A BRAVE WOMAN LEADS THE CHARGE AGAINST UNREASONABLE SEX OFFENDER LAWS

Janice Bellucci seeks to change unreasonable and unjust laws applied to sex offenders released from prison whose crimes did not involve forcible rape or child molestation

Janice Bellucci, a 61-year old lawyer, is the president of the California chapter of Reform Sex Offender Laws, a national group of offenders, family members, psychologists and attorneys. Gale Holland of the Los Angeles Times describes Bellucci as “the public face of an organization advocating for the closest thing to an untouchable caste in our society: California's 88,000 registered sex offenders.”

The Reform Sex Offender Laws group is trying to get some of the unreasonable laws changed that apply to sex offenders after they have been released from prison, laws such as the residence restrictions which are so restrictive that a sex offender cannot reside anywhere within the city limits of many cities and towns.

Bellucci is leading the charge in California. She wants sex offenders sent to prison for their crimes, but she also wants them to be able to live a normal life once they have served their time. And Belllucci wants some of the sex offenders taken off the sex offender registry.

California is one of only four states in which sex offenders are required to register for life, even if the crime did not involve a forcible rape or the molestation of a child. A ‘wienie waver’ is required to register and so is a high school senior who had consensual sex with an underage girl. A public school teacher who is foolish enough to engage in consensual sex with a student, must also register. Even a drunk who takes a leak in an alley will end up on the registry list if he is charged with exposing his person instead of with disorderly conduct.

The Reform Sex Offender Laws group nationwide, and Bellucci in particular in California, are trying to change the residence restrictions so that offenders released from prison will be able to live with relatives or find another decent place to live. Studies have shown that restrictions forbidding sex offenders from living within a 1,000, 1,500 or 2,000 feet of a school, park or any other place where children might gather do not make children any safer.

Pocket parks are the latest scheme to exile sex offenders. When a city finds a concentration of sex offenders in places where children do not gather, they take a tiny parcel of grassy land where they set up a jungle-gym and designate it as a children's playground. If there is no grassy area, they’ll tear up a strip of concrete, plant grass in its place and set up that jungle-gym. Any way you look at it, that's sex offender cleansing at work.

Another problem with registration is the public disclosure of where registered sex offenders live. There have been a number of instances in which sex offenders have been physically assaulted or their residences vandalized because of the public listing.

I have long criticized the unreasonable residence restrictions and the registration requirements for offenders that were not convicted of forcible rapes or child molestations. What is really at work here is that Americans just plain do not want any sex offenders living anywhere near them. Which leads me to ask: If we are so intent in ridding ourselves of them, why don’t we just execute every sex offender and be done with it?

I am glad that there are people like Janice Bellucci who are brave enough to take up a very unpopular but just cause. It takes a lot of guts to openly oppose laws which were passed to allay people’s fear and to satisfy their hatred of sex offenders.

And here is what Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle has to say about this issue:

The draconian nature of Jessica’s Law (et al.) has been a consistent topic here [PACOVILLA Corrections blog]. In that context, it is encouraging to learn there are folks like Ms. Bellucci out there taking on such an important, unpopular, cause. She makes a sound, common sense case for imposing a bit of sound common sense into how we deal with sex offenders.

As it happens, a former parolee of mine is paroling next week for violating the new, improved sex offender registration regulations. His initial commitment offense, rape, took place in 1978. He paroled in 1991 and discharged parole, with no violations, in 1994. I am absolutely confident in stating the man would never have gone back to prison had California’s registration regulations not been changed to include vehicle registration, exit registrations etc. I am equally certain public safety was not enhanced one iota in the bargain.

I don’t know if DAPO [Division of Adult Parole Operations] still restricts all 290′s [those required to register] from residing near schools or if it only applies to 288′s [child molesters]. If the restriction applies to all 290’s, he will be living in a minivan for the next 3 years.

The bottom line: the current laws are a setup for failure for many otherwise law abiding, low risk ex-cons. We most certainly should provide an appropriate path of review to remove such individuals from the rolls of sex offenders.

Kudos to Janice Bellucci. Reform Sex Offender Laws!