GESTAPO ALERT Etowah County compliance sweep

Again with the catchphrases. "Its for the children (tm)." Hitler did it "for the children" too, you know. 

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20120517/NEWS/120519839/1016/NEWS?Title=Authorities-verify-Etowah-County-sex-offenders-8217-residences

Authorities verify Etowah County sex offenders’ residences


By Lisa Rogers
Times Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 10:07 p.m.


It’s for the safety of the children.

Sex Offender Verification Roundup
Gadsden Police Chief John Crane said a sex-offender compliance check is an important measure in verifying the location of convicted sex offenders in Etowah County.


More than two dozen law enforcement officers from several agencies spent Wednesday and Thursday verifying the locations of 178 convicted sex offenders living in Etowah County.


Of the 178, only one was not verified.

Not only does he share the Hitler philosophy,
he has the matching mustache. 

“It’s for the protection of the children,” Crane said of the sex-offender checks. “We need to know who’s out there and where they are at.”


Crane said working with the different agencies, including the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, FBI, ATF, state probation and several municipalities, makes an operation like this one successful.


“This is what can be accomplished when we work as a team,” he said.


The officers worked in teams of two and filled out a verification form for each person registered in the county.


“This is the meat and potatoes of what we’re doing,” James Nolan, an agent with the U.S. Marshals Service, told the officers about the verification form as he explained the laws and the necessary paperwork required in the compliance checks.


“Slow down and think about what we’re doing,” he said. “If you make contact with the offender and they are in compliance, you are pretty much done.”

COMMENT: Remember when the US Marshals were called in for drug cartels and violent situations? Today, their job consists of harassing people at home to see if they are on the useless registry. 

He said it’s important for the officers to get a look inside the house. “If they don’t to let you go in, there’s probably something going on that they don’t want you to know about,” he said. There also is a law which makes it a felony to harbor a sex offender. He said even if all the sex offenders are found and verified, that does not mean they are in compliance, such as living in a house with children. Of the 177 verified, 154 were in compliance and 23 were not. Two offenders had died and three were in jail.

COMMENT: Did you catch that? Now if you don't allow them into your home you are automatically suspected of wrongdoing. 

By Thursday afternoon, a few of the sex offenders verified were found not to be in compliance, Sheriff Todd Entrekin said. He said the sheriff’s office verifies the residence of registered sex offenders monthly, but the unified effort sends a strong message that sex offenders living in Etowah County must stay in compliance or pay the consequences. “It’s important to keep a close eye on sex offenders,” Entrekin said.

COMMENT:  Monthly? They must have nothing better to do in Gadsden County. 

Sheriff Todd Entrekin

Entrekin said he believes by checking the sex offenders more often, there will be more accountability. “Nowhere in the law ... says we can check them too many times,” he said. Entrekin said most of the time, someone convicted of a sex crime against a child will re-offend. That’s why it is so important to keep track of convicted sex offenders, he said.

COMMENT: The sheriff is a full-blown idiot. Again with the "most will re-offend crap. That is a bold-faced lie, as statistics have proven consistently that recidivism rates are extremely low, but the registry has NO impact on recidivism.

Feel free to CONTACT THE SHERIFF and give this clown an education:

Sheriff Todd Entrekin Email: tentrekin@etowahcounty.org -- Phone: 256-546-2825

Here is the Gadsden city PD info, and they even have a handy page for filing a complaint against them. How nice!

Mailing Address: 90 Broad St., Gadsden, AL 35904 Phone: (256) 549-4500 Fax: (256) 549-4547

A look at how police keep track of sex offenders

The real headline is how Alabama harasses people needlessly:

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/mobile_county/keeping-sex-offenders-in-check


A look at how police keep track of sex offenders
Updated: Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 4:59 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 5:15 PM CDT


Paige Malone
MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) - Once a person is convicted as a sex offender the label dictates where they live, work and who they live with.


But, how do we know they are obeying the law?


FOX10 News reporter Paige Malone rode along with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office to find out.


Paul Uffmann spent Tuesday knocking on doors and ringing door bells. He was checking on sex offenders.


Some of those on his list include two men convicted of sex crimes where the victim was less than 4 years old. 


Uffmann is part of the volunteer corps, a group of deputized volunteers that help the sheriff’s office with tasks such as this.


Sheriff Sam Cochran says it saves the county money and countless man hours.


As a sex offender, you have a restricted lifestyle, and you have to register where you live and other personal information to make sure you are following the law.


Uffmann asks the sex offender to verify the information they have and talks to neighbors to get a second verification.


In one case, the sex offender was not living where they had registered. The woman at the house said it is because a 7-month-old child was now staying at the home. Uffman notes this and reports it to the deputy in charge.


Because the V-corps come unannounced, it’s not uncommon the offender won’t be home. In that situation, a piece of paper is left behind telling the offender to contact the sheriff’s office as soon as possible.


"We want to make sure they know were contacting them that we are doing what is required by law and we want to make sure they live there so they'll call us back within 5 days," Said Uffmann.


The V-Corps also lets neighbors know when a sex offender moves into a neighborhood.


"Well check with the neighbors and say look can you helps us? Will you let us know if you see any children around this house or will you let us know if this sex offender moves from the neighborhood or if you see something that appears to be improper?” said Cochran.


Cochran says these tips are a big part of keeping sex offenders away from possible victims.

Vague law leads to arrest- anti-loitering law

The law banning registrants has become vague and broadly applied. I think it is time to fight this unconstitutional law:

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/may/02/marion-sex-offender-arrested-ballgame-ar-2233962/


Marion sex offender arrested at ballgame


By: Richelle Bailey | Media General News Service 
Published: May 02, 2012
MARION -- A ballgame turned out to be anything but fun and games for a registered sex offender Friday.


Lt. David Marler of the McDowell County Sheriff's Office arrested Christopher ***** Patrick, 27, of **** in Marion at Maple Leaf sports complex and charged him with a felony sex offender law violation (being in an area where children gather).


Capt. Ricky Crisp said Marler received information from an anonymous caller that Patrick was at the ballpark, watching his son play.


The lieutenant went to Maple Leaf, found Patrick and arrested him there at 6:15 p.m.
Patrick was convicted in McDowell County in January 2004 of two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison followed by 3 1/2 years on probation.


Crisp stated that Maple Leaf is considered a county park and, by law, registered sex offenders aren't allowed there because it's a place children frequent.

Madison County Spring Cleaning is huge operation to verify sex offenders

This article makes me sick. The cops are destroying families. Notice how they bring the big guns for a simple compliance check. I guess there must be no real crime in Alabama at the moment.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/04/madison_county_spring_cleaning.html


'Madison County Spring Cleaning' is huge operation to verify sex offenders
Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012, 7:00 AM     Updated: Thursday, April 12, 2012, 9:37 AM
  By Chris Welch, The Huntsville Times 




HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- It seemed like something straight out of the movies or one of the "Cops"-type reality TV shows.
On Tuesday afternoon, a caravan of seven vehicles from the Madison County Sheriff's Office turned onto Ariel Drive into a Harvest subdivision.
One by one, the cars stopped in front of a house, the deputies spilling out of their cars and taking their positions - two on the left side of the house, four on the right, another in a black SUV that held K-9 Rambo and two others who approached the front door.
Some were in the foliage green, Army-like uniforms of the sheriff's SWAT team, others in the gray uniforms of the sheriff's reserve volunteers and one, Deputy Johnny Daversa, in the all black K-9 uniform.
When Deputy Cody Davis knocked on the door, the adrenaline started rushing and the heart started pumping just a little bit faster.
Would the suspect come out peacefully and surrender, start firing or head out the back door?
Nobody really knew.
These officers were among 65 taking part in "Operation Madison County Spring Cleaning" to verify 400 registered sex offenders are compliant with local and state sexual offender laws. The roundup included the U.S. Marshal's Office in Birmingham, Huntsville and Madison police, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Alabama State Probation Office and Madison County District Attorney's Office.
Madison County Sheriff's Office Investigator Brent Patterson said five of the sexual offenders have been arrested so far for noncompliance of the state and local sex offender laws.
"We've been planning this for 8 1/2 months," said Sheriff's Investigator Shawn McClure.
At the house in Harvest, a man came to the door and chatted outside with deputies and investigators. But he was not the sexual offender registered at the address. He told deputies, including Investigator Forrest Edde, in charge of this group, he had met the sexual offender in question once but he had never lived there. The homeowner told deputies he had been getting the offender's mail for two years and showed them a stack he was keeping inside.
"Deputy (Cody) Davis didn't see any evidence he had lived there," Edde said.
Because sexual offenders only have to report in to law enforcement every three months, and because of the shortages in law enforcement, it's not always easy to verify the address, officials say. Thus, the need for yearly roundups like these.
Satisfied the sexual offender wasn't at the Harvest address, the deputies got back in their cars and headed off to plan their second attempt at an arrest. Stopping on the side of the road near a grain mill in Harvest, the deputies went over the sexual offender's history, called up his address via Google Maps on their car-mounted laptops, made their plan and piled back into their cars.
The caravan headed to Sam Thomas Road in Huntsville and deputies again got out and took their positions near a dilapidated wooden house. There were no cars outside or signs of life until the deputies knocked on the door. It opened and a little dog came running out, barking.
The registered sex offender, thin and frail-looking with glasses, walked outside, chatted with deputies for a few minutes and then sat down on the steps. As it turned out, Edde said, the man was the sexual offender in question, but the person on a harrassment warrant the deputies had planned to serve was actually the man's son of the same name, who was at work.
As deputies looked around the house to make sure the sexual offender was compliant, his grandchildren got off a yellow school bus and walked through the maze of police. Law enforcement officials aren't very sympathetic toward sexual offenders, but deputies said it was sad the children had to go through this, especially since their classmates on the bus had driven by.
Children aren't normally allowed in the homes of sexual offenders, but if they're relatives and list in the court order it's OK, Edde said. The offender's son and his family had moved into the home to help his dad, who has been out of work for three years, keep the electricity on. Now, the son and means of support are in danger of going to jail.
As for the Madison County Sheriff's deputies and investigators, Edde said they'd done their jobs -- making sure sexual offenders are where they're supposed to be, and when they're not, reporting it.

Chris Norwood defends his crappy pro-Adam Walsh Act article

Thank you ReFORM-AL readers for trying to educate this fool, Chris Norwood of the Daily Home, but he's stubborn as, well, an Alabamian, so he posted a response. Don't let up, slam this chump with the truth:

cnorwood@dailyhome.com

http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/17936904/article-Our-View--Sex-offender-law-helps-balance-safety-and-justice-?instance=home_opinion

Our View: Sex offender law helps balance safety and justice

Mar 20, 2012 | 608 views | 1  | 0  |  | 

Response to a Sunday article about reforms in sex offender reporting laws drew some surprising responses in the comments section of this newspaper’s website.

Some of the changes were about doubling the number of times per year convicted sex offenders are required to register with law enforcement, and some dealt with ways in which some of the offenders can be relieved of the requirement to register altogether — such as an older offender who is living out his last years in a nursing home, or someone who was convicted of having consensual sex with an underage person, if the age difference was no more than four years. Exemptions may also be made for juvenile offenders after 25 years.

The increased requirement for registering not only increases the burden on the offenders, but also doubles the workload on those keeping tabs on the offenders.

Some of those commenting insist that most convicted offenders are not dangerous to others, and provide links to data that tend to support that argument. But even those numbers suggest that about 13 to 20 percent of child molesters reoffend, and 19 to 23 percent of rapists. While “most” don’t, those are still disturbingly high percentages.

Another mentioned the difficulty offenders have in finding employment and supporting themselves.

Also mentioned was an elderly man in Florida allegedly beaten to death because someone thought he was a sex offender in a tragic case of mistaken identity. The writer was one of several opposed to having registries.

States have online registries that allow people to check to see who and where registered sex offenders live based on name, city, zip code or county. Alabama’s registry can be found at http://dps.alabama.gov. At least one website, www.familywatchdog.us, offers an interactive map, based on the address entered that shows the residences of offenders in the area.

We think having those registries available can help people make better-informed decisions regarding safety in the community, but we are pleased to see exemptions being offered for some of the least dangerous offenders.

Another article with the obligatory "protects kids" catchphrases for the AWA

More AWA propaganda. Feel free to comment:

http://dailyhome.com/view/full_story/17921838/article-New-legislation-closes-loopholes--promotes-child-safety?instance=home_lead_story#cb_post_comment_17921838

New legislation closes loopholes, promotes child safety

by Chris Norwood

 March 18, 2012

According to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, there are 185 convicted sex offenders currently living in Talladega County, and 190 in St. Clair County. New legislation passed last year will change the way they have to live and double the number of times they must check in for verification of compliance.

According to Talladega County Assistant District Attorney Christina Kilgore, the state of Alabama adopted national standards for community notification in 2006, but the current version of the sex offender registration and notification act (SORNA) became law on July 27, 2011.

“The new act repealed several parts of the previous act to close some loopholes,” Kilgore said. “And the law itself states that its purpose is not to punish the offenders more, but to protect the public and promote child safety.”

One of the biggest loopholes closed by the new act involves sexually motivated offenses that may not normally be classified as sex offenses.

“Say you have a burglary in the first degree where someone breaks in and rapes the victim. They would be convicted of burglary in the first degree, which is not a sex offense. Under the new law, he would still be required to register once he got out of prison,” Kilgore said.

Another major change involves when an offender has to register. Previously, he did not have to until he was released from prison. Under the new law, he will have to register as soon as he is convicted or found guilty.

“We’ve already had a case here where that was an issue,” Kilgore said. “A man pleaded guilty and was out on bond, but he didn’t register.”

Convicted sex offenders must now register with the sheriff of the county and the police chief of the municipality (if applicable) where he lives, works or goes to school. Offenders cannot change their names unless the name change reflects a change in marital status or religion.

Under the old law, offenders were required to verify their residence only in their birth month and six months later. Under the new act, they have to check in during their birth month and every three months. If an offender becomes homeless, he is required to check in every week.

A convicted sex offender cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school, childcare facility, former victim or victim’s immediate family member (including grandparents, parents, spouses, children or grandchildren).

Under the old law, residence was established if the offender either stayed in the same place for three consecutive days or spent 10 or more days there in the same month. According to Kilgore, the new law adds “failure to spend three days away from the residence without notification unless the offender is incarcerated, in a medical facility or in a mental facility. If they’re planning on being away, they must also notify and complete a travel permit at least 21 days in advance.”

The new law also bars offenders from coming within 100 feet of any of their victims or their victims’ families, and adds college and university campuses to the places where offenders are not allowed to loiter. An offender must have a valid driver’s license or identification card.

The bill also strengthens communications between law enforcement agencies.

The other major change in the new law is that certain offenders can petition the court to be exempted. An offender who has become terminally ill or permanently immobile can petition the circuit court to lift the living restrictions. People who are convicted of consensual sex crimes (where there was no force but the victim was under age, such as rape or sodomy in the second degree) can also ask for exemptions. The law requires that the victim be at least 13 and the offender must be no more than four years older. The new law also provides employment relief in these cases, as well as for juvenile convictions after 25 years.

Offenders cannot work in schools, day cares or any vendor that supplies schools or day cares.

Records will be maintained for 75 years after the adjudication of the case, Kilgore said.

Lastly, the law bars harboring an offender who may not be compliant. “You can’t warn them or provide transportation, disguises or aid in counseling.”

Victims must notify the state Attorney General’s Office if they want notice of release and residence. 

In addition to one case where a defendant failed to register after pleading guilty, Kilgore said mainly what she has been seeing are “petitions for relief in consensual offenses. People are asking for relief that was not available under the old law, but none of them have had hearings yet. We’ll see other aspects of the law go into effect over time, too, but everyone was trained in the new act several months ago. It will definitely put more on the compliance workers in terms of workload.”

Investigator Owen Walton, who handles sex offender registration for St. Clair County, said he has definitely seen his own workload increase. “Adults are required to register every three months instead of every six, and they all have to register in Pell City. If you actually live in Pell City, you’re going to be checking in eight times per year. It’s still too early to say how effective this will be, but it’s a good tool. It lets us keep a closer eye on them, handle them better.” 

Ala. to try anti-clustering bill. Here we go again.

I defeated this bill in 2010, but like bad sequels, they keep coming back, lamer than ever. The bill is not online yet, but when it is I'll post it.

http://www.wsfa.com/story/17040714/law-targets-sex-offenders-living-together

Law targets sex offenders living together

Updated: Feb 28, 2012 10:03 PM CST

By Sally Pitts

Alabama's sex offender registry lets everyone locate where registered sex offenders live.

 A quick search revealed surprising findings in Montgomery.

"I have three small children, myself..." says Johnny Dixon. "It bothers me that it's so close to home." A check of the area near Dixon's home on Congressman Dickinson Drive showed several sex offenders living nearby at the Regency Inn motel. The registry shows nine registered sex offenders living on the Regency's premises.

Another eight offenders call the Rodeway Inn on the West South Boulevard "home" and in total, more than 27 sex offenders live on the West South Blvd.

"As for the hotel issue on the boulevard, at Mobile Highway, it's relatively inexpensive," explains Lt. L.H. Persky, who keeps track of sex offenders in Montgomery County. "It's hard for these guys to get jobs. Some of them don't have a lot of family support." 

The sex offender law limits where registered sex offenders can live. Lt. Persky says that's why you see them grouped in certain areas of town. A map of Montgomery shows that many live very close to one another.

"I don't have statistics that show whether or not it's a good or bad thing," Persky explains. But he adds that from a law enforcement stand point, it's easier to check on offenders if they live in one area.

State Representative Kurt Wallace (R- Chilton County) is not happy with the close proximity offenders have with each other. "You don't put that many like-minded people together and not have some residual effects," he says. 

Wallace has presented a bill in the Alabama legislature that would make it illegal for more than one sex offender to live at the same address.

"What my bill does is basically say that you can't live within 300 feet of each other, unless you're in a treatment facility or unless you are a family member."

Rep. Wallace says he drafted the bill after he learned of a whopping two dozen registered sex offenders over the last 18 months as listing one home in Chilton County as their address on the sex offender registry.

One of those registered sex offenders is Selid Holt. He has lived with Ricky Martin for the past year. "There's been no kind of offenses committed by these guys that we've helped get out of prison," Martin said. all that have left...have been success stories."

Martin calls it a compassion to help. It's the same reason the Reverend Curtis Browder gives for housing 13 sex offenders in a lot full of trailers off the Mobile Highway. "It's a ministry," he says. "We minister to these guys on a daily basis, and when they get out, they need a place to go."

Wallace says he has no problem with supervised, state-approved and licensed facilities. " I realize that sex offenders need a place to go. I realize they need help. I just know that when you have that many of anybody doing anything together, you worry."

Attempts to contact the Rodeway Inn were met with a decline to comment on this story. The manager at the Regency Inn says he hasn't had any problems with the sex offenders who are living there.

Copyright 2012  WSFA 12 News.  All rights reserved.

Here is State Rep. Kurt Wallace's Info:

REPRESENTATIVE KURT WALLACE (R) 42nd District (Chilton and Shelby)

---

State House:	Room 522-C 11 S. Union Street Montgomery, AL 36130 (334) 242-7772	Home Address:	24 Maple Drive Maplesville, AL.  36750
Work Phone:	(334) 366-4211	Email:	representativewallace@gmail.com

---

Representative Kurt Wallace was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives on November 2, 2010.





He describes himself as a Conservative Christian who will “fearlessly defend my God, country, and family against all who would do them harm.”

First look at the newest sex crime legislation for 2012

"Although the act is intended to promote the legitimate and compelling state interest of protecting minors from internet predators, the near total ban on Internet access imposed by the act unreasonably  restricts many ordinary activities that have become important to everyday life in today’s world." -- US District Court Judge Brian Jackson, in a decision declaring Louisiana's internet ban unconstitutional.

I recently mentioned a proposed social networking ban (complete with sponsor Brooks's contact info to oppose the bill), but today, KLTV-7 reports the name of the new bill, SB 161, and Sen. Brooks is getting support from Mark Klaas of Klaas Kids in steamrolling this bill through legislation. In light of the recent federal decision striking down Louisiana's social networking ban, Alabama is merely setting itself up for a costly lawsuit. 

More info on Internet laws in general: http://www.oncefallen.com/InternetLaws.html

A second bill, SB 148, "makes surveillance for sexual gratification an aggravating circumstance," which means they will be added to the state sex offender registry. I'm personally against the bill because it creates more registrants. Below is from an article discussing the bill. Notice the reporter claims it is "not illegal" to peep on others but then discusses it is a class B misdemeanor. The second is the "escalation" theory, which is no more true for sex addicts than cigarette/ pot smokers:

http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/story/Possible-Change-to-Peeping-Tom-Laws/kb1kL6elSESnljc_oP7Ahw.cspx

It may come as a surprise that "peeping" at people in inappropriate places is not illegal in Alabama. Watching someone can get you put in jail, but doing so for sexual gratification doesn't increase the penalty. State Senator Arthur Orr says this is a problem. 

 

“Alabama has not done what a lot of our sister states here in the southeast have done which is really tighten the laws for voyeurism,” he explained.  That is why Orr has introduced Senate Bill 148 which makes surveillance for sexual gratification an aggravating circumstance. 

 

"Simple criminal surveillance is a Class B misdemeanor in Alabama which does not qualify for sex offender status,” explained Lieutenant John Crouch of the Decatur PD. “Anyone convicted of that regardless of the circumstances is not required to register as a sex offender.” 

 

If the bill passes that will all change. Crouch says if offenders are forced to register it will be much easier for his department to keep the public safe. 

 

"Anyone engaged in this sort of activity certainly has the potential to escalate to other activities and we feel this will better enable us to keep track of these individuals."

Here is a list of  Senate Judiciary Committee Members:

JUDICIARYBrooks, Co-Chairperson; Ward, Co-Chairperson; Coleman, Fielding, Keahey, Orr, Smitherman, Taylor, Whatley, Williams, Brewbaker (President Pro Tempore Designee).

Below is Senator Orr's contact info:

SENATOR ARTHUR ORR (R) 3rd District (Limestone, Madison, Morgan)

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State House: Phone:	Room 730 State House 11 South Union Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130 (334) 242-7891	Business:	Post Office. Box 305 Decatur, Alabama 35602 (256) 260-2147
		Personal Website:	Senator Arthur Orr

Alabama looks to add email addresses and social networks IDs to registry

I will add the bill whenever it is added to the "ALISON" legislation tracker, but below we already have some info on yet another idiotic bill. I wonder i this is just another way to just try to fill the state prisons even further, who may be looking to pimp out prison inmates to private businesses looking for more cheap labor. Come on vacation, leave on probation.

http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Adding-Registering-Requirements-for-Sex-Offenders/OAm0ZotD-UK3NH0YFzkfCg.cspx

Adding Registering Requirements for Sex Offenders

Reported by: Andrea Ramey

Email: aramey@local15tv.com

MOBILE, Ala.) - Alabama lawmakers are considering legislation that would place more registering requirements for convicted sex offenders. State Senator Ben Brooks (R-Mobile) is sponsoring the bill that would make sex offenders register things like their email address and social media log-in names.

"This is a tool that we'll be able to use that we will be able to track them better," said Lori Myles with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.

Myles says the laws that force sex offenders to register with local law enforcement agencies were written in a time when things like text messaging and Facebook didn't exist, and it's time the laws reflect how potential victims now are contacted.

"We are just now catching up with it. It was a playground for them, for a while," said Myles.

"So much communication takes place on the internet," said Child Advocacy Director Pay Guyton.

Guyton says this proposed law could prevent children from being victimized. He says if sex offenders provided their technology addresses, investigators would have a better idea of what to monitor and would be able to track what offenders are doing online.

"A lot of that can be traced if we have the correct address," said Guyton. "You go on a Facebook account, and someone posts something on your Facebook and says, 'I'm a 15 year old girl and I just want to know what other girls think about this.' And really it's a 65 year old sex offender. You have no way of knowing that. And it happens. Unfortunately, it happens all the time."

It goes without saying ReFORM-AL strongly opposes this bill. 

Flood this Senator with opposition:

SENATOR BEN BROOKS (R) 35th District (Mobile)

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State House: Phone: Fax:	Room 729 State House 11 South Union Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130 (334) 242-7882 (334) 353-8277	Business:
Home: Phone:	4953 Audubon Drive Mobile, Alabama 36619 (251) 666-7116

HB 137 will raise Age of Consent from 16 to 18

The latestsex offense related bill in AL legislature:

http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/ACTIONViewFrameMac.asp?TYPE=Instrument&INST=HB137&DOCPATH=searchableinstruments/2012RS/Printfiles/&PHYDOCPATH=//alisondb/acas/searchableinstruments/2012RS/PrintFiles/&DOCNAMES=HB137-int.pdf,,

HB 137: Increases age of consent from 16 to 18. What this does is increase the age one can be charged for statutory crimes. By the way the law is written, a teen couple 25 months apart can fall under the statute.

ReFORM-AL opposes this bill, it will increase the number of individuals placed on the registry for a "Romeo and Juliet" offense.

After more tornadoes, Jefferson County wastes taxpayer dollars on forcing displaced registrants to re-register

Mike Hale, Jefferson Co. Sheriff

Jefferson county's sheriff Mike Hale is a major league asshole and pandering piece of crap, so this article does not surprise me. In light of a rare tornado in January, Mike Hale wants you to know he has more important things to do than protect you from thieves and others exploiting the storm, like making sure those victimized by the storm but are also on the registry are given further humiliation and threats of prison if they don't register immediately. What a sadistic SOB.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/lawmen_track_registered_sex_of.html

Lawmen track registered sex offenders displaced by the storm

Published: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 12:12 PM     Updated: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 12:22 PM

 By Carol Robinson -- The Birmingham News 

EnlargeBernard Troncale -- The Birmingham NewsTornado damage from early morning storms Mon., Jan. 23, 2012 in Eastern Jefferson County, Ala. (The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale)Aerial Photographs of the January 23 2012 Storms gallery (31 photos)

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Alabama - In the wake of this week's devastating tornadoes, lawmen are taking care of an important, but little-known, task that follows natural disasters -- tracking displaced registered sex offenders.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Sex Offender unit identified 10 registered sex offenders that lived in the neighborhoods hit by Monday's EF-3 twister. Of those, six of them had been hit by the storm, said sheriff's Sgt. Jacob Reach.

"We went out and rode all the affected areas and checked on addresses," Reach said. "We're going to make sure we know where they are."

Post-storm tracking of sex offenders became an issue following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. An estimated 2,000 registered sex offenders fled the Gulf region to seek shelter in other states, and some vanished from the required tracking all together.

All states are required to have sex offender registries, and people convicted of sexually violent offenses are required to register their current addresses.

The confusion that followed led to new requirements that the Federal Emergency Management Agency share with law enforcement contact information on registered sex offenders receiving disaster assistance.

Reach said the sex offenders affected by this week's storm lived on the northwest and northeast sides of Center Point, and a section off Old Springville Road in the Clay area. Some had structural damage; others simply were forced to leave because of a lack of electricity. "We were able to locate them and know where they were going to be staying," Reach said.

One of them, he said, was found to be living somewhere other than the address he had registered. Deputies are obtaining a warrant against that man. Reach said detectives did the same thing after the April 27 storms.

"We have to," he said, "because unfortunately an offender can attempt to take advantage of the situation and put himself back where potential victims are." The sheriff's office currently tracks 748 registered sex offenders.

Birmingham police also monitor registered sex offenders following storms, but said none of their 620 were affected by this week's storms. "In April we had two that lost their homes and had been displaced," said Sgt. Scott Thurmond. He said some do try to take advantage of the situation; others are simply overwhelmed and not thinking clearly. "It's probably the last thing on their mind when they've lost everything," he said. "When we found them, they went immediately and registered." "We're just trying to ensure the public safety by knowing where they are," Thurmond said, "and knowing that they are living at a compliant address."

© 2012 al.com. All rights reserved.

On to another story, the state of Louisiana is pulling out all the stops on persecuting, er, prosecuting the infamous Crimson Tide Teabagger. It seems the LSU fan who was the victim is the second cousin of the sheriff who signed the warrant for his arrest. Now he's facing 10 years and a lifetime on the sex offender registry. Overkill for an act done in poor taste if you ask me. My opinion, 90 days and community service with some reparations but not the registry. That's bullshit.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/27/defense-lawyers-for-alabama-fan-accused-of-assault-begin-public-rhetoric-tour/

Defense lawyers for Alabama fan accused of assault begin public rhetoric tour

Posted by Ben Kercheval on January 27, 2012, 5:01 PM EST

AP

Well, what else are they going to do? Their client is accused of sexual battery against an unconscious LSU fan. Might as well come out swinging.

And that’s just what the lawyers for Brian Downing, the man connected to that famous post-BCS championship game video, uploaded to YouTube and later picked up byDeadspin.com, have done.

In a statement released by lawyers Miles Swanson and Michael Kennedy,Downing’s alleged actions are downgraded to what appears to be similar to frat house hazing, which I also believe has been outlawed in some states. The two lawyers go on to call a possible 10-year jail sentence should Downing be convicted “a little troubling.”

“The eighteen year old victim was never physically harmed and, in fact, was so intoxicated that he would have had no recollection of the incident, but for a video posted online,” , the two wrote in a statement. “Any ‘harm’ is entirely post hoc and amplified by media.

“[The accusation] demeans the real and serious trauma of actual victims of sexual violence.”

The New Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office has yet to bring charges in the case.

“[Downing] has already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion,” the lawyers say. “He has been fired from his job and suffers continual harassment by the public and media.”

Downing, a 32-year-old from Alabama, turned himself into authorities last week after New Orleans police issued an alert for the individual connected to the video. As it turned out, Downing’s second cousin was a local sheriff who made the call to bring Downing to police. Downing was later set free on $10,000 bond.

Reminder to watch for new legislation

Alabama does not have much sex offender related news, but I want to remind my readers and followers to keep an eye on the legislative tracker or the news and if you have a news tip submit it to iamthefallen1@yahoo.com with the headline "News Tip." ReFORM-AL, a Once Fallen affiliate site, works hard to keep this blog active and up-to-date. However, it helps to have some new info out there. I even accept editorials from so long as they are respectful in nature and are limited to Alabama's laws and sex offender issues.

In the meantime, check the legislative tracker and read the new laws when they are introduced. You only have a limited time to request a public hearing to oppose these laws once they are introduced.