From my good friend Gunther Fiek:
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Another Prison Post….
October 10th, 2018Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry
October 4th, 2018
Please join us for an evening of learning and discussion on one of the most controversial issues in America today…
The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry: What the Research Shows
with Dr. Emily Horowitz, author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws are Failing Us
Thursday, October 25 @ 7pm
Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle Street coming out of Harvard Square, Cambridge)
Emily Horowitz, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis College (Brooklyn, NY), will review some of the research and evidence about sex offense registries and the harm they cause. She will discuss recent efforts to challenge these popular but ineffective and damaging policies.
“The sex offense registry is essentially a naming and shaming scheme that doesn’t protect anyone. Over 20 years of studies and research show our sex offense legal regime doesn’t make us safer or protect anyone, as it costs millions and destroys lives. There are nearly 1 million people on sex offense registries in the United States, and the number increases each year. Those interested in criminal justice reform must consider the draconian sex offense legal regime in advocacy efforts, though it is an issue that is often orphaned in bipartisan efforts to reduce mass incarceration.” Emily Horowitz
Following Dr. Horowitz will be a panel discussion with those impacted by the registry including:
- Nancy DiZio, treatment provider, New England Forensic Associates
- Tim Anderson, resident at the Southampton street shelter
- Bill Canavan, director, Boston Release Network
Sponsored by the: Sex Offender Policy Reform Initiative (SOPRI) of the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, ACLU of Massachusetts, National Center for Reason and Justice, and Boston Release Network.
For Information call 617-623-5288 or go to www.sopri-ma.org
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
What Brett Kavanaugh Really Learned in Hisgh School
September 27th, 2018
“Virtually everything about this spectacle except the tentative, then stoic intervention of Ford reeks of bad faith. Wisdom crouches in the corner, silent. Yet wisdom—have we forgot?—is the fundamental and ancient criterion for a judge. Kavanaugh has failed the test of wisdom not by what he is accused of doing when he was 17 and drunk but by his adult neglect of reflection and his indifference to suffering, something this moment puts in a sharper light. He does not deserve to be on any court, much less the Supreme Court.”
Read the full article in Counterpunch by JoAnn Wyypijewski.
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
That Grand Jury Report on Abusive Catholic Priests
September 6th, 2018
“As hard as this may be to read or hear, it must be understood. Common sense is now officially suspended when it comes to Catholic priests and sexual abuse. A moral panic has taken its place. It is especially painful – even catastrophic – when the Catholic media and the highest levels of Church governance suspend a search for truth and settle only for the fastest means to smother the fires of scandal. We have lost our way.”
The National Center for Reason and Justice believes in the innocence of Gordon MacRae and have been sponsoring his case for many years. Read his blog post about the current moral panic.
Also read this rebuttal of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report.
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
The Last Victim
August 26th, 2018
“Thirty-three years ago, Fuster, along with his young wife, Ileana, was convicted of sexually abusing children at his suburban Florida home, where Ileana provided day care. He is the last person charged in the mass sex-abuse-in-day-care scares that made headlines from the 1980s to the mid ’90s to remain in prison. Part of a broader obsession with child sex abuse — therapist-induced repressed “memories” of incest destroyed thousands of families — the day-care cases were a modern version of the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, down to allegations of Satanic rituals by caregivers. They stand as a warning to those who look condescendingly at our Salem ancestors, incredulous that judges and public alike would believe girls writhing and shrieking that they were at that moment being pinched by the accused sitting far away in the dock.”
Read the article in National Review by Rael Jean Isaac.
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Did California Authorities Suppress Research on Sexually Violent Predators?
August 6th, 2018
“State laws that allow sexually violent predators to be locked up even after they have served their sentences are based on questionable assumptions that they continue to pose a danger to society, according to a study published in the American Criminal Law Review.
“The study focused on California where, according to the authors, research indicating that sexually violent predators (SVPs) are less likely to re-commit crimes than other offenders was suppressed because it challenged the constitutional legitimacy of the state’s SVP laws.”
Read the article in The Crime Report.
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Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Inside the Fence: Chow Call!
August 6th, 2018Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Changing sex offender law needs to be evidence-based
July 12th, 2018
John Brecher / NBC News
“The Boston Release Network, an organization that promotes public safety by helping returning citizens reintegrate into the community, notes that of the 59 individuals using their services, none have committed or even been arrested for a new sex offense. In fact, sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates of all offenders — 87 percent of offenses committed each year are by first- time offenders, 93 percent committed against children are by people known to the child, and people over 60 have a 2 percent recidivism rate.”
The Boston Release Network, founded by my good friend Bill Canavan, does amazing work protecting the public.
Please read the excellent op-ed in the Boston Globe by Anthony Benedetti and Laurie Guidry.
Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Another Prison Post
July 9th, 2018Friends of Justice is a personal blog. Here I speak only for myself.
Is Father Joseph Maurizio Innocent?
July 8th, 2018
A while back I was contacted by supporters of a convicted Catholic priest, Father Joseph Maurizio. Subsequently, I exchanged a few letters with Father Joe.
I do not have the time or resources to vet his case myself. But I have heard enough to believe the conviction is dubious. I know innocent priests who have been sent to prison, so I don’t, like many, assume that all accused Catholic priests are guilty. But there has been so much horrendous publicity that is is nearly impossible for an accused priest to receive a fair trial.
His supporters have set up a web site. I’d be curious to hear what others think.
If you would like to send him a message, that can be done from the web site.
-Bob Chatelle
