The Dobbs Wire:  Flashback to 1996.  A Massachusetts father writes about his young son — an important matter requiring a trip to the police station.  It’s a powerful, poignant story that the Chicago Tribune published on Dec. 1, 1996.  The father inquires, “What will be done with this information?”  He asked that question shortly after the Massachusetts sex offense registry got rolling, on Oct. 1, 1996.  Massachusetts was the last of the states to create an official blacklist.  This year marks 25 years that every state has had such a registry, a full generation.  After 25 years the ugly name we give…

Continue reading

The Dobbs Wire:  Death Sentence.  Reuters investigated COVID-19 in jails and prisons and has a devastating report, finding coronavirus spread rapidly, authorities had little testing available to track what was happening, and the official number of cases is way off – undercounted.  Kudos to Reuters for a detailed report and shining a spotlight on life inside during a raging pandemic, have a look at their story!  Learn about Charles Peterson, jailed in Colorado and charged with a parole violation involving keeping his sex offense registry listing up to date. Parole, probation and registries come with long lists of rules and, as…

Continue reading

The Dobbs Wire:  A case unfolding in Virginia has much to tell us about justice in the U.S.  For crime the legal system provides punishment, usually incarceration.  In cases of sex wrongdoing, after prison time is done and the price is paid, 20 states and the federal government have something extra – laws that allow keeping an individual locked up, often indefinitely, on a hunch, a mere guess that they might break the law in the future.  On the eve of trial for a Virginia gay man, Philip Fornaci and Roger Lancaster spotlight how these ‘civil commitment’ laws can be…

Continue reading

The Dobbs Wire:  Banishment!  In the 21st century many localities in the United States use an ancient means to get rid of people who have been stigmatized and are despised, banishment.  More formally and politely known as “residency restrictions,” the desired result of such laws is to drive individuals who are blacklisted — required to sign the sex offense registry — out of their houses and even out of town altogether.  The most infamous example of these awful laws is the encampment of homeless registered persons that sprung up under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Florida.   In the last several…

Continue reading

Crime and Punishment:  There’s growing awareness that far too many people are getting punished in the U.S., and that they are being given far too much punishment.  Some of the punishment is extreme, even unconscionable — the death penalty, solitary confinement, life in prison (“death by incarceration”), lifetime supervision, sex offense registries, and more.  Organizers are usually unsung but they get the credit for rising public concern about criminal injustices and now they’re hard at work to spotlight harsh measures used in the “worse of the worst” cases.  What about accountability for really terrible crimes?  Have a look at this…

Continue reading

The Dobbs Wire:  Confronting the power of fear.  In the aftermath of a high profile crime, Boston Globe columnist Nestor Ramos tackles fear — have a look!  –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   Boston Globe | Jan. 28, 2019 People have always been afraid. But these days, our fears are getting the better of us  

Continue reading

The Dobbs Wire:  A report on Florida’s sex offense registry is just out, issued by an agency that works for the state’s lawmakers.  Big takeaway – the number of registrants continues to climb and has been increasing for many years.  Why?   That key question is not answered.   According to the report, the state’s registry has more than 73,000 listings.  However, the number living in Florida communities is much smaller, less than 29,000.   That’s quite a lot of registrants that are classified as living out-of-state, incarcerated, deceased(!), etc.  Also in the report are various ways the Florida Department of Law Enforcement…

Continue reading

A Pittsburgh criminal court judge has finally submitted her resignation. Judge Donna Jo McDaniel’s expected exit comes after repeated rebukes by a Pennsylvania appeals court, extensive news coverage, the ire of at least one editorial board, and talk of an investigation by the state’s judicial conduct commission. First elected to the bench in 1985, McDaniel was driven from office for failing to deliver fair and impartial justice – treating individuals charged with sex offenses (and their defense counsel) terribly, imposing excessive sentences and repeatedly abusing her discretion.  McDaniel’s departure is a victory for reason and justice, even more so given…

Continue reading