finishing their sentences because Alabama and other states restrict the areas where sex offenders are allowed to live, he said.

County officials began noticing an influx of inmates to the same address at the church after receiving notices under laws that mandate public notices about residences of convicted sex offenders.

A legislative sponsor and county prosecutor said the law was aimed at shutting down the camp.

"This law directly targets our client — a minister — because of his deeply held Christian beliefs. The government cannot single out and strong-arm people of faith in this way," ACLU attorney Heather Weaver said in a statement.

Monday, July 7, 2014

"Achtung! Your papers please. You forgot your license? You're under arrest."

A man gets arrested for forgetting to carry his "papers" with him at all times. Is this 1930s Germany, or Alabama in 2014? It is hard to tell. First, the story:

http://www.waff.com/story/25957491/sex-offender-jailed-for-failing-to-carry-id

Sex offender jailed for failing to carry ID
Posted: Jul 07, 2014 3:17 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 07, 2014 3:25 PM EDT
By Chase Erwin

ATHENS, AL (WAFF) - Athens police arrested an adult sex offender for not having identification.

Officers encountered Bennie Jean Nance walking at the intersection of West Hobbs Street and Lucas Ferry Road just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He told officers he was leaving a friend’s house on Ezell Street and was walking to a nearby apartment complex.

The officers offered to take Nance back to the friend’s house. While on the way back to Ezell Street, dispatch advised the officers Nance was a convicted sex offender.

Nance was taken to the police department, booked, and transferred to the county jail.

Here is the actual statute:

ALABAMA STATUTES AND CODES

Section 15-20-26.2 (Effective September 1, 2006) Adult criminal sex offender - Documentation of identity.

 Listen
Section 15-20-26.2
(Effective September 1, 2006) Adult criminal sex offender - Documentation of identity.

(a) Every adult criminal sex offender who is a resident of this state shall obtain and always have in his or her possession either a valid driver's license or identification card issued by the Alabama Department of Public Safety. If any offender is ineligible to be issued a driver's license or official identification card, the Department of Public Safety shall provide the offender some other form of identification card or documentation that, if it is kept in the offender's possession, shall satisfy the requirements of this section. If any adult criminal sex offender is determined to be indigent, an identification card or other documentation in lieu thereof shall be issued to the offender at no cost. An adult criminal sex offender who knowingly violates this provision shall be guilty of a Class C felony.

(b) Whenever the Department of Public Safety issues or renews a driver's license or identification card to an adult criminal sex offender, the driver's license or identification card shall bear a designation that enables law enforcement officers to identify the licensee as a criminal sex offender.

So forgetting your ID Card is a Class C Felony? How stupid!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

New law forces Chilton. Co. sex offenders to leave pastor’s backyard

I don't know why Pastor Martin lacks the backbone to speak out on this. CJ Robinson is a blithering idiot. One has to wonder if Cracker Jack gives Alabama law degrees as prizes.

http://wiat.com/2014/06/27/new-law-forces-chilton-co-sex-offenders-to-leave-pastors-backyard/

New law forces Chilton. Co. sex offenders to leave pastor’s backyard
By Kaitlin McCulley
Published: June 27, 2014, 6:53 pm Updated: June 27, 2014, 7:00 pm

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A man’s dream to rehabilitate convicted sex offenders is coming to an end.

Since 2010, 53 sex offenders released from prison have moved in to trailers in Ricky Martin’s backyard. The property is located at 40 County Road 374 in Chilton County. Of those 53 convicted offenders, 32 are convicted rapists and 21 have been convicted of molestation. 43 committed crimes against children.

Martin pastors Triumph Church, also on his property. Neighbors tell WIAT 42 they do not feel safe in their homes.

Debra Morrison lives next door to Martin and the sex offender camp in his backyard.

“Usually when you go to grandma’s house and you want to go swing on the swing, usually that’s ok,” Morrison said. “But not here.”

Morrison’s young grandchildren are frequent visitors to her home.

“When they come to Nana’s, they know that we’ve got to be with them at all times,” Morrison said. “And they’re scared. There’s always fear, even when we go to bed at night.”

Chilton County Chief Deputy District Attorney C.J. Robinson said neighbors will not have to feel that way much longer. A legislative bill was passed recently,requiring sex offenders in Chilton County to live at least 300 feet apart from each other. The seven remaining offenders living on Martin’s property must leave by July 1st.

“This might be the only chance I ever have as a prosecutor to try to take steps on the front end,” Robinson said. “If there’s something I can do to keep a child from being victimized.”

Morrison is thankful her worst fears have not become a reality. She hopes soon, “Nana’s house,” will be a place of carefree fun.

WIAT 42 Reporter Kaitlin McCulley talked with Martin, but he declined to be recorded on camera for this report and would not answer questions on-the-record. His only comment regarding the sex offenders is this: “I hope they continue their relationship with Christ when they leave here.”

(Copyright WIAT 42 News 2014)

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Jay Maynor is no hero: Vigilante Violence is NEVER "Justice"

Jeremy and Christine Moody--Skinhead "Heroes"
How do we rehabilitate a sex offender? They cannot be fixed, what they can do, is convinced the Psychologists that they are ‘fixed’ and they are safe to be released into society. The only cure for child abusers and molesters is to have every member of their immediate family killed. These nefarious crimes and people should not be allowed to procreate. By destroying their immediate family members, you purify the blood line. This is the only way to ensure that they (the pervert or family) cannot ever hurt a child again. Liberals will think that these statements are immature and that I must be empty headed. How many people consider the children that were abused or molested? What about the mental destruction that this child has to live with for the rest of their lives? How these children will find it difficult to ever trust another person. How these children may possibly never be able to have children of their own, because they were raped so severe, that it damaged them permanently? I don't think my suggestion is immature, I think it's the only answer, and if you don't agree, then you two should be destroyed[1][i].” – Jeremy Moody, “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” Lulu Publishing, 2012. p.5

On Sunday, June 8, 2014, Jay Maynor[ii] of Cullman, Alabama shot and killed Raymond Earl Brooks, a registered citizen, who had served time for a sex crime against Maynor’s daughter 12 years ago[iii]. As with any story involving so-called “vigilante justice,” there are plenty of individuals coming out of the woodwork proclaiming this man a “hero.” The killer’s family has set up a Facebook page[iv] and a defense fund[v], and has raised $1500 in 10 days (the listed goal is $5000). A few of the comments from the fundraiser page are frightening and disturbing indeed:

There is no room in this world for pedophiles. They cannot be rehabilitated, and there is no cure. They should all be chucked off a boat and left for sharks.” – Holly Perkins

We have several sexual offenders living around us. Unless they start neutering them, I am with Mr. Maynor kind of justice.” – Kat Perry, who donated $5.00

As a survivor of abuse I support Mr. Maynor for seeking justice for his daughter. This demon should have never been allowed to walk the streets again, to have the chance to abuse another child. You are a hero to me Mr. Maynor.” – Jeanna Phillips, who donated $20.00

Jay Maynor's Mugshot
A woman by the name of Kayla Maddux[vi], whose Facebook picture is a blue variation of the “Keep Calm” internet meme proclaiming “Keep Calm and Free Jaybird,” posted a comment to detractors at the Cullman Times, stating, “Dont [sic] go trying to tell facts when you dont know them.” When has the lack of facts stop the mass media from exploiting the tragedy for ratings? Even though the AP story didn’t mention the shooter’s name to “protect the victim’s identity,” they had no reservations posting the victim’s mug shot and proclaim him a sex offender[vii]. The lack of details didn’t stop Catherine Connors, an executive with the Walt Disney Company and “award winning blogger,” from writing a post on the Nancy Grace HLN site hinting that what Maynor did, although legally wrong, is understandable and she would be tempted to do the same thing. Connors states, “I know, if something like this happened to me, I might be tempted to do wrong, too[viii].” Michelle Lund from CrimeJail.com called the victim’s father a “pedo-sympathizer” and claimed that Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey cares more about sex offenders than “a father who had to watch her child suffer[ix].” Dr. Drew’s “Behavioral Bureau” also added their two cents[x]. HLN is notorious for focusing on stories such as this one.

The Dr. Drew show deserves a more in-depth critique. I have had the privilege of taking on Dr. Drew’s “Behavior Bureau” on two occasions in the past year. This is how the Bureau works – the show invites a panel of personalities to come on the show to discuss various topics, and not all of the panelists have explicit knowledge of the subject at hand. For this particular episode, the panelists were Leeann Tweeden, a TV sportscaster for poker and baseball’s Anaheim Angels, Anahita Sedaghatfar, a civil defense attorney and TV analyst, and Jason Ellis, a journeyman MMA fighter (who only fought two matches) who hosts a show on Sirius XM radio. Out of three individuals, only one has any degree of criminal justice experience, so the outcome of the show should come as no surprise.

Defense attorney Anahita Sedaghatfar stated she was against vigilante violence and that we can't be allowed to take the law into our own hands, but in the end, she still stated, “I would definitely defend [Maynor]. I think he has a strong case for mitigation in terms of sentencing.” As expected, the discussion simply went downhill from this point. Leeann Tweeden stares glaringly into the camera and proudly proclaims, “You do that to my child, I will shoot you in the head.” Jason Ellis gave the strangest statement of all. So, I don`t wanna -- I already said what I had to say, this -- when you bring up the extra -- I mean, I didn`t remember until I was 40 who the guy was that molested me. So, I didn`t know until I was about 26 that I`d been molested. I had to take a bunch of acid and they also recall it. Then, at 40 I find out who it is, because my body can`t even handle knowing who it is. You did that to that girl in that fashion, I don`t need to be related to the girl, I`ll kill him right now [xi].” It is interesting that Jason Ellis just stated that he “recalled” abuse that happened decades ago. (The False Memory Syndrome[xii] controversy continues, but that is a discussion for a different day.) The point is whether we want a person who took headshots for a living (like Ellis) or some “eye-candy” model who peddles her body for a living (like Weeden) to dictate the rules of society, especially not knowing the whole story behind the murders.

Returning to Kayla Maddux’s statement about knowing “all the facts,” supplemental articles have put together the facts. This is the complete story up until this point. The day of the murder, Jay Maynor got into an argument with his stepdaughter’s boyfriend (investigators say there was “bad blood” between the two men), and apparently, somewhere along the way, the boyfriend used the sexual abuse narrative to criticize Maynor, sending him into a rage. Maynor pulled out a gun and shot into the Berlin Quick Mart gas station where the boyfriend was sitting. Painter then went to the home of Raymond Earl Brooks and ambushed him, killing him in the home of his parents. The defense made the claim that a “catalyst” or “triggering event” that should considered mitigating factors for lowering his bail[xiii].

It is rather ironic that the term “trigger” was used Maynor’s defense since pulling a gun trigger landed Maynor in jail. The term “Trigger Warning” (or TW for short) is a relatively new buzzword. “In the area of mental health, a trigger is something which causes instant distress in a vulnerable person. If you know what can trigger a bad reaction, you can try to avoid those triggers in the same way that someone with an allergy might take steps to avoid dogs.” Trigger warnings first appeared on feminist websites to flag up stories of abuse[xiv]. This word is particularly dangerous because, in the words of Rhiannon Cosslett, triggers “smacked to me of victimhood.” Cosslett does not believe triggers hinder free speech, but states, “they do display an increasingly nannying approach to language that is being used to shut down discourse and to silence. Often, it is coupled with a sense of passive aggressive glee…I do not doubt that they are of enormous service to survivors with specific triggers likely to reoccur on feminist websites, but it has got to a point now where I feel women I have never met are trying to wrap me in cotton wool, and I detest that. PTSD can make you hypersensitive and hyper-aware…[xv]”Furthermore, trigger words perpetuates cultural victimhood; as one example, college campuses are considering placing trigger warnings on classic literature because people do not like feeling even slightly uncomfortable. As one RT reporter proclaimed, “Our kids WANT to be nannied. They WANT to be protected, and feel safe, and coddled [xvi].” And fear justifies some very atrocious behavior, like canonizing a man who shoots into a business establishment because he later killed a pariah of society.

When society canonizes a vigilante, society overlooks a lot of things; however, we should not forget Maynor’s actions have harmed many people, not just the murdered Registrant. Those victimized by Maynor’s actions found Maynor to be anything but heroic.

At Maynor’s bond hearing, “Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock called two witnesses, Jeremy Trimble and Bobby Weeks, who were present for the gas station shooting. Trimble testified he was present in the store at the time of the shooting and claimed one of the stray bullets came within 10 feet of hitting his child. ‘I was alarmed for my son’s safety and it made my heart stop,” he said. “He tried to shoot someone and shot another man.’Weeks was attending a child’s birthday party at the karaoke business located beside the gas station and said he heard a gun shot then looked outside to see Maynor with a gun drawn chasing another man. At that point, Weeks said he gathered the children together and took them inside for safety. ‘It sounded like he was yelling, ‘Come here you motherfucker,’ Weeks testified. ‘It scared me and the kids[xvii].’”

Jay Maynor showing how he feels about society's laws
“Mike Hays, who cooks and operates a small barbecue restaurant inside Berlin Plaza Quick Stop, where the shooting occurred, said he came face-to-face with the shooter after the man opened fire outside and then entered the store looking for his intended victim, who wasn't hurt. ‘People here are calling him a hero for killing a child molester. I'm calling him a psychopathic lunatic for endangering peoples' lives, including mine,’ Hays said. After stopping his motorcycle at an intersection outside the store, the father fired once at a man who was standing beside an ice cooler, Hays said. The bullet entered an exterior wall of the store and chipped a window but no one was injured. Hays said he retrieved his own weapon and confronted [Maynor] near the cash register. ‘He had the gun down by his side. He was calm, as calm as you are standing there now. But he had that look in his eye,’ said Hays. ‘I have no problem with him shooting a child molester, just not 12 years later. If it was my daughter he would have died back in 2002[xviii].’”

“Brooks' father, Ralph Brooks, told WBRC-TV in Birmingham that his son did not deserve to die. He said Raymond Earl Brooks turned his life around after his conviction and lived a godly life that included being active in his church. Because his son's conviction happened so long ago, he said he couldn't be sure if the shooting was a form of revenge. ‘It would be unbelievable to hold animosity in your heart for 12 years,’ Brooks said[xix].”

It should not be surprising with anyone that Jay Maynor had a criminal history. Maynor had made several court appearances over the years—once for DUI and three times for domestic violence (though the domestic violence charges were eventually dropped). It is laughable Maynor’s defense attorney brought these prior charges up in attempt to show the court that Maynor would come to court responsibly and should thus receive a lower bond. Thankfully bail was not reduced[xx].

This story has played out numerous times over the years. This brings me to the statement by Jeremy Moody at the beginning of this article. Moody’s proclamation could have been written just as easily by any anonymous commenter. But Moody’s proclamation was written in a self-written skinhead manifesto, alongside discussions on racial purity and ethnic cleansing. (Ironically, the head of Moody’s skinhead group, known as “Crew 41,” is a Registered Citizen[xxi].) Patrick Drum, who murdered two registrants in Washington State in 2012, had 47 criminal convictions over a 15 year period, including assault, drug, and burglary charges. One of his victims landed on the list for a consensual act with a teen when he was 17 years old. Drum and the Moody clan were unrepentant thugs with disgusting pasts. Had they killed anyone else, society would not have given any of them a second thought except to call for the heads of these men on a silver platter. But because their victims were Registered Citizens, people want to give murderers a free pass.
Even the Neo-Nazi skinhead Jeremy Moody had support from the public, as illustrated by this statement from a CNN commenter:

Kimberly269life – “In this case the dude had been convicted of a sex crime on a child!where is the good old killemall mindset we normally apply to pedophiles?What is your prob people? Pedophilia is a well known incurable condition-even castration doesn not cure this despicable condition in many men! He def needed killing.His wife on the other hand seems to have been collateral damage-but thats the price you pay for being connected to child molesters! Its true that many wives allow crimes against children-their own and others-by doing nothing and turning away.They are culpable.They are helping ! Nazis and other white supremists are really disgusting people-yes-but the pedophile is probably even lower ...frankly its a win/win from what I can see[xxii]” [Kimberly’s grammatical errors included]

The vigilante violence and the people who support them are definitive proof the registry, or any degree of public disclosure of Registered Citizens in the community, should be abolished. Until the registry is abolished, we will see this same story play out repeatedly in the coming years. Patt Morrison from the LA Times says, “Justice in a democracy cannot be some tit-for-tat clan vendetta, or determined by bribes or bias. It must be the dispassionate act of the people and the state, whose good order and laws have been violated. Vigilante justice erodes the authority and regard for a legal system that can’t be about vengeance or passion… And when an Alabama father or a California mother usurps that role, they are not heroes, because vengeance is not justice. And justice, not just someone’s child, becomes a victim too[xxiii].”The registry is a “catalyst” and a “trigger event” that enrages the community, and when a person is assaulted or murdered because of this registry, justice is perverted.




[i] http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/jeremy-moody/yesterday-today-forever/paperback/product-20441110.html
[ii] In terestingly enough, the AP did not publish the perpetrator’s name, stating “The Associated Press doesn't identify victims of sex crimes, and it isn't naming the man charged with murder to protect his daughter's identity.” Yet, they published the victim's name and picture and proclaimed him a sex offender. See Jay Reeves, “ALABAMA MAN CHARGED IN SLAYING GAINS SUPPORT.” AP, June 10, 2014. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/alabama-man-charged-slaying-gains-support
[iii] Trent Moore, “Cullman man charged with murder in Berlin shooting.” Cullman Times, June 9, 2014. http://www.cullmantimes.com/breakingnews/x1396881180/Cullman-man-charged-with-murder-in-Berlin-shooting
[iv] https://www.facebook.com/pages/Family-Friends-and-Supporters-of-Jay-Maynor/325444844270469
[v] http://www.gofundme.com/a51e8g
[vi] Apparently Kayla the daughter of Jay Maynor, though she does not list him as her father on her Facebook page.
[vii] Jay Reeves, “ALABAMA MAN CHARGED IN SLAYING GAINS SUPPORT.” AP, June 10, 2014. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/alabama-man-charged-slaying-gains-support
[viii] Catherine Commons, “Avenging a horrid crime: Right, but still wrong?” HLN, June 18, 2014. http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/06/18/catherine-connors-dad-kills-sex-offender-two-wrongs-right
[ix] Michelle Lund, “Jay Maynor, Hero Shoots Man Who Molested His Daughter.” CrimeJail.com, June 14, 2014. http://crimejail.com/jay-maynor-hero-shoots-man-abused-daughter/
[x] Dr. Drew staff, “Father charged in shooting death of daughter's molester.” HLN, June 12, 2014. http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/06/12/father-kills-daughter-sex-offender-decade-later
[xi] http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1406/12/ddhln.01.html
[xii] http://www.fmsfonline.org/
[xiii] Trent Moore, “Maynor’s attorney: ‘Trigger event’ caused shooting, seeking bail reduction.” June 12, 2014. http://www.cullmantimes.com/breakingnews/x998005628/Maynor-s-attorney-Trigger-event-caused-shooting-seeking-bail-reduction
[xiv] “Trigger warnings: What do they do?” BBC, Feb. 24, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-26295437
[xv] Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, “Why I don’t agree with trigger warnings.” New Statesman, Jan. 29, 2013. http://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2013/01/why-i-dont-agree-trigger-warnings
[xvi] “Our Kids Want to be Nannied. We’re Screwed.” The Resident (Russia Today), May 27, 2014. http://www.theresident.net/our-kids-want-to-be-nannied-were-screwed/
[xvii] Trent Moore, “BREAKING: Bond reduction denied in Maynor murder case.” Cullman Times, June 19, 2014. http://www.cullmantimes.com/breakingnews/x1669975480/BREAKING-Bond-reduction-denied-in-Maynor-murder-case
[xviii] Jay Reeves, “ALABAMA MAN CHARGED IN SLAYING GAINS SUPPORT.” AP, June 10, 2014. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/alabama-man-charged-slaying-gains-support
[xix] Ibid.
[xx] Moore, “Breaking”
[xxi] “Killing Sex Offenders: The Apparent Hypocrisy of Crew 41.” Southern Poverty Law Center, July 29, 2013. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2013/07/29/killing-sex-offenders-the-apparent-hypocrisy-of-crew-41-2/
[xxii] http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/07/justice/south-carolina-neo-nazis-murder-sex-offender/#comment-1378773440
[xxiii] Patt Morrison, “Opinion Does an angry parent killing a child molester ever serve justice?” LA Times, June 17, 2014. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-jay-maynor-ellie-nesler-child-molesters-justice-20140616-story.html

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Cullman County: Vigilante thug murders registered citizen and shoots up a gas station

http://www.cullmantimes.com/breakingnews/x1396881180/Cullman-man-charged-with-murder-in-Berlin-shooting

Vigilante "justice" is no justice. This man shot into a crowded business. I hope this punk is never freed again.

Cullman man charged with murder in Berlin shooting

By Trent Moore 
The Cullman Times

BERLIN —

A Cullman man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting into a local gas station, then driving to a man’s home and killing him Sunday night.

Jay Maynor, 41, of Cullman has been arrested and charged with the murder of 59-year-old Berlin resident Raymond Earl Brooks. He was arrested by Alabama State Troopers shortly after the shooting occurred. Brooks was a convicted sex offender.

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to a call regarding gunfire at the Berlin Plaza Quick Stop on U.S. Highway 278 at approximately 7 p.m. Sunday night, then followed Maynor’s trail to Brooks’ nearby residence at 4340 U.S. Highway 278 East.

“We responded to the Berlin Plaza Quick Stop where witnesses told deputies a male subject pulled up on a motorcycle before shooting the store’s window. After the would be victim was able to elude the shooter, the suspect then drove off and went to the residence of Raymond Earl Brooks,” sheriff Mike Rainey said in a press release. “At this time we are still investigating both crime scenes, the one at the store and at Mr. Brooks’ residence. We just ask that the public stay patient as our investigators work to piece together the events which took place Sunday night.”

Maynor was apprehended by Alabama State Trooper Anthony Peebles, who was responding to the call when the suspect reportedly pulled out in front of him.

“I want to extend a personal thank you to Trooper Anthony Peebles for his quick response and apprehension of the suspect,” Rainey said.

Maynor is currently being held at the Cullman County Detention Center, and has been charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling. Rainey said he hopes additional interviews with Maynor can shed some light on the motivations that led to the shooting.

Rainey noted Brooks was convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree in 2002 in a case involving an eight-year old female. Since that time he has had to register as a sex offender. Rainey said investigators are still working to determine if that previous charge had anything to do with the events of Sunday night.

“We are investigating all aspects of this case and cannot comment on a motive at this point,” Rainey said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family.”

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Rep. Kurt Wallace pulls backroom deal to pass a Segregationist (anti-clustering) bill in Chilton County

While ReFORM-AL was mounting opposition for a statewide anti-clustering bill, professed "Christian Conservative" State Rep. Kurt Wallace pulled out the politician playbook and called a trick play.

Random anti-Kurt Wallace Political Ad

This is how they built typically passes to the Alabama Legislature. A bill is introduced and assigned to a committee. There is generally time allotted for the public to become aware of a pending bill. Before a bill passes committee, the public has a right to request a public hearing on the bill at hand. It is a narrow window, but an individual generally has at least a couple of weeks or so to catch a bill as it pops up before committee.

With HB 556, and anti-clustering bill just for Chilton County, the public was literally given a single day’s notice. On Thursday, February 27, 2014, HB 556 was introduced and read for the first time before the house legislature, and was assigned to the “LL” (local legislation) committee. By Tuesday, March 4, the bill had been read a second time and placed on the calendar, and the next day, it had been read a third time and put to a vote. Only 38 representatives voted, all of them “yea,” of course, and 47 representatives were not even present to vote on March 5.

In short, the public was never truly given adequate notice. ReFORM-AL had been checking the Alabama state legislature (“ALISON”) website every Friday during the legislative season, and not a single notice of HB 556 was seen. A bill was literally introduced and passed through the house in five business days, but that a single notice given to those who were to be impacted by these laws.

Keep in mind at this point, once a bill goes before the full legislature outside of committee, the public cannot request a public hearing. The best hope is to attempt to stop the bill by convincing legislators outside of committee to vote against the bill. To be honest, how many people do you think actually read, debated, or consider the negative consequences of this bill?

Could we have stopped the bill in the Senate? Since no one was even aware of HB 556, no one realized that the very next day, the bill was read for the first time in the Senate. The following Thursday, March 13, the bill was read a second time, and on Tuesday, March 18, the bill was read a third and final time and was put to a vote. This time, 21 people voted yea, and three people voted to abstain from voting. It was “enrolled” and sent for the governor to sign.

In total, 18 days had passed between the time the bill was first read in the time the bill was sent to the governor's office, or rather, 12 business days. That is superfast by Alabama Legislature standards.

State Rep. Kurt Wallace has been pushing his segregationist policy for years, all just to shut down a transitional housing program in his home County. This time, he got what he wanted. ReFORM-AL has already received a number of phone calls from individuals negatively impacted by this countywide ordinance. It is amazing how Wallace and his stooge CJ Robinson pushed for this idiotic legislation while admitting that residency restriction laws were the cause of the problem in the first place, testifying that these laws lead people to take advantage of registered citizens.

It seems the “good old boy” network is alive in rural Alabama. I'm sure Jesus is just ecstatic that Wallace has made people homeless in his name. On the upside, Wallace just lost his bid for re-election.

So here is the bill in its entirety. It seems violating the bill is a "civil" penalty. In other words, they will sue you into poverty.

ENROLLED, An Act, Relating to Chilton County; to prohibit certain sex offenders from establishing residence within a home or other living accommodation with another sex offender; to prohibit certain sex offenders from establishing a residence within a home or other living accommodation that is located on a lot or piece of property where another sex offender has established a residence unless there is at least 300 feet between the residences; and to provide civil penalties for violations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. This act shall only apply in Chilton County.

Section 2.
 (a) No adult sex offender shall establish a residence in a home or other living accommodation where another adult sex offender whose name appears on the Alabama Bureau of Investigation sex offender registry resides unless the offenders are married or the offenders are related as ancestors or descendants by blood or adoption, as brothers or sisters of the whole or half-blood or by adoption, as stepchildren or stepparents while the marriage creating the relationship exists, or as aunts, uncles, nephews, or nieces of the whole or half-blood.
(b) No adult sex offender shall establish a residence in a home or other living accommodation that is
located on the same lot or piece of property as another adult sex offender whose name appears on the Alabama Bureau of Investigation sex offender registry, unless there is at least 300 feet between the residences or the offenders are married or the offenders are related by blood or adoption, as brothers or sisters, as stepchildren or stepparents while the marriage creating the relationship exists, or as aunts, uncles, nephews, or nieces of the whole or half-blood. 

Section 3. 
A violation of Section 2 shall constitute a public nuisance. The district attorney may institute a civil action in the Circuit Court of Chilton County before the resident Circuit Judge for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit against the owner or lessor of the property on which the nuisance exists for the purpose of abatement of the nuisance. The district attorney shall have the right to reimbursement of all costs associated with the litigation of the action, to be paid by the defendant. 

Section 4.

 The court, at its discretion, may assess a civil fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor less than five hundred dollars ($500) against the defendant for each separate civil action. The civil penalties shall be payable directly to the Office of the Circuit Clerk of Chilton County and disbursed evenly among the district attorney's office and the office of the circuit clerk.

Section 5. 
The county commission may develop and implement forms and procedures for the issuing of citations for civil violations and payment of civil penalties to implement this act. 

Section 6. 
This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Question: Do out-of-state registrants have to register in Alabama if they are no longer required to register?

Below is a question posed to me the other day. I took out any info that may identify the writer. It asks a very good question.

QUESTION:

I was convicted of ******** a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois in *****. I was never required to register, I just paid a ***** fine and never went to jail.  It was a romeo-juliet style thing with a girl less than 5 yrs younger than me......  I have no other offences since that time, or before that time.

If I moved to Huntsville, AL would I be required to report to the sheriff's office and be put on the registry there?

Been reading lots of conflicting info.

ANSWER: I contacted the Alabama Attorney General's Office with this question. Their response to me was to "ask the sheriff of the county you are moving to."

I have told the person who sent me the email this response even before I received this response from the Alabama Attorney General's office. I do find it interesting the AG's office, the very people most responsible for enforcing sex offender laws know less about them than an activist.

I have discussed travel issues on my main website, Once Fallen. Moving issues are similar to travel issues because many states consider visiting as "establishing" a "temporary residence." It can be complicated. Alabama gives you 72 hours to register.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Free Alabama Movement looks for prison reform

I stumbled across an article about Free Alabama Movement, a group looking to reform Alabama's cruel prison system. I am glad to see that videos are being smuggled out of prison so people may see how bad the prison system can be.

This isn't related to RSOs, of course, but it is an interesting look into the Alabama DOC.

Free Alabama Movement (FAM) Youtube video page:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC88hK0WZ7PKGaTMPpLMTA_w

Free Alabama Movement (FAM) Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-alabama-movement/1428198110745581

Below is a video I wish leaked years ago. I had eaten my share of the "mystery meat" patties while in prison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnzxwzJIE58

Saturday, April 12, 2014

The 2014 Alabama Legislature has official adjourned. A recap of the bills

The 2014 Alabama Legislature has "Adjourned Sine Die," thus signaling the end of the regular session. I guess the crappy weather kept the legislators indoors enough to push them through the legislation. Barring any special sessions, registered citizens can rest easy until the next legislative season.

So here is a recap of what passed and what didn't:

HB14: Criminal sex offenders over age 21, sex offenses against child 12 years of age or younger, surgical castration required prior to release from custody of Corrections Department.
Status: Never left committee
Comments: I never focused on this bill despite it receiving national attention. The legislature knew this law was one they would never touch.

HB21: Sex offenders, residence, sex offender clusters, licensing by sheriff, monitoring, regulation by Mental Health Department, penalties for violations, certain local and general laws repealed, Act 2010-515, 2010 Reg. Sess., repealed; Sec. 13A-11-204 repealed
Status: Never left committee.
Comments: I worked hard to get people to fight this bill. Hopefully the barrage of letters helped get this bill stalled.

HB 133: Human trafficking, Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking, adoption, Secs. 13A-6-150 to 13A-6-160, inclusive, 13A-6-170 repealed
Status: Never left committee
Comments: I'm always wary of human trafficking laws since they are used as mules for unrelated sex offender legislation (like Prop 35 in Cali). Thankfully no action was taken on this bill.

HB 224: Rape, sodomy, burglary in the first degree, person convicted of these crimes under certain conditions sentenced to minimum of 20 yrs in prison if victim is 65 yrs old or older, Secs. 13A-6-61, 13A-6-63, 13A-7-5 am'd.
Status: Stalled in committee
Comments: I never cared for mandatory minimums or status enhancements.

HB 413: Sex Offenders, registration and community notification, technical revisions and citations update various sections, petition for relief from employment, residency living restriction, civil division of circuit courts, absconding without registering, penalty, Secs. 12-15-107, 12-15-116, 13A-5-2, 13A-5-6, 14-9-41, 15-18-8, 15-19-7, 15-20A-4 to 15-20A-7, incl., 15-20A-9, 15-20A-11, 15-20A-14, 15-20A-16, 15-20A-18, 15-20A-21 to 15-20A-26, incl., 15-20A-28, 15-20A-29, 15-20A-32, 15-20A-34, 15-20A-35, 15-20A-37, 15-20A-39, 15-20A-40, 15-20A-43, 15-20A-45, 15-20A-46, 15-22-27.3, 32-6-49.24, 36-18-24, 36-18-25, 38-13-2, 38-13-4
Status: Stalled in committee
Comments: This law would have granted the potential for relief from registration laws under certain conditions. The only bad thing I saw was adding internet provider info. That was unnecessary.

HB 426/SB 297: Sex offenders, sex offender convicted of crime with a minor prohibited within 500 feet of public school K-12 property during instructional hours, Class C felony, Sec. 15-20A-17 am'd.
Status: Stalled in committee
Comments: SB 297 passed, but not as originally written. A highly watered down version applying to trespassing on school grounds replaced the 500 foot law.

SB 151: Bestiality and possession of obscene matter depicting bestiality, crime established, penalties
Status: Passed
Comments: It was good for a laugh, but whatever keeps Alabama from passing dumber legislation like HB21, I'm all for it.