Friends of Justice

Photograph by Steven Hirsch / Reuters

“There is now such a stigma attached to people accused of sexual misconduct that anyone who defends legal principles on their behalf risks being mistaken, in the public mind, for a defender of sexual violence. Lawyers have always been vilified for taking on unpopular clients, but, in the #MeToo era, defense lawyers endanger their good standing even in the most liberal communities, Harvard being only one example.”

Read the article by Jeannie Suk Gerson in the New Yorker.

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“We know today almost all child sexual abuse involves people the victim knows, and almost all new sex offenses involve those not on registries. Sex offenses in New York have not decreased due to the registry, and recidivism rates for those with sex offense convictions are among the lowest of any offense.

“Research has exhaustively documented the negative consequences of registries beyond their ineffectiveness. In addition to the extraordinary stigma of “sex offender,” the registry destroys personal and social networks, increases unemployment and homelessness, and subjects those on it to verbal and physical assaults.”

Read the article by NCRJ Director Emily Horowitz in the New York Daily News.

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“When originally put into place, Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act was narrow in scope and specifically designed to be an important law enforcement tool to protect the public from dangerous offenders,” said Nessel. “But since its enactment, the Act has swelled without any focus on individualized assessment of risk to the community, which makes it increasingly difficult for law enforcement officers to know which offenders to focus on. It also makes it difficult for offenders to rehabilitate and reintegrate into the community because they are limited in where they can live, work or even attend their children’s school functions.”

Read the article at www.michigan.gov.