Sunday, May 24, 2015

Feel Safer Now?

Two recent dramatic illustrations of stark-raving insane behavior driven by news-media-manufactured fear:

Lenore Skenazy tells us about what happened when a man snapped a selfie in a store, and what happened when a man helped a boy retrieve a ball.

Pathetic. Especially so when cops feel a need to issue a news release on a guy helping a kid retrieve a ball.

Feel safer now?

Thursday, May 21, 2015

how numbers are misused to create laws: an illustration

A New York State Senator proposes a bill to close a loophole that lets sex offenders live close to preschools.
The data used to make the case, and the data cited in the Facebook post are clearly manipulated to elicit fear. There’s no questioning that whatsoever. Numbers are carefully managed, contorted, and presented sans caveat in order to give every parent in Westchester and Rockland the idea that, at any moment, their children are in imminent danger from a pedophile lurking in the shadows. Carlucci and his colleagues then offer the solution, in the form of legislation, and a panicked populace votes for them on that basis. The cycle is complete, and in the end there’s another new piece of legislation on the books that addresses a minor situation in a spectacular way that garners headlines galore. 
One way to counter this is with increased numeracy: literacy of numbers. When percentages are used instead of actual numbers, it’s important to understand why. It’s even more important to get educated and find the numbers for ourselves and understand that manipulation of numbers can lead us to make bad conclusions about all kinds of things 
As with everything else education is key.
That summarizes the article nicely but do read the whole thing.

Numbers, like words, have real meaning, and this article helps to explain how the numbers are misused in the service of emotion, not reason.
As with most things government-related that are done “for the children,” Carlucci takes great pride in having “done something.” Doing something is not the same as “doing the right thing,” however, and should not be confused with its much more even-tempered cousin. No, “doing something” is all about being busy showing people how much you’ve done so that if that thing produces no results, you can brag about how hard you worked on it anyway. 
Doing the wrong thing because it feels good is still doing the wrong thing.

~ marie
Notes from the Handbasket

Monday, May 18, 2015

TOGETHER WE ARE FEARLESS

Join us tonight at FEARLESS as we talk about the value of a good support system. Knowing that someone believes in our goodness can keep us on our feet and can help us reach out to others who need encouragement.

Dealing with the onerous requirements of the sex offender registry--not to mention the restrictions that come with parole or probation--is easier when we have someone who believes in our ability to overcome past mistakes and public shame. Whether you have sought out your own supporters, been surprised to find that friends and neighbors are rooting for you, or are still trying to find someone who will have your back, FEARLESS would like to be part of your network.

FEARLESS is a collaboration of Nebraskans Unafraid and UNO that counteracts dangerous Nebraska law. Research has shown that isolating Registered Citizens, depriving them of jobs and homes, increases the chances that they will reoffend. Current Nebraska law does exactly that. We live in a state where (research has shown that) sex-offender law makes communities more dangerous.

FEARLESS provides an opportunity for Registered Citizens and their loved ones to connect and learn from one another and support one another. Establishing such social networks reduces the likelihood of reoffense. Even though the reoffense rates for sex offenders are extremely low to start with, there is no excuse for grandstanding politicians who make the state more dangerous with their showboating laws.

FEARLESS takes responsibility where our politicians will not. Please join us at 7 p.m. tonight at Saint Michael Lutheran Church, 13232 Blondo Street, Omaha. Park in the east lot and come in through the east entrance.

FEARLESS is exclusively for Registered Citizens and their invited guests.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Omaha Church Hires a Formerly Registered Citizen

Here's a day-brightener: Omaha's Lifegate Church hired as a pastor a man who used to be on the Iowa sex offender registry.
[The pastor] didn't serve any jail time and his name has been removed from Iowa’s sex offender registry after 10 years.
In a news release, Lifegate Church said,
In considering Mike and Sharla for our Lifegate team, we fully informed ourselves through an exhaustive research, interview, prayer and consulting process that lasted several months. 
"This confirmed to us that Mike's devotion to Jesus, ministry experience, pastoral and leadership giftings make him the right fit for Lifegate. Certainly, we are also aware that Mike has successfully completed all requirements by the State of Iowa for his one and only misconduct of more than a decade ago, and Iowa removed Mike from all registries. Of equal importance to us, Sharla and Mike’s marriage not only survived but has thrived over a considerable period of time 
Congratulations to the new pastor and his wife. It's good to see a marriage that survives and thrives through "registry time". That gives hope to others who are just setting out on this difficult path. It can be done.
...the church elders became firmly convinced that Mike’s personal life, family and marriage have been fully restored, as proven by more than 10 years of integrity and excellence.
Ten years of integrity and excellence is, indeed, to be celebrated and admired. More often than not, registered citizens live lives of integrity and excellence, something we all wish people would acknowledge.

Good luck to the new pastor. May his example help to shine a light on the truth about registered citizens.

~marie

Monday, May 11, 2015

prison riot kills two inmates convicted of sex offenses; attorney general dithers

A prison riot at the Tecumseh [NE] State Correctional Institution left two inmates dead. Both had been convicted of sexual assault of a child.

The prison, of course, has been on lockdown while the staff restores order.
Officials stress there is no risk to the public.
Good to know. Instead of a risk to the public, two men who had not been sentenced to death were killed. Guess who that bland reassurance fails to reassure? Families of those doing prison time for sex offenses.
[Corrections Director] Frakes said the Tecumseh facility was understaffed at the time of the disturbance, but said it is the least crowded of Nebraska's prison facilities.
If a riot at the understaffed and least crowded facility results in two deaths, imagine what a disturbance at an overcrowded facility could do.

And yet, politicians resist taking measures that would reduce overcrowding.
The ACLU released a statement Monday in response to the riots in Tecumseh, saying its first thoughts are with the front line prison, but "these riots are a painful reminder that Nebraska's prison system is a system in crisis. Our research has clearly documented horrific conditions of confinement rampant throughout our overcrowded prison system that threatens public safety now and into the future." 
The ACLU went on to say that Nebraska corrections officials have been aware of the conditions and failed to enact meaningful reforms for years and renewed their calls for the Legislature to act now.
A system in crisis calls for swift action.
Prison reform is at the top of the agenda when the Nebraska Legislature reconvenes Tuesday. LB 605 is designed to reduce prison overcrowding by using more probation for low-level offenses and increasing supervision for former inmates released on parole. LB 173 places new limits on mandatory minimum sentences. They would only apply to those convicted of violent crimes, not drug offenses, and it eliminates the "three strikes, you're out" rule or mandatory minimum sentences for habitual criminals. 
LB 598 will also be considered. It mandates less solitary confinement and better mental health treatment for prisoners. ...
Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says more probation and eliminating mandatory minimum sentences go too far. Peterson has fears they will put violent offenders back on the street too soon.
Too soon?  Does the attorney general mean he fears offenders will be back on the streets before more inmates are killed?

As Registered Citizens and family members of those citizens, that swift action must be on our own shoulders. Call your state legislator and urge support of measures that would ease overcrowding and almost certainly save lives.

Our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the two men who were killed.

~ marie

FEARLESS: How is Your Support System?

FEARLESS on Monday, May 18, will focus on our support systems.

Dealing with the onerous requirements of the sex offender registry--not to mention the restrictions that come with parole or probation--is easier when we have someone who believes in our ability to overcome past mistakes and public shame. Whether you have sought out your own supporters, been surprised to find that friends and neighbors are rooting for you, or are still trying to find someone who will have your back, FEARLESS would like to be part of your network.

FEARLESS is a collaboration of Nebraskans Unafraid and UNO that counteracts dangerous Nebraska law. Research has shown that isolating Registered Citizens, depriving them of jobs and homes, increases the chances that they will reoffend. Current Nebraska law does exactly that. We live in a state where (research has shown that) sex-offender law makes communities more dangerous.

FEARLESS provides an opportunity for Registered Citizens and their loved ones to connect and learn from one another and support one another. Establishing such social networks reduces the likelihood of reoffense. Even though the reoffense rates for sex offenders are extremely low to start with, there is no excuse for grandstanding politicians who make the state more dangerous with their showboating laws.

FEARLESS takes responsibility where our politicians will not. Please join us at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18, at Saint Michael Lutheran Church, 13232 Blondo Street, Omaha. Park in the east lot and come in through the east entrance.

FEARLESS is exclusively for Registered Citizens and their invited guests.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

FAMM: Mothers in Prison

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) reminds us of the mothers in prison and the damage incarceration does to families.
In 2007, there were a reported 147,400 children whose mothers were in state or federal prison. This number has only grown since.
 From one mother's story:

As far as providing for your children while incarcerated, there is no providing. You’re lucky if you make 12 cents per hour working in prison. The worries really were their safety and their happiness: Were they happy? In a safe environment? Were they getting medical and dental care?     
Especially when they were taken away from their foster parents, I was saying, “I need to be out there taking care of them! I’m rehabilitated, I’ve more than served enough time, I’m fully capable, I’m employable, I can get a job and support them!”   
I just always thought it was such a waste of money, of tax dollars, to keep me in prison so long. Even though I did a lot of things while in prison—I took courses, I worked, I bettered myself—I sat there year after year after year when I should’ve been out taking care of my kids. It would’ve been much more beneficial for everyone involved—me, my kids, my family, and my community—if I had been free to take care of them myself. 
Prisons might be necessary but they should be the last resort of the judicial system, not the first and only.

~ marie

Saturday, May 9, 2015

University Notifies Community of Student's RSO Status...You Know the Rest

After two successful semesters as a linguistics student at University at Buffalo, Daniel is now a former student because he is a registered sex offender.
Because the court deemed Daniel “psychologically abnormal,” the judge – Kenneth Case of Erie County – bumped his level up a notch higher than his original Level 1 score. 
His abnormality? Mild autism.
Now, the Level 2 label could remain with Daniel for life. 
This label has already forced Daniel to leave his UB on-campus housing – where he had spent almost eight uneventful months after his arrest, but prior to his conviction. It’s also prevented him from getting a job or attending classes at UB.
Uneventful months. He has not reoffended.
Who would want to house or hire or even befriend a sex offender? 
Because Daniel was denied housing on UB’s campus, the university determined he could not be in any on-campus dorms. In August of 2014, he was caught in his girlfriend’s dorm room and arrested. 
Last Wednesday, he got his punishment: He’s not allowed on campus for a year. 
The punishment doesn’t matter to Daniel. 
He dropped out of school at the end of the fall semester, ending his hopes of becoming a linguistics researcher. It was too hard to be a sex offender and a student.
Read the whole thing. You won't find any shocking surprises, just the heartbreaking and routine bureaucratic evisceration of a young man's life.

~ marie

Friday, May 1, 2015

What's More Polite than a Tea Party?

Maybe this is the way hope begins.
A Dallas woman invited three sex offenders to her house for a tea party, with the hope of starting an honest conversation, reports CBS DFW. 
"We have to talk about this in polite society, and what's more polite than tea?" asks Judy Safern. 
Safern also invited friends and neighbors over for the gathering and had plenty of them RSVP with an adamant NO!
An honest conversation. An opportunity. A beginning.

This was a chance for the neighbors to meet sex offenders and for sex offenders to educate the neighbors. We never know when those opportunities will arise; they are not all formal affairs with invitations.

Sometimes the opportunity comes at a soccer game, at the PTO meeting, at a church potluck, or at work. Be ready with simple answers that will introduce the truth that sex offenders are not the scary monsters we have been encouraged to think they are.

Only a tiny number of sex offenders are child rapists.
Most child sexual assaults happen within the circle of trusted family members and friends.
Most sex offenders will not offend again.
Sex offenders have families who suffer right along with them.

Not everyone will like what we have to say. Some will hear us.

That's the way it begins.

~ marie