Who's Homeless Now?

The number of homeless people continues to rise. How many of us must experience this tragic situation before we as a nation realize that we have absolutely no right to force sex offenders and their families from their homes and communities. Payback is a bitch but it has not affected enough of the right people.

Recidivism is also a bitch so let’s see who we should be watching in our neighborhoods.

• Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
• Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
• The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonment and another 744,000 charges within 3 years of release. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm

Approximately 4,300 child molesters were released from prisons in 15 States in 1994. An estimated 3.3% of these 4,300 were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years of release from prison. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#sex

Hmmmm. This information is from the Department of Justice. It proves that this issue is pure politics and our elected officials are trying so hard to get a billion dollar national SORNA/AWA passed. But this is the same issue that got many of them elected so a solution would be fatal to many careers. But Americans have so much faith in the government. They would not lie to us or mislead us, would they? Of course not.

Ernie Allen, head of Missing and Exploited Children, was before Congress exploiting children. He has been known to tell the truth when flustered and it happened again. "Registration is not about prevention, it's about regulation". He spoke those words in front of God and everybody and his political friends must have cringed. It is one of those things that they know but it doesn’t get talked about in public.

Laura Rodgers, who was the entirety of the SMART office, wrote the SORNA guidelines wrote the SORNA guidelines. This one-person department is responsible for tying the states in knots and filling the courts with lawsuits. In her presentation she stated that SORNA/AWA is not about recidivism but about supplying communities with information so individuals can protect themselves.

It is truly amazing that all agree the problem is in the communities so why are we being led to send our money the opposite direction. By the time everyone gets their share of the pie there are only crumbs left for the communities where the problems exist. The most amazing thing about all of this is that the public is supporting it rather than taking to the streets in protest. The next several generations will be footing the bill for our foolishness and inability to take care of ourselves and to spot a scam when it slaps us in the face. Regardless of what you have been led to believe rejecting this law does not put you on the side of sex offenders.

Mark Lunsford was there and chatting it up with those in attendance. When asked about charges against his own son in Ohio Lunsford wasn’t shy about telling how he blackmailed the court by threatening to expose every sex offender case where they showed leniency. It worked. Joshua Lunsford served 10 days and does not have to register as a sex offender.

At one time Lunsford was going to file charges against the Citrus County sheriff in connection with precious little Jessica’s death. They came to an understanding very quickly. The word that trickled out was that the sheriff only had to remind Lunsford of the child porn that was on his computer the morning Jessie disappeared. Anyone wanting to verify this information should contact the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation. The phone numbers listed are cell phone numbers for Mark and his mother, Ruth Lunsford. These are the same steps I took to make a donation.

We may not like the things some people do but no family deserves to lose a child. Thankfully death such as Jessica’s make up less than 1% of sex crimes and it is a blessing that it isn’t higher. Until we give help to the mentally ill we will suffer grave consequences and SORNA/AWA does not address the problem. It would fall under prevention so it is an individual problem.

Many of us have experienced bad touches at sometimes in our lives so why the pretense about stranger-danger? You know who touched you. We are spending mountains of money to put the focus “out there” while 93% of incidents are “right here” with no strangers involved. A rapidly growing registry proves that new offenders from my home and your home are committing 95% of sex crimes. Do you think a national law is going to change that?

Government should be funding non-governmental community agencies staffed with mental health workers and others with a true desire for prevention who can step in BEFORE a child is harmed. Saving a child often means saving an entire family.

With 93% of incidents having no relation to strangers why do we need a national program that is based entirely on stranger danger? We have many sex offenders who have gone underground simply because they continue to be forced out of neighborhoods.

This is a million dollar problem caused by misuse of registry information. Look at unbiased studies so you can recognize the lies. Those of you who wrinkle your nose in disgust and force registrants to go underground are liabilities we cannot afford. In a healthy community the goal is for everyone to succeed.

There is a wide range of people on the streets and no labels. Al l are pulling together in an effort to survive. Are there enough honest people among us to influence your state to take the registry offline and give immunity to those who are willing to resume registering under saner circumstances? One state that has the fortitude to break out of the mold will become the brightest star on our flag. As we are balancing on the brink of disaster what better time is there to strike out in a different direction? There IS a better way.

Where has our freedom gone?

Before the TX congress sits a potential 7,000 new felonies, new misdemeanors and enhancements. We are eager to give up our remaining freedoms We hear about decreasing prison population. We see a wider net being cast in order to lock up more people.

While prisons and punishment are necessary the entire nation has gone way overboard. Although the accused have a right to a jury trial about 90% are terrorized into plea bargains. Those who can’t afford an attorney are especially easy prey. We know that innocent people get convicted. Those who exercise their right to a trial and lose are used as examples for those who follow. You can bet your boots that innocent people take the plea. Great work is being done through the Innocence Project and those facing the death penalty are rightfully at the head of the line. The innocent with lesser sentences do their time and seldom get above the poverty line when released back into the community

The prison in Huntsville started out as a slave plantation. Not much has changed in all of these years. At all of the facilities have hoe squads with an armed overseer on horseback. It takes one back to yesteryear.

Many outsiders have a mental picture of inmates lifting weights and swapping tales. When one works the hoe squad, the kitchen, the laundry or any other kind of labor 5 days a week many don’t have the strength to lift weights.

Inmates should work. Then they can return to their cages where the temperatures sometimes reach 130 degrees and cover themselves with a wet towel to try and get relief. There is no air conditioning and nobody has a TV in their cell.

Prison beef is prime and brings a good price. It is sold off to processors who sell the scraps to the next company. The prisons get back what is left at that point and each box is marked “Not for human consumption”. A lot of soy is mixed in and this is what prisoners eat.

There is something wrong with a society that puts people in cages, treats them like animals and expect them to act like humans when released.

Our next governor should be someone who will rip down the current parole system and build something that works. Parole has a job to determine how well an inmate has done while in the system. Making a judgment based on the nature of the crime is what the Judge does at the time of sentencing. The inmate can do everything right in prison but there is no way to change the nature of the crime that brought someone there. It is things such as this that make us want to throw the whole bunch out and start over. Elections are coming up. We don’t elect parole board members but we can throw out the bums that appoint them give them unlimited power and sit back and watch them screw with everyone around them.

Prison is expensive. We are paying $20,000 and up for every year an inmates remains locked up. How many of them are you willing to support and for how long? We can start making a list of individuals that are willing to be financially responsibility for one or more inmates. Please limit your demands for longer sentences only to individual inmates that you support. This country is filled with people who want to lock'em up and throw the key away. If asked to put your money where your mouth is there would be little cash and lots of attitude. If we had as many wise people as we have wise asses our country would not be rocking on the edge of disaster. Every dime the government has comes from our pockets.. Cutting prison populations and spending more on education would be my preference. That is not the way things are done in a nation of people who already know everything.