Some Federal Prisoners Are Getting Out As COVID-19 Spreads. Others Have No Chance. Jeremy Hix is serving 70 months in federal prison for a sex offense—a conviction that disqualifies him for a Bureau of Prisons home confinement program, despite a health condition that puts him at risk of the coronavirus. Joshua Vaughn May 14, 2020
Sex Offender Registry Requirements Leave Some Facing Stark Choices As Coronavirus Risks Grow Inconsistent rules nationwide mean some people are still registering and reporting in person despite public health directives meant to control COVID-19. Dawn R. Wolfe Apr 03, 2020
People Held in New York Prison Say They Face Abuse After Guard In Their Unit Tested Positive For COVID-19 Men in Unit B-2 at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility say staff members have harassed and abused them since they possibly came into contact with an infected officer. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Five Cases Could Significantly Reform Pennsylvania’s Sex Offense Registry. The State’s Attorney General Is Pushing Back. Josh Shapiro has warned that changing the state’s sex offense registry requirements threatens public safety. But experts say his fears are unfounded and the registry provides little to no public safety benefit. Joshua Vaughn Jan 07, 2020
In Leaked Audio, Prosecutor Admits Locking People Up Is Not About Public Safety Sarah Lustbader Oct 31, 2019
Alabama Sex Offender Registry Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Teenagers, Lawsuit Argues Young people convicted as adults face a ‘life sentence’ of registry restrictions, attorneys say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 19, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: The Rise of Registries With Appeal contributor Guy Hamilton-Smith and Elizabeth Letourneau of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Adam H. Johnson Sep 12, 2019
New York Lawmakers Want To Ban Sex Offenders From The Subway. That Won’t Solve Anything. Banishing people from the subway will only marginalize them without addressing the problem. Guy Hamilton-Smith Apr 01, 2019
When Stealing Legos Adds To A Lifetime of Consequences A petition argues that people seeking to escape the sex offender registry, including those put on it as children, deserve more than a single shot. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 19, 2018
Black Men Disproportionately Represented On Sex Offender Registries Even though it’s unlikely that they commit sexual assault at higher rates than other ethnic or racial groups, nearly one of every 100 Black men is on a sex offender registry, a rate double that of white men. Debbie Nathan Nov 15, 2018
When Handing Out Candy To Trick-or-Treaters Means Risking Arrest Lawyer seeks end to Halloween restrictions that target people convicted of sex offenses. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 01, 2018
The Endless Punishment of Civil Commitment Prosecutors can subject those convicted of sexual offenses—and sometimes, those with no conviction at all—to an indefinite period of civil punishment at the end of their criminal sentence. Guy Hamilton-Smith Sep 04, 2018
Case Of Intellectually Disabled Teen Falsely Accused of Sex Offense Reveals Registry Flaws Before Edgar Coker was exonerated in a rape case, he underwent therapy meant to prevent sexual reoffenses. Thousands of kids involved in sexual offenses are forced into therapies like “relapse prevention” that experts say are ineffective. Joseph Darius Jaafari Aug 27, 2018
Failure-to-Comply Arrests Reveal Flaws in Sex Offender Registries In one Pennsylvania county, more than three times as many people on the registry were charged in 2016 with failing to follow registry requirements than were charged with a new sexual offense Joshua Vaughn Aug 01, 2018
Why Sex Offender Registries Keep Growing Even as Sexual Violence Rates Fall Lists that include out-of-state visitors are inflating the numbers and keeping fear at a boil. Steven Yoder Jul 03, 2018
A Flurry of Bills Followed Larry Nassar’s Conviction. Here’s Why That’s a Problem. Natasha Lennard May 25, 2018
As Deadline Approaches for Homeless Ex-Offenders in Florida, County Threatens to Jail Them Steven Yoder Apr 05, 2018
NY Gov. Cuomo’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Plan to Protect Your Kids Guy Hamilton-Smith Mar 19, 2018
The Misguided Call for Harsher Punishments at the Heart of the Judge Persky Recall Effort Shon Hopwood Feb 02, 2018
Underage teenager faces life as registered sex offender for having sex with underage girlfriend Larry Hannan Sep 27, 2017