The following was sent to The Dagger on March 16 by Del. Mary-Dulaney James:
Friends,
I am proud to tell you that the House of Delegates moved forward seven bills today that crack down on sex offenders and protect our children and communities. As a sponsor of several of the bills and a fervent support of them all I am very happy to be bringing you this good news.
I am thankful for the overwhelming bi-partisan support of this worthy legislation. The bills are as follows (you can click the bill number to see the full text and status information);
· House Bill 936 brings Maryland into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. The bill also requires homeless sex offenders, sex offenders convicted of indecent exposure and possessors of child pornography, and offenders who repeatedly abuse children under the age of 14 to register on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry and expands information posted on the Registry to include places of employment, other residences and a plain language description of the crime.
· House Bill 473 requires lifetime supervision of serious and repeat sex offenders after completing their original sentence. Lifetime supervision could include GPS monitoring, requiring ongoing polygraphs, restricting an offender’s movement to their place of work and home etc. The bill also subjects juvenile sexual offenders to extended supervision.
· House Bill 931 reconstitutes the Sex Offender Advisory Board in order to make recommendations on how to best manage sex offenders and protect the public from them.
· House Bill 289 eliminates diminution credits for an offender convicted of first and second degree rape and first and second degree sex offense against a child under the age of consent (16 years old).
· House Bill 599 eliminates diminution credits for repeat third degree sex offenders, whose victims are children under the age of consent (16 years old).
· House Bill 1046 requires a judge, instead of a district court commissioner, to determine whether a registered sex offender arrested for any crime is entitled to pretrial release and creates a rebuttable presumption that the registered sex offender poses a danger to the community. The legislation also requires that a criminal rap sheet include documentation that someone is a registered sex offender or if they have had extended supervision.
· House Bill 1053 strengthens the State’s prohibition against possessing or promoting child pornography.
In these times we cannot do enough to protect our children and these seven bills are just one way that we can keep these criminals out of our neighborhoods and away from our kids.
Please check out my new website, still located at www.marydulanyjames.com! As always, contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Very Truly Yours,
Mary-Dulany James
It’s amazing how the Dems can get behind this one in an election year…But in the Senate, Nancy Jacobs has been lobbying for this legislation for 4+ years. The Gov. did not support Jessica’s Law in 2007 and the Lt. Gov. worked to prevent Jessicas Law in 2006. Nice of all the Dems to jump on board in an election year…But go ahead and brag 4 years to late…I’m sure the family of Sarah Foxwell appreciates the Dems in action…
This legislation is a mockery of a democratic system. Much of this legislation is applied in retrospect, does nothing to actually protect the public, ignores all published data on the subject and threatens the underlying fabric of our legal system and its protections of ALL AMERICANS.
Many people say sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated. However, the Texas State Auditor in 2007 released a report showing that sex offenders who completed the Texas Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) were 61% LESS LIKELY to commit a new crime. That seems to show promise. (See “An Audit Report on Selected Rehabilitation Programs at the Department of Criminal Justice.” Texas State Auditor. March 2007. Report No. 07-026. Retrieved Oct 20, 2009. http://www.sao.state.tx.us/reports/main/07-026.html.)
After all, in 2002, the US Dept. of Justice reported that only 5% of sex offenders released in 1994 returned to prison for a new sex crime. (See US Dept of Justice Report on Sex Offender Recidivism http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf.)
Click on Sams name and this is where you’ll go: SOSEN
Founded in 2003, SOSEN was at first a Yahoo Group comprised of former offenders and family members. Though their numbers were small and organization loose, the group’s mission was profound. The members experienced firsthand a need for a place for the growing numbers of registered former offenders and their families to find comfort and support. They also saw firsthand that the direction legislators was taking regarding the laws being passed was counterproductive to the goals sought.
So…… are you a “former” offender or a family member?
I would say you were a little biased. I found other documentation that stated recidivism among offenders anwhere from 14 to 72 percent. Theres also the issue of unreported crimes, which experts agree could be high among sex based offenses.
A parent cannot do enough to protect their children these days and these offenders know that the law will make their lives very difficult, when and if their caught. It’s still a chance they are willing to take.
Your sight bearing memorials to murdered victims is a little over the top. Sympathy from the devil, as it were. I might suggest that you consider stopping this practice before a grieving parent picks up on it. They have enough pain without an offender support site mentioning the name of their child.
Regarding the following:
“Click on Sams name and this is where you’ll go: SOSEN
Founded in 2003, SOSEN was at first a Yahoo Group comprised of former offenders and family members. Though their numbers were small and organization loose, the group’s mission was profound. The members experienced firsthand a need for a place for the growing numbers of registered former offenders and their families to find comfort and support. They also saw firsthand that the direction legislators was taking regarding the laws being passed was counterproductive to the goals sought.
“So…… are you a “former” offender or a family member?”
What is YOUR point? Sam put out statistics that are not brought out by “former” offender or family members, but groups such as the US Department of Justice, the Iowa County Attorney Association (which is an organization of PROSECUTORS), who also mirror much of what SOSEN puts out, and law enforcement agencies across the country. In addition, there are no less than 50 scientific studies, all with applicable peer review status, that justifies this lower rate.
Please note I haven’t even included the studies put out by “biased” groups, such as defense attorneys, medical professionals with incentives for increasing patient loads ostensibly with greater amounts of sex offenders, or Human Rights organizations, but used sources that you would most probably consider valid.
You claim you have found other documentation that negates Sam’s data, especially with regard to a recidivism rate around 70%. Please post these studies so we can determine such data in conjunction with the data that was posted by Sam.
Otherwise, it’s nothing more than feelings. Sam’s data is spot on, and unless you have information that can prove this data is wrong, then refrain from making claims based on heresay. When you do this, you are deflecting from the actual problem of sex offenses against children, and in fact are actually PART of the problem… even more than former offenders.
One more point: we are NOT advocating the release of offenders who have committed heionous crimes, such as physically violent rape, including actual force. Those types of crimes DO deserve life, and in some cases capital punishment. But sex crimes run the gamut, and each case needs to be adjudicated on their merits. Unfortunately, sex offender registration is NOT based on individual circumstances, but on classification of the crime, so that is a legitimate source of concern…and ultimately, the registry makes our communities less, not more, safe.
leathal injection- that simple takes care of the problem. What has a list done, but get more kids killed. Solve the problem thru “sex offender atrition”
I agree. The best list for sex offenders is on the Obituaries page.
I pray to God that the next SEX OFFENDER in the United States is your child. That will be sweet, sweet karma.
It is good that you do not support the SEX OFFENDER Registries. No good American does.