ACLU suing about Dade County sex offender ordinance (Miami, Brandon: 2014, sex offenders)

[Americanman511]

I've always wondered if anybody actually ends up on the sex offender list for things like public urination or if that's just a stupid urban legend. Even for the "real" sex offenders, I don't think you'd want to make their life outside of prison so bad that they want to go back to the state pen. (Where at least they get food and shelter)


Per the Huffington Post:

A rule meant to protect Florida children from sex crimes could actually be putting kids in danger, according to a complaint filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The 2010 Miami-Dade County ordinance restricts people convicted of certain sex crimes from living within 2,500 feet of a school, severely limiting the supply of housing available to them. In recent years, as the county has expanded its definition of "school" to include youth shelters and other facilities, scores of registered sex offenders have been forced into homelessness, according to the complaint.

The enforcement of this policy is leaving people with little choice but to live by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of the county -- in a tent city devoid of running water, toilets or "protection from the elements and acts of violence," said ACLU lawyer Brandon Buskey. It's also undermining the very goal it's intended to achieve, he said.


"If you can't find housing, it's hard to find a job, and it's hard to report for supervision," Buskey explained. "It's hard to do a number of things to stabilize yourself after being released from prison, and the result is you're more likely to commit another offense."

A spokesman for the county government, one of the defendants named by the ACLU, declined to comment, saying the county law office hadn't yet received a copy of the complaint. Ronald Book, a prominent Florida lawyer and lobbyist who was instrumental in getting the ordinance passed, dismissed the ACLU's claims.

"It's easy to want to blame laws and regulations for the fact that someone convicted of sexually deviant behavior can't get a job," said Book, whose daughter, Lauren, is a former victim of childhood sexual abuse and outspoken supporter of such regulations. "I would just suggest to you that it's their behaviors that cause the problem and not the other way around."

In July 2013, police evicted dozens of registered sex offenders from a trailer park near a youth shelter, according to the complaint. Since then, a rotating group of about 50 people have been living by the railroad tracks on the edge of the county; they sleep in cars, tents and sleeping bags in a weed-choked lot.

Some were sent there by prison officials and probation officers, the ACLU claims. The complaint tells the story of one man who reportedly arrived at the camp after a prison official directed him to a nearby intersection. He assumed he would find housing there, but was "surprised to learn that he would be sleeping on the street," the complaint says.

The state's Department of Corrections did not respond to questions about the claim that their officials have been directing people to the encampment.

The ACLU says enforcement of the ordinance violates the constitutional ban against depriving people of liberty without "due process of law." It's urging the court to prevent the county from enforcing the rule in the future

Link Law Limiting Sex Offender Housing Could Hurt Kids, Too, ACLU Says

Other links ACLU Challenges Miami Law On Behalf Of Homeless Sex Offenders : NPR

Inside Miami's Hidden Tent City For 'Sex Offenders' | ThinkProgress
Sex Offenders Suffer 'Inhuman' Conditions in Miami: ACLU

[tallrick]

I figured it would only be a matter of time before this unconstitutional rule would be challenged. If a sex offender was living somewhere and a new school was built in the area I would think he could sue to have the school building stopped.

[straight shooter]

I believe most have propensities of committing the same type of crimes again, but I believe they should have certain rights and should not be forced to live in those conditions that are not good for them nor the rest of society.

[Americanman511]

This is at least in part an effort to get sex offenders to move somewhere else. In Georgia, from what I've read, they have a bizarre system where they sentence a whole lot of criminals (and not just sex offenders) to exile. The Georgians will ban criminals from living anywhere in the state except for some uninhabited county in the Okefnokee Swamp, and of course the criminals will always move to one of the other 49 states instead of move to that county. I remember reading something a few months ago about a dude in Ga who got exiled for a speeding ticket.

[StarfishKey]

I don't care if they have rights, because what they do is soul murder, and a conviction should come with the death penalty or life imprisonment. However, this has been an issue in Miami for some time, with many living under the Julia Tuttle bridge, etc. If you don't at least create specialized group housing, or make clear zoning that allows for indoor living, you are making it far more likely for these people to become even more mentally ill, and to re-offend as well as commit other crimes.

Also, while I have no compassion for offenders because what they did was a choice, the reality is we are far behind in our ability to treat people who are behaviorily addicted to such actions. This kind of public shaming and lack of any human rights makes it far less likely that an offender will admit to crimes, or seek help. At the very least, while we can't stop those who are obsessed with such actions because it has become part of their sexuality, we can at least provide comprehensive cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, and training to help these criminals understand the magnitude of the destruction they are responsible for. We can require them to attend group meetings as long as they are under surveillance, the same way alcoholics might be ordered to attend AA meetings. They should be in jail for life (which also gives time to overturn if there was for some reason a false conviction), but we as a society are sending mixed messages. You can't let them go free, and then treat them like criminals still out on the street. Either you keep them in jail, or you allow them the chance to try to rehabilitate their lives. With a lot of support, some will. Many won't. But those that are not capable of living a life without offending, should never see the light of day anyway - regardless if they were molested themselves and that's the reason, as an adult you need to take responsibility for your actions. You can't hurt people just because you were hurt. And a sexual offense completely destroys who a person is, and their ability to live a normal life forever.

We need to talk about this loudly and more publicly, and help people understand how serious sexual offenses are, and where to get help without fear of total demonization - to help prevent it BEFORE it starts. The less we talk about this issue, and the more we throw away people who offend, the higher the likelihood these people will offend again - and in many cases have no understanding that they destroyed the soul and the life of each person they did it to. I don't feel sorry for them in the least, but I care enough about the victims to want to do whatever it takes to make this epidemic stop.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by Americanman511

This is at least in part an effort to get sex offenders to move somewhere else. In Georgia, from what I've read, they have a bizarre system where they sentence a whole lot of criminals (and not just sex offenders) to exile. The Georgians will ban criminals from living anywhere in the state except for some uninhabited county in the Okefnokee Swamp, and of course the criminals will always move to one of the other 49 states instead of move to that county. I remember reading something a few months ago about a dude in Ga who got exiled for a speeding ticket.

That does not work. All it does is drive them underground, and make it way harder to track them and keep them on the straight and narrow. Now they live a life of crime and they operate from the swamp - like a lot of ours live in the Everglades - or a relative or stupid girlfriend hides them in their house, and they re-offend with whoever is nearby. It's amazing how ignorant lawmakers can be - they'll put someone who smoked pot in jail, and then let a rapist roam free after a slap on the wrist. They tell the sex offender to leave, and actually are stupid enough to believe a person who was willing to break the law in the first place is going to follow this one. What idiots. If you don't give criminals a clear path to a legitimate, law-abiding life, they become lifetime criminals instead. Ignorance begets ignorance.

[tallrick]

If they are so bad, why not just give them the death penalty? Once a person finishes their sentence they should be able to return to "society". We are stuck with these "offenders" in my area due to it being rural. I have talked to a few of them and one I know was convicted merely from having sex with a 17 year old girlfriend when he was 19. As mentioned above, criminals need a path to reform. If not you have a bunch of criminals planning their next crimes.

[oronzous]

Forcing people to homelessness is not a good way to keep an eye on somebody potentially dangerous.

Originally Posted by tallrick

one I know was convicted merely from having sex with a 17 year old girlfriend when he was 19

There is a judicial procedure for these "Romeo and Juliet" cases, so they can request to be erased from the sex offender database.

[deboinair]

Don't care about them at all. Raping women and kids. You should be thrown in the ocean with sharks. They never stop doing what they do. Some just creative in hiding it.

[deboinair]

Originally Posted by tallrick

If they are so bad, why not just give them the death penalty? Once a person finishes their sentence they should be able to return to "society". We are stuck with these "offenders" in my area due to it being rural. I have talked to a few of them and one I know was convicted merely from having sex with a 17 year old girlfriend when he was 19. As mentioned above, criminals need a path to reform. If not you have a bunch of criminals planning their next crimes.

See that is beyond stupid. Nobody should get sexual offender charges for that. I'm talking about the 40 y/o nut jobs with 13 y/o's. The charges definitely need to be amended, although in the state of FL I thought 16 was consensual.

Also the other retarded one is when a guy meets a girl in a 21 over club, she is actually 16 but the guy has sex with her with the impression of her being an adult. Some of these hot mamma's need to be charged for that.