Archive for July, 2015

Have Sex-Offender Registries Gone Too Far?

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

“Some 800,000 registered sex offenders can’t live near parks or schools — or sometimes even in the homes of their own parents. Is it time to re-visit sex-offender registries that cast a wide net and often treat juvenile offenders as if they were adults?”

Listen to this episode of NPR’s To the Point, which features NCRJ Board Member Roger Lancaster.

“My understanding of the literature … is that there are no substantial studies which suggest that the sex offender registries are effective at achieving their stated aim, which is to reduce recidivism rates. Some studies actually suggest that the registries increase recidivism rates, basically because they convert every registrant into an unemployable, unhouseable, permanent social outcast living on the fringes of society. This gives them no conceivable stake in their own rehabilitation. That’s a very serious and significant negative effect of the registries.” –Roger Lancaster

Judge Alex Kozinski Identifies 12 Lies About American Justice

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

Reuters/Paul Sakuma/POOL

“Much of the so-called wisdom that has been handed down to us about the workings of the legal system, and the criminal process in particular, has been undermined by experience, legal scholarship and common sense,” Kozinski writes in the Georgetown Law Journal.

Read this summary in Business Insider by Matthew Speiser and Kozinski’s article in the Georgetown Law Review.

Please Send a Card to Bruce Perkins

Sunday, July 5th, 2015

Bruce Perkins has been moved due to rather serious health problems. Cards and letters will be much appreciated. His new address is:

Kenneth Bruce Perkins
#647327 Terrell Unit
1300 FM 655
Rosharon, Tx 77583